Exercise is effective for battling chronic depression: study

health

To Emily Lefroy

10 July 2023 | 7:13 PM

A study found that short-term exercise can help reduce symptoms of chronic depression.

The study was published on Monday. JAMA network openPeople over the age of 50 who suffer from symptoms often associated with depression, such as diabetes, heart disease and chronic pain, found that exercise reduced their symptoms of depression.

The study followed more than 4,000 Irish adults with an average age of 61 years for 10 years and found that adults suffering from depression-related symptoms improved their symptoms when they exercised for at least 20 minutes a day, five times a week. .

However, people suffering from depression but without chronic conditions in the study needed two hours of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each day to reduce their symptoms. According to the study’s lead author, those participants saw marked improvements in their symptoms of depression. Eamon Laird, Researcher Physical Activity Research Center for Health at the University of Limerick, Ireland.

Study participants came from the following regions: A longitudinal study of aging in Irelandevaluated and evaluated every two years.

The researchers administered questionnaires about their physical activity and exercise levels before assessing their symptoms of depression. Those with severe symptoms and those who had suffered a major depressive episode in the previous 12 months were classified as major depression.

“Examples of symptoms on the questionnaire include: I had trouble staying aware of what I was doing. My sleep was restless. Family and friends. I felt that I could not get rid of my depression even with the help of . CNN.

Laird said the study is the first longitudinal (long-term) study of its kind to study depression in people with and without chronic disease and to determine the minimum amount of exercise required to alleviate symptoms of depression. said.

“The more physical activity you do, the greater the mental health benefits for depression,” Laird said.

The study found that people who exercised for 20 minutes a day, five days a week, had a 16% lower risk of developing depression, compared with a 43% risk faced by those who did not exercise at all.

Unfortunately, the authors also noted that overall rates of depression rose from 8% to 10% in the decade the study was conducted.

They added that antidepressant use increased from about 6% to 10% over the same period, and that motility decreased overall by about 10%.

Although the importance of time spent exercising has never been established, the fact that exercise can help alleviate symptoms of depression is nothing new.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six adults suffers from depression at some point in their lives, and approximately 16 million American adults suffer from depression each year.

A study was published in February. British Journal of Sports Medicine It has been found that regular exercise may be more effective than medication in treating mental illness, including depression.

“Physical activity is known to help improve mental health. However, despite evidence, it has not been widely adopted as a first-line treatment,” said lead researcher Ben Dr Singh said in a statement at the time.