An average of 19 million adults in the United States suffers from depression .Yet the disease is often misdiagnosed or misunderstood. However, with time, new remedies to treat the disease have been established for instance the use of antidepressants. Exercise is the other remedy for high depression rates as discussed in this essay.
Exercise does not necessarily imply that one needs to take laps. Rather, it involves activities which make a person busy to increase blood flow such as playing basketball, weight lifting, washing the car or gardening (Weinberg & Gould, 2006). Further, an individual can do small amounts of physical activity, for example, taking the stairs instead of using the lift, parking close to the office to allow him or she take a walk or using a bicycle to go to work if the workplace is near.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
So, how does exercising relieve depression? According to Cooney and associates (2014), exercise can treat moderate depression just as the antidepressants although it does not have any side effects. Also, continuous workouts may prevent one from relapsing to the condition. As such, exercise increases the natural activity of the brain to enhance reduced inflammation and neural growth. The action of the endorphins, neurotransmitters, and endocannabinoids (feel good chemicals that circulate throughout the body) eases up depression by improving the moods of a person (Harvard Medical School, 2009). Similarly, physical activity improves the immune system, which if low, may worsen depression and moderates pain perception.
Further, the body temperature increases providing for calming effects. On the same note, it serves as a distraction by allowing one to find some private time to break the monotony of negative thoughts which lead to depression (Chen, Zhang & Wang, et.al, 2016).
In conclusion, it’s necessary for individuals whether depressed or not to engage in exercise because it helps them stay physically fit and reduces their chances of developing or aggravating depression.
References
Chen, L. M., Zhang, A. P., Wang, F. F., Tan, C. X., Gao, Y., Huang, C. X., ... & Zhang, L. (2016). Running exercise protects the capillaries in white matter in a rat model of depression. Journal of Comparative Neurology , 1, (3577-3586), 1096-9861.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27075416
Cooney, G. M., Dwan, K., Greig, C. A., Lawlor, D. A., Rimer, J., Waugh, F. R., ... & Mead, G. E. (2013). Exercise for depression. The Cochrane Library , Vol. 9, (CD004366)
Harvard Medical School. (2009). Exercise and Depression . Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-and-depression-report-excerpt
Weinberg, R., & Gould, D. (2006). Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology, ( 4th Ed.). Oxford, Human Kinetics.
