Only Exercising on Weekends Still Offers Surprising Mental Health Benefits

For those whose weekdays are too busy for regular anxiety-soothing exercise, a long weekend hike could still do the trick, a new study reveals.

Researchers from Yangzhou University in China and Waseda University in Japan looked at health data for 13,740 US adults, splitting them into four groups.

These were characterized as inactive, insufficiently active, regularly active (at least three times a week), and active for just one or two sessions per week.

Compared with the inactive group, all other groups demonstrated reduced levels of anxiety. So-called weekend warriors, that last group, presented the biggest contrast, in fact, with a 35 percent difference.

"Physical activity interventions have emerged as a viable and evidence-based therapeutic strategy for mitigating the symptoms of anxiety disorders," write the researchers in their published paper.

"The weekend warrior pattern may represent a time-efficient and health-promoting alternative for individuals seeking the benefits of physical activity within the constraints of a busy lifestyle."

This adds to what we already know about exercise being good for our mental health as well as our physical well-being, adding the detail that it doesn't necessarily matter when you exercise – as long as you do enough of it.

As this study presents a snapshot in time, it doesn't prove direct cause and effect, and it doesn't consider the various other benefits of exercise (like cardiovascular health).

Being self-reported, the measures of exercise could be taken with a grain of salt as well. However, it shows exercise is still worth doing, even if it's only once or twice a week.

Another interesting finding the researchers came across: the anxiety reductions were particularly noticeable for those with diabetes or on lower incomes. It's not clear why this is, but it's something that could be looked at in future studies.

"Factors such as gender, age, race, education level, marital status, BMI, smoking status, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, and hypertension did not significantly influence the relationship between the weekend warrior pattern and risk of anxiety," write the researchers.

The researchers did go into some detail about the different brain processes linking physical activity and anxiety. Previous studies have identified how exercise can boost calming signals in the brain, and make cells more resilient to stress, for example.

So if you get to Friday and haven't managed to fit in any exercise yet, bear in mind it's not too late. And as we know from many studies on exercise, while meeting the guidelines is best practice, any amount of activity is better than nothing.

"For individuals unable to exercise consistently throughout the week, the weekend warrior pattern offers a practical alternative for reducing the risk of anxiety, particularly among those with lower income levels or diabetes," write the researchers.

The research has been published in BMC Psychiatry.