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Regular exercise, from brisk walking to strength training, can ease the symptoms of depression, including mild to moderate depression, large reviews of clinical trials find. It can be a useful part of treatment but is not a universal substitute for clinical care.

Noetel et al., BMJ, 2024

HealthMind

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One of the largest reviews so far, published in the BMJ in 2024, pooled 218 trials with more than 14,000 people. Walking or jogging, yoga and strength training helped most, and harder effort brought bigger benefits, though even gentle activity helped. The effect of walking or jogging was moderate, about the size seen with cognitive behavioural therapy. Possible reasons include better sleep, lower inflammation and growth factors that help brain cells form new connections, along with plainer ones: routine, a sense of achievement, time outdoors and time with other people. The benefit does not depend on losing weight. Anyone with depression should still talk to a doctor about the right mix of treatments.

Türkçe oku
Düzenli egzersiz, tempolu yürüyüşten ağırlık çalışmasına kadar, depresyon belirtilerini hafifletebilir; klinik araştırmaları bir araya getiren büyük incelemeler bunu hafif ve orta düzey depresyonda da gösteriyor. Tedavinin yararlı bir parçası olabilir, ama her durumda tıbbi bakımın yerini tutmaz.
Noetel ve ark., BMJ, 2024

Bugüne kadarki en büyük incelemelerden biri 2024'te BMJ'de yayımlandı ve 14.000'den fazla kişinin katıldığı 218 deneyi bir araya getirdi. En çok yarar sağlayanlar yürüyüş ya da koşu, yoga ve ağırlık çalışmasıydı; efor arttıkça yarar da büyüyordu, ama hafif hareket bile işe yarıyordu. Yürüyüş ya da koşunun etkisi orta düzeydeydi, bilişsel davranışçı terapiyle görülen etkiye yakındı. Olası nedenler arasında daha iyi uyku, azalan iltihap ve beyin hücrelerinin yeni bağlantılar kurmasına yardım eden büyüme etkenleri var; bunların yanında gündelik düzen, bir şeyi başarmış olma duygusu, açık havada ve başkalarıyla geçen zaman gibi daha sade nedenler de sayılıyor. Yarar, kilo vermeye bağlı değil. Depresyon yaşayan herkes, kendisine uygun tedavi bileşimini yine de bir hekimle konuşmalı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Neurobiological effects of physical exercise
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Some benefits of exercise begin on the day you do it, according to US guidance promoted by the CDC. After a single session of moderate or vigorous activity, such as a brisk walk, blood pressure can fall, anxiety can ease, and sleep that night and some kinds of thinking can improve.

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The World Health Organization counts any movement that uses energy as physical activity: walking, cycling, sport, active play, housework and physical work. Its 2020 guidelines advise adults to do 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity, such as running, plus muscle-strengthening exercise on at least two days. In 2022 about 31% of adults worldwide, some 1.8 billion people, fell short of that. Weight is a poor guide to these benefits. The US Physical Activity Guidelines state that they are generally independent of body weight, and a 2014 analysis of ten studies found that fit people who were overweight or obese had death rates similar to fit people of normal weight, while unfit people had about twice the risk, whatever their weight.

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