Health & Fitness Advice
January 4, 2022

Is Exercise An Effective Treatment For Depression?

is-exercise-an-effective-treatment-for-depression

Tuesday, 04 January 2022

According to the Office of National Statistics, around one in six (17 per cent) adults aged 16 years and over in Britain experienced some form of depression in summer 2021, which is above levels before the pandemic (10%).

New guidance, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), offers a ‘menu of treatment options’ which allows patients to pick the right option for them in a shared decision-making discussion between them and their healthcare practitioner. Exercise will be one of the options offered for patients with mild depression before medication is considered.

John W. Brick Mental Health Foundation published a recent report which showed that ‘approximately 89% of all published peer-reviewed research report a positive, statistically significant relationship between exercise/physical activity and mental health’. In this report, they conclude that ‘movement activities should be integrated into mental illness treatment, early intervention, and prevention, as well as building and maintaining mental wellness and resilience’.

Exercise is known to have many health benefits, such as improving sleep, lowering blood pressure and reducing your risk of major illnesses, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

The Move Your Mental Health report found that people with depression should be prescribed exercise and then monitored for the first 12 weeks of their treatment. It also stated that physical activity and mental health have "significant positive relationships" in 89 per cent of cases.

“Any type of exercise is useful, as long as it suits you and you do enough of it,” says Dr Alan Cohen, a GP with a special interest in mental health. “Exercise should be something you enjoy; otherwise, it will be hard to find the motivation to do it regularly.”

Harvard Medical School published an article, which states, “High-intensity exercise releases the body's feel-good chemicals called endorphins, resulting in the ‘runner's high’ that joggers report. But for most of us, the real value is in low-intensity exercise sustained over time. That kind of activity spurs the release of proteins called neurotrophic or growth factors, which cause nerve cells to grow and make new connections. The improvement in brain function makes you feel better.”

“In people who are depressed, neuroscientists have noticed that the hippocampus in the brain—the region that helps regulate mood—is smaller. Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression,” explains Dr Miller.

At Active Luton, we understand it can be challenging to know where to start. That’s why we have a range of affordable programmes on offer to support you.

Power Our Minds (POM) helps you gain back a sense of control in your life and improve both your emotional and physical wellbeing. If you’re experiencing symptoms of low mood, anxiety, stress, depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome or other emotional health problems, then we can help you.

You will be supported by an emotional health exercise specialist who will work with you on a one-to-one basis. The programme runs at all Active Luton centres and offers fitness classes, gym groups, one-to-one sessions and swimming. The team has access to a range of therapy services should you need to be referred.

All participants receive a voucher for 10 sessions at £2.50 each and an initial assessment with a specialist. You can self-refer to join this programme. Please email us for more information at active.luton@nhs.net.

If you’d like to make changes to your activity levels with help from your GP, Exercise Referral is just the thing for you. The Total Wellbeing Exercise Referral programme consists of 12 weeks of supported, gym-based activity by an exercise specialist. They will be able to tailor activities to your individual needs and ability.

You can access these sessions through a referral from a Luton health professional and you must be aged 16 years or over.

This programme is available across Active Luton's centres at Inspire: Luton Sports Village, Lewsey Sports Park and Lea Manor Recreation Centre. Each session costs £3 on a pay as you go basis.

Contact us, or learn more about Total Wellbeing Luton here.