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Exercise More Effective Than Medicines to Manage Mental Health

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    Exercise More Effective Than Medicines to Manage Mental Health

    Summary: Exercise intervention that lasts 12 weeks or less appears to be most effective at reducing mental health symptoms, especially for those suffering from anxiety and depression. Higher-intensity exercise proved more beneficial in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression than longer-duration programs.

    University of South Australia researchers are calling for exercise to be a mainstay approach for managing depression as a new study shows that physical activity is 1.5 times more effective than counseling or the leading medications.

    Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the review is the most comprehensive to date, encompassing 97 reviews, 1,039 trials and 128,119 participants. It shows that physical activity is extremely beneficial for improving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and distress.

    Specifically, the review showed that exercise interventions that were 12 weeks or shorter were most the effective at reducing mental health symptoms, highlighting the speed at which physical activity can make a change.

    The largest benefits were seen among people with depression, pregnant and postpartum women, healthy individuals, and people diagnosed with HIV or kidney disease.

    According to the World Health Organization, one in every eight people worldwide (970 million people) live with a mental disorder. Poor mental health costs the world economy approximately $2.5 trillion each year, a cost projected to rise to $6 trillion by 2030. In Australia, an estimated one in five people (aged 16–85) have experienced a mental disorder in the past 12 months.

    Lead UniSA researcher, Dr. Ben Singh, says physical activity must be prioritized to better manage the growing cases of mental health conditions.




    “Physical activity is known to help improve mental health. Yet despite the evidence, it has not been widely adopted as a first-choice treatment,” Dr. Singh says. “Our review shows that physical activity interventions can significantly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in all clinical populations, with some groups showing even greater signs of improvement.

    “Higher intensity exercise had greater improvements for depression and anxiety, while longer durations had smaller effects when compared to short and mid-duration bursts.

    "We also found that all types of physical activity and exercise were beneficial, including aerobic exercise such as walking, resistance training, Pilates, and yoga.

    “Importantly, the research shows that it doesn’t take much for exercise to make a positive change to your mental health.”

    Senior researcher, UniSA’s Prof Carol Maher, says the study is the first to evaluate the effects of all types of physical activity on depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in all adult populations. “Examining these studies as a whole is an effective way to for clinicians to easily understand the body of evidence that supports physical activity in managing mental health disorders.

    “We hope this review will underscore the need for physical activity, including structured exercise interventions, as a mainstay approach for managing depression and anxiety.”

    https://neurosciencenews.com/exercis...-health-22566/


    #2
    Love the results of this study. I'm sure it will be beneficial for some people. I crave exercise but can do little.
    Oh Well...
    God Bless Us All

    Comment


      #3
      Me too, REG.

      As stated "Higher-intensity exercise proved more beneficial in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression than longer-duration programs", but many of us can't do this anymore. I'm sticking to my citalopram, breathing exercises and a little bit of low impact yoga.
      1st sx '89 Dx '99 w/RRMS - SP since 2010
      Administrator Message Boards/Moderator

      Comment


        #4
        I can relate with REG and Seasha on this one.

        I am able to perform only low-intensity exercises and daily physical movements.

        And these are a struggle for me now, zapping my energy and strength daily.

        In the early years of PPMS, I could do more intensive exercises.

        And I believe it really did keep anxiety and depression at bay.

        Progression has brought severe muscle weakness (motor fatigue), which has been increasing year after year.

        I'm thinking that for persons with RRMS (with fewer deficits brought on by progression), the high-intensity exercises would be doable and very beneficial for anxiety and depression.
        PPMS for 26 years (dx 1998)
        ~ Worrying will not take away tomorrow's troubles ~ But it will take away today's peace. ~

        Comment


          #5
          I think what for other people is "gentle exercise" or "warm-up before workout", for some of us is "intense, exhausting exercise that will wipe me out for today and tomorrow for sure, and maybe for the day after tomorrow as well".

          Then again, even without MS, "depression" and "high energy exercise" are not exactly a match made in heaven.

          Articles like this made me sad.

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