Exercise within the Treatment of Depression

A study of 12,028 randomly selected people age twenty-seventy nine showed that increasing physical activity was related to a 70% reduction in self-reported stress as well as decreased life dissatisfaction. Even a pair of-4 hours of walking per week was associated with vital gains. Another study of a group of employees showed reductions in stress levels and depression, and enhancements in feelings of health and vitality, after a twenty four week program of aerobic exercise compared to a control group. A 1985 study looked at forty three patients with depression; concerning half were treated for the condition with antidepressants. Patients were randomized to receive 9 weeks of exercise coaching (aerobic for one hour, 3 times a week at fifty-70% maximum aerobic capability) or occupational therapy. Exercise was associated with statistically significantly greater decreases in depression as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (a live of symptoms of depression). In another study 86 patients with depression who were treated with antidepressants however didn't have a therapeutic response were randomized to exercise or health education classes. Exercise involved weight bearing exercise for 45 minutes twice per week for ten weeks. More patients treated with exercise had an improvement as measured by a 30% improvement on a scale for the measurement of depression known as the Hamilton Depression Scale (55% got higher with exercise versus 33% without, a distinction that was statistically important). In another study eighty three patients with major depression underwent aerobic exercise coaching versus not changing what they were doing before. Exercise coaching was related to better symptom improvement in terms of hysteria and general symptoms however not depression.

Other studies have shown the impressive results of exercise in fighting or reducing symptoms of depression. For instance, researchers at Freie University in Berlin conjointly found that thirty minutes of exercise on a daily basis considerably improved the moods of patients who had been affected by depression for nine months. In a report revealed in the British Journal of Sports Medication, 12 patients with depression underwent ten weeks of coaching on a treadmill at thirty minutes a day. There was a statistically significant vi-point drop in depressive symptoms as measured with the Hamilton Depression Sale. The authors concluded, and I agree, that exercise could be at least as effective as drugs in treating delicate to moderate depression.

One study looked at 156 patients with major depression over age fifty who were randomly assigned to aerobic exercise, antidepressants (sertraline) or a mixture of the two for 16 weeks. All patients showed an improvement in symptoms of depression with an essentially identical response between the groups (1).

A recent report in 2005, explained the results of a three-year long study in eighty patients designed to check whether exercise is an efficacious treatment for gentle to moderate major depressive disorder and what quantity would be required to see a positive difference in depressed people. The report, printed in The Journal of Preventive Medication (January 2005) found that a [*fr1]-hour a day of exercise six days every week is the perfect "dosage" to boost the mood of folks who have mild to severe depression. Researchers compared 2 groups of depressed patients and located that while the cluster that performed 80 minutes of exercise every week received very little to no mental- health benefit (30% reduction with twenty nine% in a very "placebo exercise" cluster), the 3-hour-a-week group had a substantial (forty seven%) reduction in symptoms.
Exercise may additionally complement the results of antidepressant medication in depressed patients. One study added exercise to antidepressant treatment in seventeen patients who didn't have an entire response to antidepressant medication. Exercise was prescribed using currently recommended public health guidelines - a minimum of thirty minutes of aerobic activity a day - with each supervised and home primarily based sessions. There was a 10-point decrease in the Hamilton Depression Scale (a clinically vital change) within the eight patients who completed the study.

Exercise is way less costly, and more easily accessible, than medication and psychotherapy. Plus it's not one of the aspect effects, such as sexual dysfunction as seen with some antidepressants. Indeed, the "facet effects" of using exercise as your antidepressant are useful to your general well being: improved cardiovascular health, increased strength, and weight loss.

Article Source: http://www.free-article-info.com/ArticleDashboard

Link : Aaron R Daniel has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Exercise, you can also check out his latest website about: Charm Glow Electric Fireplace Which reviews and lists the best Wall Mounted Electric Fireplace

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated