Exercise is the best way to treat depression. 30 minutes of interval training on the treadmill every day is more effective against depression than any medication. This was the result of a pilot study conducted by Dr Fernando Dimeo from the Department for Sports Medicine at the Free University of Berlin, Germany. “Exercise is known to have a positive effect on the physical and mental well-being of those suffering from depression,” says Dimeo. “Now we know that exercise is more effective than any medication available on the market.” Dimeo used a fitness programme to treat 12 patients suffering from severe depression. The average age of the patients was 49. They were all on medication and some were being treated in hospital. They had already been suffering from depression for at least nine months. The participants were instructed to use the treadmill for 30 minutes every day. They completed a type of interval training that saw them switch back and forth between three minutes of power-walking and three minutes of slow walking. The strategy was a success and six participants felt that their depression had significantly improved within a matter of days. Five of these six patients had already tried medication but to no avail. Half of the patients asked if they could continue the training sessions after the conclusion of the ten-day trial. It is difficult to convince depressed patients with a lack of drive and anxious patients with limited mobility to begin exercising. Dimeo believes that we need to make it clear to these people that this therapy is the quickest way of helping them. Source:
F Dimeo, M Bauer, I Vorahram, G Proest, U Halter: ‘Benefits from aerobic exercise in patients with major depression: a pilot study’; In: British Journal of Sports Medicine 35, 2001, pp. 114-117.

“The more you exercise, the less likely it is that the symptoms of depression will return.” James Blumenthal, researcher at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, USA.

According to Ärzte Woche magazine, studies show that exercise positively influences many aspects of your psychological health, such as the following:

• Feelings of tension and stress
• Reduction in anxiety and depression
• Improved ability to concentrate
• Change in pain perception
• Increase in self-esteem: “I’ve achieved something”
• A more positive body image

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