Exercise for Depression Treatment

There is a great deal of evidence that exercise is an incredibly useful treatment for depression. If someone in your family has depression, this can seem an almost useless piece of information. After all, someone who is depressed may be lethargic, uncommunicative, with very poor motivation and so on. You might well wonder how you could ever encourage them to exercise when they do not seem able to get up out a chair, or won't even go to the shops with you.

Importance of Exercise in Treating Depression

On the other hand, there is so much evidence now that taking exercise really can alleviate anxiety and depression that it's worth looking at this. It is also an invaluable strategy for someone who is recovering from depression or vulnerable to depression. Studies shown that exercise compares favorably to psychotherapy and cognitive therapy.

There are several possible reasons why exercise is useful. One theory is that it raises the levels of chemicals in our bodies called endorphins - which are known to be mood enhancers. Exercising rhythmically can also be a kind of meditation, enabling you to switch off from worries.

Exercise also helps to use up the adrenaline produced when we are stressed, which would otherwise circulate in the body and produce stress symptoms.
Exercise also helps to relax the muscles it promotes sounder sleep too, and really does seem help to improve self-esteem.
Aerobic exercise such as brisk walking is ideal, but any form of exercise is likely to be of benefit in improving mood.

So, it looks likely that exercise helps to improve mood, and alleviate the symptoms of stress, anxiety and and depression, for a wide variety of reasons.

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