399. The psychology of exercise
The Psychology of your 20s
iHeartPodcasts
4.8 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 23 March 2026
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We all know exercise is ‘good for us’, but why is it that a walk can calm your brain, why a workout can feel like emotional release, or why movement can become either self-care or self-punishment. In this episode, we unpack the psychology of exercise – what’s happening to our brains over time, where the ‘exercise as antidepressants’ claim came from, and what happens when it crosses into obsession.
We explore:
• The role of endorphins and endocannabinoids
• How movement can regulate our emotions
• Identity and motivation in exercise
• How exercise changes our brains
• The role of exercise in treating depression
• How to build a healthier relationship with exercise
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For business: psychologyofyour20s@gmail.com
Our favourite sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10813489/
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/2/101.abstract
https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/126190
The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:08.6 | Hello everybody. |
| 0:10.0 | I'm Jemma Spike and welcome back to the psychology of your 20s, the podcast where we talk |
| 0:15.5 | through the biggest changes, moments and transitions of our 20s and what they mean for our psychology. |
| 0:28.1 | Hello everybody. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to the podcast. It is so great to |
| 0:33.5 | have you here back for another episode as we of course break down the psychology of our 20s. |
| 0:39.1 | I just want to give you guys a heads up. Today's episode will touch on themes to do with eating disorders, |
| 0:45.7 | weight loss, body image and exercise addiction. So if that is something that you are struggling with |
| 0:52.6 | or you know you are particularly sensitive to, |
| 0:56.2 | please take care. |
| 0:57.4 | There will be some links in the description below. |
| 1:00.0 | And honestly, feel free to skip this episode. |
| 1:02.1 | Feel free to come back to it at a later date. |
| 1:04.1 | It will always be here in a day, in a month, in a year when you are in a better headspace. |
| 1:10.4 | Today, everybody, we are talking about something |
| 1:12.8 | that almost feels too obvious to analyze. We are talking about the psychology of exercise. |
| 1:18.7 | We all know exercise is good for us. We all know it has something to do with endorphins, |
| 1:24.7 | something to do with a chemical reaction in our brain we're not really aware of, |
| 1:28.1 | but it is so much deeper than that. Exercise changes the literal structure of your brain. |
| 1:34.3 | We have seen it in study after study. It makes you smarter. It makes you sharp. It greatly |
| 1:39.6 | influences the functioning of your mind. And especially if you make exercise regular, structured, |
... |
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