Why Exercise Should Be Part of Any Plan to Overcome Anxiety and Depression
Does exercise have any impact on anxiety and depression levels?
If you do a simple online search, you’ll come up with hundreds of articles and suggestions. In many cases, it becomes overwhelming to figure out what to do. We at Sequoia Counseling Group have been asked this countless times. Typically, the next questions we are asked are what type of exercise, how often to exercise, and how long to exercise? Does a simple walk around the block suffice or is it HIT training for 50 minutes daily? These are good questions, so we looked at the research and do our best to summarize it for you.
Keep in mind that there has been a lot of research conducted on this topic. It is important to remember that not all studies are created equal. When reviewing the research, it is important to focus on the more rigorous studies conducted when making an informed opinion. One helpful way to review larger pools of research is to simply look at meta-analyses that allows you to look at trends across multiple studies.
What does the research say about exercise, depression, and anxiety?
One systematic review looked at the results of 37 meta-analyses that covered over 42,000 participants suffering from anxiety and 48,000 suffering from depression. Here is what they concluded:
Overall, exercise has a small but positive effect on reducing depression and anxiety.
When looking only at depression, exercise has a stronger connection to reducing depression. In fact, when you look at the most rigorous studies (i.e., randomized controlled trials), exercise has a strong effect on reducing depression levels.
When looking solely at anxiety, exercise still had a moderate connection to lowering anxiety levels.
How does exercise compare to talk therapy?
There have been a few studies conducted making comparisons to different types of approaches (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy) with mild to moderately depressed clients. Overall, exercise is as effective as some other counseling treatments. There is also some evidence that exercise can be helpful for clients with treatment resistant depression, but more research is needed in this area.
How much exercise and type of exercise?
In one well controlled study that investigated four different amounts of exercise (i.e., dosages) and the impact on depression levels, only the two highest intensity groups had lower depression levels (41% and 44% respectively) compared to the control group (23%). The amount of exercise in the top two groups was moderate to vigorous aerobic activity performed 3-5 days a week. These groups saw results over a 3-month period.
What if I only can walk several times a week? Would lower levels of physical activity help?
Most likely yes. In a recent study conducted among older adults (50+) over a 10-year period in Ireland, it was concluded that moderate to rigorous physical activity still had the best results in preventing depression. However, reductions in depression levels were still seen among those adults that were having some level of exercise. In this study, having a 20-minute brisk walk 5x a week lead to lower depression levels.
Bottom Line
Adding 3-5 days a week of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise seems to have a clear effect on lowering depression and anxiety. If you cannot do that, even adding a 20-minute brisk walk 5x a week can still have an impact.
So take a deep breath, stop scrolling on your phone, get off the couch, and push yourself to get out there.
If you are having difficulty, schedule a session with a depression therapist or anxiety therapist at Sequoia Counseling Group. Schedule a 15-minute consultation at no charge to you. In Las Vegas, we have both in-person and virtual sessions. We also offer virtual sessions in California, Nevada, Georgia, and Virginia. Reach out today. You don’t have to suffer alone.
Dr. Philip B. Gnilka is the Clinical Director and Founder of Sequoia Counseling Group, a boutique mental health practice that serves clients in Las Vegas, NV. His experience as a tenured professor in mentoring students about counseling approaches and theories reinforced his passion for helping individual clients directly. He specializes in anxiety, stress management, and perfectionism.