Exercise as an effective treatment for deppression

Do you suffer from deppression? Depression refers to a wide range of mental health problems characterized by the absence of a positive effect (a loss of interest and enjoyment in ordinary things and experiences), persistent low mood, and a range of associated emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral symptoms. Weight loss or gain, insomnia or hypersomnia, fatigue or loss of energy, diminish ability to think or concentrate and recurrent thoughts of death can occure. Recent epidemiological surveys conducted in general populations have found that the lifetime prevalence of depression is in the range of 10–15%. Exercise has been shown as an effective treatment for both physical and mental health!

For mild to moderate depression the effect of exercise may be comparable to antidepressant medication and psychotherapy; for severe depression exercise seems to be a valuable complementary therapy to the traditional treatments. Depression is associated with a high incidence of co-morbid somatic illnesses,especially cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Exercise is extremely powerful in preventing and treating these diseases. Physical exercise is an outstanding opportunity for the treatment of patients who have a mix of mental and physical health problems. Exercise therapy also improves body image, patient s coping strategies with stress, quality of life and independence in activities of daily living in older adults. There are several hypotheses regarding the physiological and psychological mechanisms by which exercise impacts on mental health, such as enhancement of the synthesis and liberation of neurotrophicfactors, as well as of cognitive functioning, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and plasticity.

Exercise may be comparable to antidepressant medication and psychotherapy.

Poor diet, physical inactivity, and smoking have long been recognized as key contributors to the high prevalence non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. However, there are now an increasing number of studies suggesting that the same modifiable lifestyle behaviors are also risk factors for common mental disorders, such as major depression. Research on major depression has confirmed that it is caused by an array of biopsychosocial and lifestyle factors. Diet and lack of physical exercise are two such influences that play a significant mediating role in the development, progression, and treatment of this condition.

Research on major depression has confirmed that it is caused by an array of biopsychosocial and lifestyle factors.

While these lifestyle factors are significant in the etiology and maintenance of depression, a multitude of other factors influences may also be important. These include chronic stress, social influences, mental, and physical effects associated with medical diseases, alcohol and other drug use, chronic pain, and even exposure to sunlight/vitamin D. They are these influences in combination with a large array of psychological, genetic, and biological factors that often complicate the treatment of depression. Basic interventions comprising attention towards one cause and/or one biochemical mechanism (e.g. targeting a single neurotransmitter disturbance) makes the goal of remission or recovery less likely. This was highlighted in a recent study where giving simple written recommendations about lifestyle changes for sleep hygiene, physical activity, diet, and sunlight exposure in addition to antidepressant treatment enhanced compared with standard antidepressant treatment alone. Remission/response rates reached 60% in the combined treatment group compared

with 10% in the anti-depressant only group.

Sources:

Exercise therapy improves both mental and physical health in patients with major depression. Jan Knapen-Davy Vancampfort-Yves Moriën-Yannick Marchal - Disability and Rehabilitation - 2014 https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3171/fa4c221ef63281d69722a9f2e400ecf948a1.pdf