Exercise and Sports Benefit People Suffering From Depression

First Posted: Sep 17, 2014 04:18 AM EDT
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A recent review identifies physical activity and sports as an effective tool to treat depression.

Depression is a serious medical illness that is known to affect an estimated 19 million American adults. It is more than just suffering from low mood as it impacts both physical and mental health. This is the most frequently diagnosed mental illness. As every tenth person in the western industrial nations still suffers from depression once in their lifetime.

Known to influence physical health more than diabetes or arthritis, depression is treated with medicines and psychotherapy. Apart from this, physical activity is increasingly being recognized as an effective tool to battle depression.

Supporting this is the latest study by researchers at the University of Bern who found that sports and physical activity also partially encounters the same neuro-physiological changes as antidepressants. They reveal that sport and physical activity trigger several changes in the brain which normally occurs via medication.

Like sports and physical activity, the medication used to treat depression is known to influence the capacity of the brain to absorb serotonin. They support the epinephrine activity and also ensure the release of various factors for nerve growth. These factors are the ones that further boost cell growth in the brain and prevent the death of cells in the hippocampus, which otherwise leads to depression. Along with this, sports and physical activity is known to lower the activity of stress hormone cortisol and produce effect that is similar to psychotropic drugs.

"Unfortunately, the meta-analyses do not allow any conclusions as to how often and how long weekly sport should be pursued," said Mirko Wegner. "But one can see that sport and physical activity alleviate depression. For instance, we were also able to determine that the effectiveness of sport is greater with depressive disorders than with anxiety disorders."

The finding was reported in CNS & Neurological Disorders-Drug Targets.

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