What you probably already know: Women who exercise at least 30 minutes nearly every day gain a far sharper mental dividend from physical activity than men. Gallup says women who exercise report significantly less daily stress than those who remain sedentary, but for men, moving more barely shifts the needle. The survey, published in January 2026, is similar to a 2024 National Institutes of Health (NIH) study that found women who exercise regularly have a significantly lower risk of early death or a fatal cardiovascular event then men who also exercise routinely. NIH notes that even women who put in less effort realize enormous benefits from exercise.
Why it matters: “We hope this study will help everyone, especially women, understand they are poised to gain tremendous benefits from exercise,” says Susan Cheng, M.D., a cardiologist and the Erika J. Glazer chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Population Science in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles. “It is an incredibly powerful way to live healthier and longer.” The study tracked more than 400,000 U.S. adults between the ages of 27 and 61 and show that, over two decades, women were 24% less likely than those who didn’t exercise to experience death from any cause. Men were just 15% less likely. Active women also reduced their risk for a fatal heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event by 36%.
What it means: Gallup reports that 56% of women who didn’t exercise at all the past seven days reported experiencing stress the previous day. Women who exercised more reported less stress, with those exercising six to seven days reporting the least stress of all. Interestingly, younger and older women who exercised more reported lower stress than those between the ages of 45 and 64, though that demographic also reported lower stress levels. The pattern is similar to previous research that found women report higher baseline levels of stress to begins with, but that “does not sufficiently explain the differences found here, given the outsized reduction in stress found among women who exercise regularly.”
What happens next: The NIH study notes that various in anatomy and physiology may account for the differences in outcomes between the sexes, adding that men often have increased lung capacity, larger hearts, more lean body mass and a greater proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers. As a result, women may reap greater rewards from similar exercise regimes. Experts recommend adults get between two-and-a-half to five hours of moderate-intensity exercise each week, or one-and-a-quarter to two-and-a-half hours, and participate in at least two days a week of strength training. “Even a limited amount of regular exercise can provide a major benefit, especially for women,” Cheng says. “Taking some regular time out for exercise, even if it’s just 20-30 minutes of vigorous exercise a few times each week, can offer a lot more gain they (women) may realize.”
