Exercise: a natural remedy for depression
The benefits of exercise continue to multiply. Staying slim, losing unwanted pounds, and sculpting your abs are often cited as motivations. And more recently, it seems that the brain too can be a target for exercise thanks to several studies demonstrating its beneficial effects on cognitive performance. A new study has shown that exercise has a positive impact on depression. But how? What exactly is the relationship between exercise and mental illness?
In the brain, neurons communicate with each other via specific molecules known as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are released by one neuron, the sender, and act on an adjacent neuron, the receiver. Neurotransmitters include norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin, and can be found in varying quantities depending on the brain area; their levels fluctuate throughout the day according to the course of external and internal events.
Research has established that depressed subjects have lower quantities of certain neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin. Antidepressants increase the concentration of free serotonin available in the brain by blocking the reuptake of this neurotransmitter by the sender neuron.
The present study, conducted by Mirko Wegner from the Institute of Sport Science at the University of Berne in collaboration with the Medical School of Hamburg (MSH) demonstrated that sports and physical activity had the same effects as antidepressants, namely the increase of serotonin in the brain. To carry out the study, the researchers analyzed 37 meta-analyses that combined results from over 40,000 people.
Depression may kill many cells in the limbic system, the central area of the brain involved in emotion, but like antidepressants, physical activity and sports stimulate serotonin levels in the blood and encourage cellular growth in the limbic system.
These results are quite encouraging as they shed light on a natural, inexpensive method for fighting this disease and managing its symptoms without side effects. However, questions remain as to the duration and frequency of exercise required to be effective.
Since depression is characterized by a loss of interest and motor retardation, finding the courage to begin exercising may in fact be the most difficult part.
In the brain, neurons communicate with each other via specific molecules known as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are released by one neuron, the sender, and act on an adjacent neuron, the receiver. Neurotransmitters include norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin, and can be found in varying quantities depending on the brain area; their levels fluctuate throughout the day according to the course of external and internal events.
Research has established that depressed subjects have lower quantities of certain neurotransmitters, particularly serotonin. Antidepressants increase the concentration of free serotonin available in the brain by blocking the reuptake of this neurotransmitter by the sender neuron.
The present study, conducted by Mirko Wegner from the Institute of Sport Science at the University of Berne in collaboration with the Medical School of Hamburg (MSH) demonstrated that sports and physical activity had the same effects as antidepressants, namely the increase of serotonin in the brain. To carry out the study, the researchers analyzed 37 meta-analyses that combined results from over 40,000 people.
Depression may kill many cells in the limbic system, the central area of the brain involved in emotion, but like antidepressants, physical activity and sports stimulate serotonin levels in the blood and encourage cellular growth in the limbic system.
These results are quite encouraging as they shed light on a natural, inexpensive method for fighting this disease and managing its symptoms without side effects. However, questions remain as to the duration and frequency of exercise required to be effective.
Since depression is characterized by a loss of interest and motor retardation, finding the courage to begin exercising may in fact be the most difficult part.
Source: Wegner M, Helmich I, Machado S, Nardi AE, Arias-Carrion O, Budde H. Effects of exercise on anxiety and depression disorders: review of meta- analyses and neurobiological mechanisms. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets. 2014;13(6):1002-14. doi: 10.2174/18715273