Exercise is a powerful tool for mental health. It’s been shown to improve mood, alleviate stress and depression, increase creativity and cognition, and even make therapies more effective, among other benefits. Now, new research suggests that physical activity may also help people reduce their drug and alcohol use. Adding physical activity to traditional treatment for substance use disorder appears to lead to better outcomes. Substance use treatment “is often focused on psychological health. Physical health is sometimes left out,” says Florence Piché, a doctoral candidate in physical activity at the University of Montreal. Her research, however, suggests that combining the two may be more effective. The review, published in PLOS ONE, examined 43 previously published studies of alcohol or drug treatment programs (such as residential treatment or supervised detoxification) that included an exercise component. Running was the most studied form of exercise, but some studies also tested yoga, cycling, strength training, walking, and other types of movement. The most commonly studied frequency was three 60-minute sessions per week, but that also varied somewhat.

Sixteen of the articles looked at whether people who followed an exercise regimen in addition to their typical treatment stopped or significantly reduced their substance use—and in 75 percent of those studies, they did.

This study isn’t new, as you know. A 2014 meta-analysis also showed that exercise can make people more likely to abstain from using drugs, alcohol, or tobacco and less likely to experience withdrawal symptoms, leading the authors to conclude that it can be an effective complement to other treatment programs.

Cláudio Mocho