Exercise Is Emerging as a Powerful Treatment For Depression
ScienceAlert • • health
Key Points:
- A review of 73 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 5,000 adults found that exercise can be as effective as therapy or antidepressants in alleviating symptoms of depression, offering a potentially affordable and personalized mental health treatment.
- Light to moderate exercise, performed between 13 and 36 sessions, was found to be more beneficial than vigorous activity, though no single type of exercise emerged as superior, highlighting the importance of tailoring exercise to individual needs.
- Exercise showed moderate benefits compared to no treatment and was roughly equivalent to psychological therapy, with some evidence suggesting combining different exercise types may enhance outcomes.
- The review emphasizes that exercise is safe and accessible but may not work for everyone, and decisions on treatment approaches should be made collaboratively with healthcare
