Being physically active can help you feel stronger and better able to do day-to-day activities. In addition, being active also helps you feel better mentally and emotionally, and can improve your overall quality of life.

Here are some of the benefits many people experience.

Decreases in:

• Anger
• Anxiety (worry and fear)
• Confusion
• Depression (you’ll likely be better at preventing, reducing, and managing depression)
• Headaches
• Stress and tension (you’ll likely be able to cope better with stress)

Increases in:

• Assertiveness (being able to ask for what you need and make decisions)
• Confidence and feeling able to do things
• Emotional stability (less troubled by life’s challenges and disappointments)
• Independence
• Memory
• Having a positive mood
• Perception (better at noticing what’s going on around you)
• Positive body image (feeling good about the way you look)
• Feeling of well-being
• Self-worth and self-esteem (feeling good about the way you see yourself)

Last Reviewed: November, 2016

© 2016 Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. May be reproduced in its entirety provided the source is acknowledged. This information is not meant to replace advice from your medical doctor or individual counselling with a health professional. It is intended for educational and informational purposes only.