Exercise seems to compare at least comparably with the current medical standard of care for depression.[1][2] In one clinical trial, researchers randomly assigned 156 moderately depressed males and females to an exercise intervention, medication, or a combined exercise and medication group.[3]
- The exercise group walked or jogged on a treadmill for thirty minutes, three times per week for sixteen weeks.
- The medication group received the common selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline (Zoloft)
- The combination group received the medication and performed the exercise program concurrently.
Results showed that the medication worked more quickly to reduce symptoms of depression, but exercise was equally effective at the end of the sixteen-week program and created more lasting alleviation of depression at a ten-month follow-up.[4]
References
- ^Cooney GM, Dwan K, Greig CA, Lawlor DA, Rimer J, Waugh FR, McMurdo M, Mead GEExercise for depressionCochrane Database Syst Rev.(2013 Sep 12)
- ^Krogh J, Hjorthøj C, Speyer H, Gluud C, Nordentoft MExercise for patients with major depression: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysisBMJ Open.(2017 Sep 18)
- ^Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Moore KA, Craighead WE, Herman S, Khatri P, Waugh R, Napolitano MA, Forman LM, Appelbaum M, Doraiswamy PM, Krishnan KREffects of exercise training on older patients with major depressionArch Intern Med.(1999 Oct 25)
- ^Babyak M, Blumenthal JA, Herman S, Khatri P, Doraiswamy M, Moore K, Craighead WE, Baldewicz TT, Krishnan KRExercise treatment for major depression: maintenance of therapeutic benefit at 10 monthsPsychosom Med.(2000 Sep-Oct)