One of the neat findings from the past few years is that intense exercise reduces anxiety better than moderate exercise. Two studies that show this are here and here.
I do think high-intensity exercise is very important, though it shouldn't be done very often. Our bodies possess a fight-or-flight mechanism, and the fact that we possess it shows it was used in ancient times and is of value. From a hunter-gatherer perspective, intense exercise is what happened after the fight-or-flight mechanism was activated. Nowadays many other things can trip this response, and intense exercise is the proper outlet to deal with it.
One of the neat findings from the past few years is that intense exercise reduces anxiety better than moderate exercise. Two studies that show this are here and here.
I do think high-intensity exercise is very important, though it shouldn't be done very often. Our bodies possess a fight-or-flight mechanism, and the fact that we possess it shows it was used in ancient times and is of value. From a hunter-gatherer perspective, intense exercise is what happened after the fight-or-flight mechanism was activated. Nowadays many other things can trip this response, and intense exercise is the proper outlet to deal with it.