An intense review delved into the various treatments for depression, revealing some exercise routines could replace treatments like therapy
Exercise is often touted as a simple way to boost mental health and general wellbeing, but with experts divided over what exactly people should be doing in the gym, it can be tricky for already anxious and uncertain people to decide where to start. However, a new review has officially concluded just what exercises could help people beat the blues of depression.
A network of researchers from institutes across Australia, Spain, Denmark and Finland led an in-depth review published in the BMJ, analysing hundreds of studies and even more exercises to pinpoint what people with depression should really be pushing towards to better their mental health. Yoga, aerobic exercises, strength training, such as weight lifting and tai chi offered some of the leading results, but it may depend on your age and gender.
Yoga was found to be surprisingly more effective for men, as well as qigong, a holistic exercise system focused on moving meditation, rhythmic breathing and accessing meditative mind states. Some studies theorised that this is because yoga and meditation stop patients from thinking and reflecting too deeply, which can alter their mental health, while another claimed it was because regimes like yoga encourages self-compassion, tolerance, body awareness and mindfulness.
For women with depression, the review found strength training was more effective, while walking or jogging had equally encouraging results across both genders. Strength training was also found to have more of an impact on younger people with depression, while older people seemed to benefit more from practices like yoga.
The mental health benefits of exercise was seen regardless of a person’s baseline mental health or other conditions they suffered from. Overall, the “more intense” an exercise was, the bigger effect it had on mitigating symptoms of depression.
The review concluded: “Exercise is an effective treatment for depression, with walking or jogging, yoga, and strength training more effective than other exercises, particularly when intense.” Some of the results were even comparable to clinical treatments, although the researchers highlighted their uncertainty around this finding, while combining exercise and clinical treatments yielded some of the best outcomes for patients.
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https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/health/study-finds-staggering-yoga-weightlifting-30784853