Each year thousands of pounds are spent on medications to treat conditions such as anxiety and depression. These medications often have negative side effects. Exercise is an alternative treatment that is low cost and has few side effects. In this free course, Exercise and mental health, we will look at the links between exercise and improved mental health and psychological well-being. This will include consideration of the role of exercise in combating stress, anxiety and depression, and in enhancing mood.

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• demonstrate an awareness of the links between physical activity and mental health
• understand some of the proposed theories of why exercise benefits mental health.