When Myra Sack’s daughter Havi was diagnosed with Tay-Sachs disease in late 2019, the former college soccer captain and lifelong athlete faced a reality she could not fix. Havi died in January 2021 at age 2. In the years since, Sack has turned repeatedly to movement—running, walking, rhythmic activity—as one of the primary ways she processes profound loss. She later founded E-Motion, a nonprofit that pairs community, ritual, and physical movement to support people living with grief.
Sack is not alone. Growing numbers of bereaved people report using exercise not as a distraction or a quick fix, but as a practical tool for navigating the physical and emotional weight of loss. Scientists are now studying why movement can help—and the early evidence suggests it works through several overlapping pathways.
The Body Under Grief
Grief is not only psychological. It often brings fatigue, disrupted sleep, heightened stress hormones, muscle tension, and symptoms that overlap with depression and anxiety. Prolonged or intense grief has also been linked to elevated inflammation. Physical activity directly counters several of these effects.
Exercise stimulates the release of endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine—chemicals that ease pain perception, lift mood, and improve emotional regulation. It lowers cortisol, the primary stress hormone that can remain elevated during bereavement. Regular movement improves sleep quality, which is frequently shattered by grief, and supports cardiovascular and immune health at a time when both can be compromised.
A 2021 systematic review of 25 studies found that activities including walking, running, yoga, and martial arts helped bereaved individuals by reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress. Participants described movement as providing a sense of freedom, an emotional outlet, a temporary escape from overwhelming thoughts, and opportunities for social connection.
More Than Chemistry: Agency, Rhythm, and Connection
Beyond biochemistry, exercise restores a sense of agency. Grief can make people feel powerless. Choosing to move—even a short walk—creates a small, controllable action in a situation that otherwise feels uncontrollable. Structured activity also reintroduces routine: regular mealtimes, better sleep schedules, and a reason to leave the house.
Rhythmic, repetitive movement appears especially helpful. Sack has described how the patterned motion of running can calm the nervous system, echoing the earliest sensory memories of being rocked or hearing a heartbeat. This rhythmic quality can make it safer to approach difficult emotions rather than suppress them. Group activities add another layer: shared effort reduces isolation, one of the most damaging aspects of prolonged grief.
Qualitative research with young people who lost a parent found that physical activity served as therapy, an emotional release valve, a source of social support, a confidence builder, and a path toward a renewed sense of self. Similar patterns appear across other forms of bereavement, including spousal loss and pregnancy loss.
What the Research Shows—and What It Does Not
The evidence is promising but still developing. Most studies are observational or qualitative rather than large randomized trials focused specifically on grief. Exercise is not a substitute for professional mental health care, especially when grief becomes complicated or prolonged. Benefits appear strongest when activity is regular and matched to the person’s capacity—gentle walking or yoga may be more realistic in the early weeks than intense training.
Experts emphasize that the goal is not to “get over” grief or suppress it. Movement can create space to feel the pain more fully while simultaneously supporting the body’s ability to recover. As one researcher noted, exercise offers both direct mood and health benefits and indirect ones by pulling people out of isolation and into the world.
Practical Takeaways
For those grieving, the research and lived experience suggest starting small and prioritizing consistency over intensity. Walking, gentle yoga, swimming, or short runs can all help. Activities that combine movement with nature or community often feel especially supportive. Listening to the body is essential: some days the right amount of movement is simply standing up and stepping outside.
Myra Sack’s experience illustrates the longer arc. Movement did not erase the loss of her daughter. It became one of the ways she continued to carry Havi with her—through rhythm, community, and the deliberate choice to keep moving forward while staying connected to what was lost. For many others facing similar pain, that combination of physical release, emotional processing, and restored agency may offer a meaningful form of support.
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