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Exercise Can Be as Effective as Medicine to Treat Depression and Anxiety

Research shows that exercise can be an effective drug-free way to treat anxiety and depression.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on April 05 2010
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Have you ever had a doctor write you a prescription for 3 laps around a local trail? How about an Rx for sit ups?

These treatments may not be as typical as the drugs that are usually used to treat our ills, but maybe they should be: a new report shows that regular exercise can be just as effective as prescription drugs for patients with depression and anxiety.

“Individuals who exercise report fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower levels of stress and anger,” said the paper’s co-author, Jasper Smits, director of the Anxiety Research and Treatment Program at Southern Methodist University.

“Exercise appears to affect, like an antidepressant, particular neurotransmitter systems in the brain, and it helps patients with depression re-establish positive behaviors. For patients with anxiety disorders, exercise reduces their fears of fear and related bodily sensations such as a racing heart and rapid breathing.”

In a separate study, published in Physical Therapy journal, scientists studied 161 women who’d recently given birth to babies, and split them into two groups. New mothers are highly susceptible to post-partum depression, and the scientists wanted to find out whether exercise could prevent such problems. One group of women was given specialized exercises as part of an eight week parenting education program, while the other was given only written education. The physical element seemed to do the trick: the researchers report that the number of women identified as “at risk” for postpartum depression was reduced by half in the exercising group.

Another recent study shows that even when a patient has a chronic illness like cancer or a heart condition, regular exercise can dramatically increase wellbeing by reducing anxiety. Researchers from University of Georgia analyzed 40 clinical trials involving almost 3,000 patients, and found that the patients who reported exercising regularly had a 20 percent reduction in symptoms of anxiety compared to those who didn’t exercise. As a result, they were more likely to follow their recommended treatment plan.

Of course, there are still some situations where prescription drugs are necessary, and we recommend you leave it to your doctor to determine when that may be. But in many cases, the best medicine may simply be to get up off the couch and go for a walk.

Filed under: Health and Wellbeing, Science,

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