Move Your Body, Heal Your Mind.

There’s a moment on every run when my mind clears. The noise settles, my breath steadies, and I stop thinking about inboxes, algorithms, or the fact I’m 27 months sober and still figuring out how to connect without crutches. What’s left is just movement. And, perhaps surprisingly, it’s in this rhythm that I feel most human — and least alone.

In a time when loneliness is being called the next public health crisis, we often rush to digitise connection: more apps, more chats, more distractions. But what if the answer is actually more movement? More fresh air, not more swipes. More resistance bands than resistance to vulnerability.

Recent research supports what many of us already feel intuitively: physical activity isn’t just good for our bodies — it might be one of the most powerful tools we have for mental health, social connection, and even staving off loneliness as we age.

The Science of Movement and Mental Health

Cardiologist Eric Topol, author of Super Agers, puts it plainly: "If there is one thing that has the most exceptional evidence for healthy aging, it’s exercise." Topol, now 70, spent years studying why some people stay mentally and physically sharp into their 80s. The answer wasn’t found in their genes, but in their habits: daily movement, strength training, and staying socially and cognitively engaged.

He became a convert to resistance training in his 60s. Since then, he says he’s never felt stronger. He does planks, lunges, squats and balance work at home with dumbbells and bands. Nothing fancy. Just deliberate, consis tent activity.

Loneliness, Frailty, and Depression—The Invisible Triad

A new 2025 study in BMC Geriatrics explored the links between physical activity, loneliness, frailty, and depression. Their findings were striking: exercise directly reduced loneliness, and also helped by reducing frailty and depressive symptoms. In fact, more than half of exercise’s impact on loneliness came through those indirect channels.

This triad matters because it creates a vicious loop. Loneliness increases depression, which accelerates frailty, which limits mobility and social opportunities, deepening loneliness. But here’s the hope: physical activity breaks that loop. It builds physiological resilience, reduces psychological vulnerability, and creates opportunities for social connection — especially when done in groups.

It aligns with something I’ve witnessed firsthand. During my recovery, it wasn’t just therapy that helped me reconnect — it was the gym. It was the sweat, the structure, and the shared struggle of training for HYROX races. I wasn’t there to socialise, but the side effect was that I did.

Travel as Another Form of Training

Movement doesn’t always need to mean squats and sprint intervals. Sometimes, it’s a train ride somewhere new. Solo travel, especially, can offer a powerful form of psychological reset. When we move through new spaces, our brains stay curious. We notice details. We stay alert. And crucially, we become more open to interaction.

Travel experts recommend solo travellers pre-book activities, seek group excursions, and plan evening engagements to ward off loneliness. But the deeper benefit might be in simply shaking up our routines. As Topol notes, being outdoors and around others provides a triple benefit for healthspan: nature, movement, and social contact.

For me, travel has been part of the mental reset I needed after addiction. New environments demand presence. They remind you who you are without the labels or expectations of your everyday surroundings.

Connection Is a Full-Body Practice

It’s tempting to treat loneliness as an emotion to be soothed with words or attention. But often, it lives in the body. In our posture. In how often we leave the house. In how comfortable we feel inhabiting our own skin.

That’s why physical activity — and by extension, travel, play, and adventure — matters so much. It gets us moving toward connection, not just thinking about it. It offers us momentum, which is something many of us lose when we feel disconnected.

So, if you’re lonely, don’t just reach out. Lace up. Get out. Pick up a kettlebell. Book the damn trip. Find the closest park and walk until the noise fades and your breath returns.

Loneliness may whisper that you need to be fixed. But movement reminds you that you’re already alive. And that’s a pretty good place to start.