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Recent studies conducted multiple exercise and researches to try and prove the impact of exercise on depression. A new study claims that exercise is better medicine to treat depression than standard drugs or psychotherapy. It is a known fact that exercise boosts our happy hormones, endorphins and can lift up our mood. Experts are also aware of the fact that it can also prevent depression. Men and women who are active have been reported to very rarely develop depression as compared to men and women who lead a more sedentary lifestyle. Little bit of exercise everyday goes a long way into preventing symptoms of depression and also treating depression according to the new study.
The study pooled data from 41 studies involving 2,265 people with depression and showed that almost any type of exercise substantially reduces depression symptoms, although some forms of exercise seemed more beneficial than others.
In the study published in February in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, a global group of researchers pulled together every recent experiment using physical activity as depression therapy. As they were conducting the study, they including a variety of workouts like running, walking, weight lifting, etc. They conducted different types of classes, some were solo classes or group classes or supervised and also not supervised. The one feature that was common in all of them was the fact that they involved people who were battling depression and there aim was to help them stay active.
The conclusions from the study states that every two people who began to focus on becoming more active with exercise significantly experienced a reduction in depressive symptoms. The numbers that experts recorded after their experiment is a lot higher than the one's recorded after the treatments of psychotherapy or drugs to treat depression. This was a huge achievement on their part and they came to the conclusion that exercise can indeed be a better therapy.
The very first fact that all of us, including experts have to acknowledge is that the mere thought of being active is very daunting for a person who is battling depression. Most people struggle to get out of that inactive zone only because they are mentally unable to feel any kind of motivation or energy. First step towards mental healing is to help them and teach them to realize that exercise is a fun activity and it can only bring enjoyment. The next step is to start of slow and not directly jump into intense routines. We should remember that they are exercising for their mental health and not their physical health.
One point that experts themselves have admitted is that there is not enough research to state what kind of specific exercises can help patients and this is an area that require more focus. However, they have prescribed a list of simple workouts that can never do any harm.
The bottom line as stated by experts is that exercise has an overall impact on the body nd mind and it can be a stand-alone treatment for depression.
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