Depression is a common and disabling illness, affecting over 100 million people worldwide. Depression can have a significant impact on people’s physical health, as well as reducing their quality of life.


But did you know that exercise is also good for your head? The most common treatments for depression, for example, are psychotherapy or medication. Psychologists have found that exercise is a third successful alternative.EXERCISE is an effective, cost-effective treatment for depression and may help in the treatment of other mental disorders.


The results from many studies support the idea that exercise improves mood in people with mild to moderate depression.

By reviewing the results from 51 different studies on exercise for depression, it was revealed that a small but significant increase in self esteem was associated with the reduction of symptoms of depression. As more research is being carried out on exercise for depression, researchers are theorizing that exercise could possibly elevate serotonin levels enough to alleviate mild to moderate depression.

The concept that exercise is an effective treatment for depression is not new. The Cochrane Collaboration, an enormous network of scientific experts around the world recently published (Rimer et al July 2012) a review of 28 articles studying the effects of exercise on depression symptoms with a total of 1101 participants. They showed that exercise significantly improved symptoms of depression, although modestly, but the benefits were long lasting.

" Exercise provides psychological and physical benefits. However, if you also adopt a strategy that engages your mind while you exercise, you can get a whole host of psychological benefits fairly quickly" Quote by James Rippe, M.D.