People who are depressed quickly get a prescription for antidepressants or a referral to a psychologist, but according to Australian researchers they would be much better off if they started exercising.
According to the researchers, physical activity is even 1.5 times more effective than therapy or medication. And it is not the least who say so: the review study of the University of South Australia is the most complete to date. The researchers compared 97 studies, 1039 experiments and nearly 130,000 subjects. Their conclusion is that exercise is extremely effective against symptoms of depression or anxiety.
Quick effect
Strangely enough, short interventions, in which subjects for example exercised two or three times a week for a maximum of twelve weeks, were most effective in reducing psychological problems. It makes it clear that physical activity also works very quickly, while therapy and medicines, for example, sometimes need months before results are visible.
The greatest mental health benefits were for people with depression, pregnant women, women with postpartum depression, healthy people, and people with HIV or kidney disease, but in fact everyone benefited from more exercise.
More and more depression
This is an important result: worldwide, one in eight people has had psychological problems at some point. It costs the world billions of euros every year. According to the Trimbos Institute, even a quarter of Dutch people between the ages of 18 and 75 will experience depression at some point. Sports would therefore be a better solution for them than expensive medicines or therapies. Lead researcher Ben Singh therefore believes that physical activity should be much more proposed as a treatment method for the ever-growing number of people with mental health problems. “Exercise is known to improve mental health. But despite all the evidence, it is not widely accepted as the first choice for treatment,” said Singh.
“Our meta-analysis shows that physical activity significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression in all groups of people studied, with some leading to even greater improvements than others.”
More intensive exercise is better
Interestingly, not all exercise has the same effect. “High-intensity exercise led to the greatest improvements in anxiety and depression. Short and medium intensive exercise also had more impact than longer less intensive exercise.” In other words: it is better to run short than to walk long.
That said, all forms of exercise have a positive effect, says Singh. “Walking, strength training, Pilates and yoga also improve mental health. It is important that not much movement is needed to make a difference.”
It is the first study to examine the effects of all kinds of physical activity on anxiety and depression. “Looking at all of these studies as a whole is an effective way for clinicians to easily see how much evidence there is for the positive impact of physical activity on mental health problems.”
Create fine dust
Why exercise is so effective exactly? First, exercise reduces stress by releasing endorphins, which are known to reduce pain and stress. The level of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline also decreases. Studies have shown that half an hour of exercise a day already makes people feel calmer and that calmness lasts for several hours after exercise. In addition, running around the park improves your mood. You can ‘clear your head’ as it is often called. You concentrate for a while on something other than the daily concerns, which makes you calm down and, for example, also sleep better.
Sports at number 1
The researchers therefore hope that their study will finally make exercise the number 1 treatment for the most common psychological problems. For example, if a general practitioner comes into his practice with a depressed or anxious person, he could first suggest exercising, preferably with the help of an exercise schedule that the patient can stick to. If the complaints do not improve within a few weeks, a referral or medication could always follow.