Regular fitness routines are great for your
body and mind, with even small amounts of exercise found to protect against
depression. While fitness regimes are often promoted as a way to lose weight or
gain muscle, according to a new study by the Black Dog Institute, there are
also significant mental health benefits associated with physical activity. Just
one hour of exercise each week was found to prevent future depression in some
people, with the Black Dog Institute using these findings in its 'Exercise Your
Mood' campaign which encourages people to improve their physical and mental
well-being through exercise.
Published in the American Journal of
Psychiatry, the results of this study highlight the importance of exercise in
protecting against depression. In a highly detailed analysis that involved
33,908 Norwegian adults, mental health benefits were seen regardless of age or
gender. After monitoring exercise levels and symptoms of depression and anxiety
over a period of 11 years, the international research team found that 12
percent of depression cases could be prevented with just one hour of physical
activity each week. While links between fitness and depression were clear, the
benefits of regular exercise did not carry through to anxiety disorders, where
no association was found.
Researchers used data from the HUNT study
in Norway - one of the largest and most comprehensive population-based health
surveys ever undertaken. Healthy participants were asked to report the
frequency and intensity of exercise they participated in without becoming
breathless or exhausting themselves, with a second self-report questionnaire
completed during the follow-up stage to indicate any emerging anxiety or
depression. After accounting for variables which might impact the association between
exercise and common mental illness, including socio-economic and demographic
factors, researchers found that people who reported doing no exercise at all
had a 44 percent increased chance of developing depression compared to those
who were exercising one to two hours a week.
According to Samuel Harvey, Associate
Professor from Black Dog Institute and UNSW and lead author of the study,
"We've known for some time that exercise has a role to play in treating
symptoms of depression, but this is the first time we have been able to
quantify the preventative potential of physical activity in terms of reducing
future levels of depression... These findings are exciting because they show
that even relatively small amounts of exercise - from one hour per week - can
deliver significant protection against depression... These results highlight
the great potential to integrate exercise into individual mental health plans
and broader public health campaigns. If we can find ways to increase the
population's level of physical activity even by a small amount, then this is
likely to bring substantial physical and mental health benefits."
While the results of the study were clear,
the team behind the research are still uncertain why exercise has such a huge
effect on mental health outcomes. "We are still trying to determine
exactly why exercise can have this protective effect," said Mr Harvey,
adding "but we believe it is from the combined impact of the various
physical and social benefits of physical activity." One thing is clear
though - regular exercise can play an important role in the treatment of
depression and other mental health problems, both as a preventative measure and
a form of complementary therapy.
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