FITNESS
"Take two aerobics classes and call me in the morning" may now be a proven antidote for the blues.
After reviewing 14 studies in which exercise was used to treat people with clinical depression, researchers have found that sufferers who walked, ran or performed strength training three times a week for 20 to 60 minutes were significantly less depressed after five weeks. And when workouts were kept up, the Improvements lasted until the study's end one year later, as they recently reported in the journal Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.
"Not only is exercise a viable treatment option for mild to moderate depression, it is four to five times more cost-effective than traditional forms of psychotherapy," says Gregg Tkachuk, study author and a Ph.D. candidate In clinical psychology at the University of Manitoba in Canada. How physical activity keeps the mind fit is not entirely clear, but Tkachuk speculates that, like antidepressants, it may alter brain chemistry. Another possibility Is that it increases self-confidence. "It gets people out in an environment where they receive positive reinforcement from others."
