Exercise, the best antidepressant
Exercise, the best antidepressant
A study suggests that physical activity reduces the chances of suffering from depression and heart problems derived.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and taking care of oneself through regular physical activity has always been an advisable attitude to maintain good physical health. But a new study conducted by the University of Texas Southwest and the Cooper Institute seems to point to it also having great benefits for mental health.
Research conducted on 18,000 participants suggests that people who performed regular physical activity at middle age were less likely to die from heart problems at later ages, even if they had been diagnosed with depression.
The research highlights the different ways in which depression can affect health and mortality. It also addresses one of the most common dilemmas in patients: how to get strength and motivation to exercise when you are fighting depression. On this, Dr. Madhukar Trivedi said that a patient with depression could do about three quarters of the recommended exercise and recommends taking measures to facilitate the process: establish a sufficient time to exercise a day and comply despite the lack of desire , keep track of the progress made, change the activities carried out to avoid monotony or perform them with a friend.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, employed a base of subjects whose cardiorespiratory fitness had been measured at age 50. The administrative data of Medicare was used to create correlations between the physical condition of the subjects at that age and the rates of depression and heart problems at a later age. The results revealed that subjects with better fitness were 56% less likely to die from a heart problem after suffering a depression.
Dr. Trivedi affirms that "the results are equally relevant for younger people," especially for "young adults who are entering the labor market." It is at this time when there is usually an abandonment of physical exercise because it is not related to the activities of educational institutions and new obligations. 'The sooner you start to practice physical exercise constantly, the better your chances of preventing depression, which in the long term will help to reduce the risk of having heart problems,' says the Doctor.
Depression increases the risk of heart problems and sport is a natural and effective way to prevent it.
Other problems caused by depression
Depression is related to other chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity or chronic kidney problems that, according to studies, could be reduced with antidepressants. Exercise is shown as a more appropriate option for these treatments. In addition, this improvement generated by the exercise could be due to the benefits that physical activity causes in general health, such as the reduction of inflammation, which would also reduce the risk of depression and heart problems.
'In medicine there is a basic principle why you should not take a medication if it is not necessary. Being active and receiving psychotherapy are possibly the best treatments, especially in young patients who do not suffer from severe depression, "recommends Trivedi.
With the new results obtained, which join other studies previously conducted, we conclude that maintaining a habit of healthy exercise and the connection between mind and body seem more related than previously thought. This type of research highlights the importance of exercise to maintain good health.
