According to results of a new study, exercise and moving your body could help relieve symptoms of depression at an equal level as medication.
The Cochrane collaboration is an independent network of researchers that recently reviewed evidence which showed moving your body and getting daily exercise can help relieve symptoms of depression at an equal level of certain antidepressant medication.
Scientists involved evaluated 73 randomized controlled trials which included around 5,00 people with depression, many of which also tried antidepressant medication, NPR reported.
“We found that exercise was as effective as pharmacological treatments or psychological therapies as well,” says Andrew Clegg, a professor at the University of Lancashire in the U.K.
Dr. Stephen Mateka, a medical director of psychiatry at Inspira Health stated that these new findings from the Cochrane Research is actually not surprising.
“This new Cochrane review reinforces the evidence that exercise is one of the most evidence-based tools for improving move,” he said.
“Exercise can help improve neurotransmitter function, like serotonin as well as dopamine and endorphins. So there is certainly overlap between exercise and how antidepressants offer relief.”
Dr. Nicholas Fabina of the University of Ottawa said that exercise helps release chemicals in the body that are known to boost mood and release brain growth factors. Depression in general can decrease neuroplasticity, which makes it difficult for it to adapt to change, he explained.
“The brain in depression is thought to be less plastic. So there’s less what we call neurotrophic factors, or BDNF, and we know that exercise can also boost it. So I think exercise is a fundamental pillar we really need to counsel patients on,” he says.
Medications and therapy are still important tools, and obviously everyone is different, but it’s important to recognize the many treatments out there that can help people who are suffering.
“Exercise has been adopted as a first-line treatment in guidelines for depression globally with good acceptability and safety.”
“It’s much easier for a primary care physician to prescribe medication to a patient. You just write it on a pad,” Fabiano says.
“We can start someone on an antidepressant — maybe that improves their mood, and they’re able to engage in therapy. From there, maybe now they’re more interested in starting some of these lifestyle habits like exercise.”
The study showed that light to moderate exercise, which is defined by getting your heart rate up enough to feel slightly winded, can be just as beneficial as vigorous or intense exercise.
“Ultimately you want to work your way up. But going from completely sedentary to even just going for a walk every day, that’s where you start seeing those exponential gains,” Fabiano stated.
The evidence showed that a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training appears to be more effective than aerobic alone. The meta-analysis also found that between 13 to 36 workouts actually led to improvements in depressive symptoms, NPR reports.
“When it comes to exercise, it’s about just finding the exercise that works for you, such as something like yoga or tai chi versus something like walking and jogging,” Mateka stated.
“Exercise is something that is extremely low cost. It’s very accessible. It has very minimal side effects. And it has the opportunity to impact you positively, mentally, emotionally, socially and physically.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
