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Exercise for depression has opened up a new world of possibilities. Depression physically manifests as restless sleep, low energy, an altered appetite, bodily aches, and increased pain sensitivity. This can make it harder to get motivated to exercise.
Antidepressant medication is a typical treatment option for depression. There are other options besides medications, though. Research reveals that exercise is another viable treatment. For some people, it works just as well as antidepressants, however, exercise alone isn't enough for someone with severe depression.
Your Brain and Depression: How Exercise helps
Exercise for depression promotes hippocampal nerve cell growth, lowers brain inflammation, and raises the amount of oxygen in your body. The brain is incredibly neuroplastic, which means that it can alter the way that it is wired, how it works, and the patterns that it forms. Your brain modifies how it functions and rewires itself as you exercise. Depression causes the brain to experience stress, which exercise can help reduce by:
- increasing your heart rate which causes your blood to flow more quickly through your body, which gives you more energy.
- Forming new connections in the brain's cortical regions, which control your emotions, personality, thoughts, and perceptions of the outside world.
- Lowering the levels of stress chemicals in your body, which support sadness and anxiety.
Endorphins, the body's feel-good chemicals, are released during high-intensity exercise. However, for most of us, sustained low-intensity exercise has the greatest benefits. Such activity triggers the production of proteins referred to as neurotrophic or growth factors, which leads to the expansion and development of new connections between nerve cells. You feel better because your brain is working better.
The brain region that helps control mood, the hippocampus, has been found to be smaller in depressed individuals. Exercise for depression encourages the development of new nerve cells in the hippocampus, which strengthens connections between those cells and lessens depression.
Effects of Exercise for Depression
There are many ways exercise for depression can be beneficial for your mental health. It can be used in addition to your treatment or it can also be used as a precautionary tool for mental health concerns. Here are a few effects of exercise for depression:
1) Boost Self-Esteem
One major psychological advantage of frequent exercise for depression is increased self-esteem. Your confidence may increase as a result of physical fitness. You are less prone to believe negative thoughts when you feel confident. Your body produces endorphin-related compounds when you exercise.
These endorphins interact with the brain's pain-relieving receptors to lessen your experience of discomfort. Similar to morphine, endorphins cause a good feeling to arise in the body.
2) Managing Difficult Emotions
Resilience and flexibility are enhanced by regular physical activity. You get used to moving your body even when you don't want to when you follow an exercise plan. You also develop the ability to push your body over its current limits of comfort. If you suffer from a mood disorder like depression, having this kind of resilience and adaptability is quite advantageous.
Keep in mind that depending on the new patterns you establish, the brain's functioning may vary. Exercise teaches your brain to continue even when your body is unpleasant. This pattern is learned and stored in the hippocampus. Your brain also picks up on the fact that good benefits like endorphins come with this kind of perseverance.
3) Lowers Stress
Life can be challenging. Depression can result from stress, especially if it is handled poorly or in significant amounts. Fitness is a beneficial diversion. Exercise won't make stress disappear, but it can offer you some time to break the loop of depressive thoughts.
Your increased level of exercise reduces the amount of stress hormones in your body and releases endorphins, which can improve your mood and give you more energy as you divert your thoughts and break up the mental obsession with negative thoughts. By the time you stop exercising, you'll be dealing with fewer stress chemicals and perhaps even have a more positive outlook on things.
How to Begin Exercise for Depression
Incorporating exercise into your weekly routine may take some effort, especially if you have never done it. Here are some tips to get you going:
1) Begin Moderately
You don't have to go to the gym immediately or everyday. Take your pet for a walk, use the stairs rather than the elevator, or do a little light gardening or cleaning. These are easy methods to start incorporating exercise for depression into your daily routine.
2) Exercise with a Friend
You can go for a stroll with a friend, attend a yoga session with them, or engage in a friendly rivalry. Whatever you decide, exercising with a friend can help you stay motivated and hold yourself accountable.
3) Always be Consistent
A weekly amount of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity is advised by the World Health Organization. You can divide things up as you like, but be consistent throughout. When you exercise for depression, consistency usually matters more than intensity.
Takeaway
Regular exercise can improve your mood, and it's especially beneficial for those with mild to moderate depression. A little bit of movement and getting up will help. Start out with just five minutes a day of walking or other enjoyable activities. Five minutes of activity will soon turn into ten, and ten will turn into fifteen. Any form of exercise for depression is beneficial as long as you enjoy it and engage in enough of it.
