Exercise is critical for brain health

Exercise is often treated as general lifestyle advice instead of a structured intervention for brain health. Physical activity acts on vascular, metabolic, inflammatory, and neuroplastic systems, partly through muscle-derived signaling along the muscle-brain axis. Randomized and meta-analytic evidence supports benefits for depression, anxiety, and cognition, including in schizophrenia, although some evidence is observational. Exercise should be prescribed with the same specificity as other treatments, individualized for safety and comorbidity, and supported by care systems that address barriers to access.