What do you do to relieve stress when you’re feeling down?
Exercise is undoubtedly an option for many people.
Whether it’s running, playing ball with friends, or the recently popular boxing, after a vigorous workout, you always feel much better.
In fact, exercise does more than just improve your mood! Current research has shown that exercise, as a therapy, can be used to “combat” depression and improve low moods.
However, which type of exercise is most effective against depression, and how different people should choose the right exercise for themselves, has always been a matter of debate.
The latest large-scale study provides answers, so let’s take a look at these exercises that can combat depression. Are there any that suit you?
This study, published in the British Medical Journal, analyzed 218 previous studies, involving a total of 14,170 participants, all of whom had depression disorders.
Researchers recorded the exercise interventions participants engaged in in each study, and evaluated the types, frequency, duration, and intensity of each exercise. They also considered factors such as participants’ age, gender, severity of depression, and other treatments received.
After comparing different types of exercises with other common depression treatments (such as medication and psychotherapy), they selected several exercises that were most effective against depression:
- Walking or jogging
- Yoga
- Strength training
- Mixed aerobic training
- Special recommendation: Dancing
The study showed that both exercising alone and combining exercise with other therapies can have good effects on depression treatment!
Some exercises, such as walking or jogging, even showed better treatment effects than cognitive behavioral therapy (one of the conventional methods of depression treatment).
It’s worth noting that although this study found that dancing had a better effect on improving depression than other exercises, the results may not be accurate due to the limited number of studies that included dancing and the small number of participants involved in dancing. However, based on the current limited research, the antidepressant effect of dancing cannot be ignored! (Square dancing, anyone?)
Therefore, considering the tolerability and effectiveness of exercise, researchers believe that the most effective exercises against depression are walking or jogging, yoga, and strength training, while less common exercises such as mixed aerobic training, dancing, and Tai Chi (including Qigong) also show certain antidepressant effects!
Additionally, the effectiveness of exercise against depression is directly proportional to the intensity of the exercise. Increasing the intensity of exercise appropriately can better improve depression.
This study also found that the same exercise has different effects on different populations.
In other words, the effect of exercise against depression may vary from person to person!
So, how do you choose the right exercise for yourself to “sweep away the clouds”?
For Women: Strength Training Works Wonders
Compared to activities like yoga and running, strength training, also known as resistance training, doesn’t seem to be favored by women.
However, research has found that strength training is more effective in improving depressive moods in women than in men!
So, ladies, don’t exclude strength training just because it sounds “masculine”. In fact, the essence of strength training is to strengthen the body by overcoming resistance.
For a more “professional” approach, you can step into the gym and learn boxing or kickboxing, practice with strength training equipment, etc.
You can also choose to lift dumbbells, do resistance band exercises at home, do squats, push-ups, or simple plank exercises.
For Men: Give Yoga a Try!
Surprisingly, the antidepressant effect of yoga is more pronounced in men, and Tai Chi also shows better antidepressant effects in men.
So, gentlemen, you can also try practicing yoga!
Yoga comes in various forms, including posture practice, breathing control, meditation, and relaxation, and you can choose the appropriate practice method based on your abilities and needs.
However, some yoga poses require a certain level of flexibility, so when practicing, you should do so gradually and avoid injury.
In addition, research has found that yoga is more effective for older people than for younger people, while strength training is more effective for younger people.
Of course, there are exercises suitable for people of all ages and genders, such as the “top student” of anti-depression exercises—walking or jogging.
In fact, exercise as a treatment for depression is not new.
Many guidelines for the treatment of depression disorders at home and abroad recommend exercise therapy, including China’s “Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression Disorders” (Second Edition).
Previous studies have shown that the mechanism of exercise against depression has many similarities with antidepressant drugs, such as increasing the expression of neurotrophic factors, increasing the availability of certain neurotransmitters such as serotonin and norepinephrine, and regulating the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
In simple terms, these processes can positively regulate neural pathways related to emotions, allowing the brain to release more “happy” chemicals, thereby improving depressive symptoms.
However, to achieve therapeutic effects, exercise also has a certain “threshold”: exercise frequency and intensity are recommended to be three times a week, 45 to 60 minutes each time, lasting at least 10 to 14 weeks.
It should be emphasized that although exercise can improve symptoms of depression, this does not mean that exercise can replace conventional depression treatments, such as psychotherapy or medication. After all, the treatment of depression disorders needs to be tailored to individual circumstances and comprehensive treatment plans.
But, in short: get moving, and you won’t go wrong!
Exercise is like a free “panacea” for both our physical and mental health.
Not only does it have a therapeutic effect on depression, but it can also help improve our mood and enhance our physical fitness in daily life!
So, people of all ages and genders, let’s get moving today!
Reviewed by Expert: Qiao Ying
Deputy Chief Physician, Shanghai Mental Health Center
Reference:
Noetel, Michael, et al. “Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.” bmj 384 (2024).
Russo-Neustadt AA, Beard RC, Huang YM, Cotman CW. Physical activity and antidepressant treatment potentiate the expression of specific brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcripts in the rat hippocampus. Neuroscience. 2000. 101(2): 305-12.