Come out of Depression by Regular Work Out: Johns Hopkins

Busy life schedules, work pressures, and many other reasons have made stress and depression part and parcel of our life. Whatever might be the reason for the people to suffer from depression, the research conducted by Johns Hopkins proves that exercise has significant mood boosting effects on those who are suffering from depression.

Regular exercise has amazing benefits. It keeps us fresh, induces new energy levels, makes our body fit and thereby imparts confidence in us. Physiologically too, it increases the flow of oxygen, stimulates the nervous system, and effects the levels of brain chemicals like serotonin. The main function of serotonin is to relax the nervous system and relieve us from tension, thus, making it easier to handle stress and tension.

Regular work out is a good remedy for getting out of depression. These conclusions have been drawn from the research reports published in an issue of Psychosomatic medicine. The researches were conducted by Duke University on 202 adults having average age of 53 years and who are suffering from major depression. These people were divided in to four groups, among which two groups were engaged in aerobic exercise three times a week – one group at home and the other group in a supervised class setting. Both the groups had a similar routine. They need to warm up for 10 minutes, have a 15 minutes walk or jog on treadmill and then lastly should perform a 5 minute cool down exercise. The other two remaining groups were not given any physical exercise but were given some anti-depressant medicines (Zoloft or placebo) on a daily dose of 50-200mg.

The results of the above experimentation were really amazing. The research showed that 41% of all the participants came out of their depression in four months. The success rate of each individual group too didn’t show much variation – 47 percent in case of Zoloft takers, 31 percent in case of Placebo takers, 45 percent in case of supervised exercisers and 40 percent in case of those worked at home.

The above results clearly indicate that, both the treatment through drugs or through a good regular work out give the same results. Hence, it is very interesting, surprising and highly informative to know that even without the intake of any drugs, just by following a good fitness routine, you can easily and successfully come out of depression. Regular workout is thus, useful both ways, to maintain a healthy body, as well as to come out of depression.

Exercising is the healthy way of coming out of depression. No matter how busy you are or how hectic your work schedules are, regular workouts should be a part of your daily routine, as they make a great positive difference to your lifestyle.