While most people know that exercising and getting ripped are physically good for the body, many individuals underestimate the benefits of physical activity for mental health. The Mayo Clinic states that exercise can reduce anxiety and potentially improve a person's mood. A recent study has found that exercise may be an effective way of combating depression symptoms.
The New York Times reports that Madhukar H. Trivedi, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, noticed that his patients were beginning to feel less depressed when they would go out for a quick walk or jog. This lead him to conduct a study to determine if exercise could benefit his other patients.
What he found was that of his patients who exercised along with taking their antidepressants, a total of 29.5 percent had achieved remission. These people had been on antidepressants for the past two months, but had felt little relief from their symptoms until they became physically active. The subjects participated in moderate physical activity for a half hour a day.
"We need to find ways to support people’s efforts to exercise," said Trivedi, quoted by the news source. "It’s not going to be enough to casually say,'Go for a walk.' Exercise, if it’s to be medicinal in depression treatments, will have to be monitored, so it can’t be shrugged off."
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