Depressed? Exercise may be as good for your depression or emotional state as medication.
It’s very common knowledge that exercise is good for our bodies. But we often forget that within our body lives our brain – and exercise is just as good at improving our mental health as it is our physical health. In fact, Australian researchers recently analysed studies including over 14,000 participants and found that exercise was as effective as psychotherapy or medication in treating depression.
The study found that there were improvements in mental health no matter the baseline severity of symptoms, and with varying activities and frequency of exercise across the week.
Some interesting results came through regarding the type of exercise that showed best results – strength training seemed to have the greatest effect for younger people, whereas qi gong and yoga seemed to have greater effect for older people. Walking and jogging had good effects for everyone. Across all the studies, the more vigorous the exercise, the better the results.
There were several reasons hypothesised for why these improvements in mental wellbeing occurred that weren’t just neurobiological (brain chemistry) changes – including the social aspect of exercising in a group, mindfulness or experiential acceptance, increased self-efficacy (one’s belief in their ability to succeed in a given task or situation) and immersion in green spaces (ie, when out walking in nature).
The take home? Exercise is an effective treatment for depression, either alongside psychotherapy or medication, or by itself. This is not a suggestion that if you’re already on medication that you should stop or change without consulting with your doctor or Psychiatrist, however, as these can be life-saving and critical for mental health, and shouldn’t be changed without qualified advice.
There is no specific type, frequency or duration of exercise required to get the mental health benefits – which means you can create an exercise plan that feels fun and enjoyable for you. This brings us back to the saying “the best type of exercise is the one that gets done!”.
Working with an accredited exercise physiologist is a perfect place to get started – an AEP can help you figure out an exercise program that takes into account your personal situation, and help you stay motivated. Using techniques like motivational interviewing, with touches of cognitive behavioural therapy thrown in, we can help reduce the barriers to participation, and help you feel more like it’s something you want to do, rather than something you have to do.
You don’t need a referral to see an AEP but if you get a Chronic Condition Management Plan from your GP, you may be able to get up to five subsidised sessions a year.
Written by Louise Pontin, AEP at Hills Physiotherapy Knox
Noetel M, Sanders T, Gallardo-Gómez D, Taylor P, del Pozo Cruz B, van den Hoek D et al. Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials BMJ 2024; 384 :e075847 doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-075847