Exercise: the Free Antidepressant
Last week, we learned of efforts by two psychologists and researchers to persuade therapists to prescribe exercise to depressed patients. Now BU Today talks in depth with Michael Otto, a professor of psychology at Boston University, about what exactly exercise can do for depression, and how much exercise it should take to lift one's spirits. Three excerpts:
How does exercise for health or anti-aging differ from exercise for improving mood?
The problem with exercise for health is you have to wait nine months to a year for results, before your abs and your hips look better. The beauty of exercising for mood is you get the payoff right now. The other kicker is, being in a bad mood is why a lot of people don’t exercise, and this becomes precisely the reason to exercise.
How much exercise should depressed people do for sustained results?
We think that bouts of exercise are important, not just random physical activity during the day. We’re talking about half-hour chunks, the time necessary to get people past ruminative thinking. For me, for example, my brain shuts off at around 22 minutes into a run. And we know what’s worked in the trials is getting the heart rate up for 20 to 45 minutes of sustained activity.
How important is the social aspect of exercise?
Depression is an isolating force, and once you’re isolated with a bad mood, it feeds on itself. Exercise returns you out into the world. It feeds you in ways over and above the health benefits.
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