Moving Just 1 Hour a Week May Curb Depression Risk

Dealing with depression could be as easy as getting some exercise. When thirty-four thousand adults were studied in Norway, results pointed to physical activity being a significant factor in reducing how many in the pool suffered from depression. And the study ran for over ten years, bolstering the findings.

Researchers say most people have a twelve percent chance of developing depression. Study participants came in at only seven percent, and only nine percent were even found to have clinical symptoms of anxiety. Those who conducted the study are at a loss to fully explain how or why the exercise has this effect, but they think there are many different factors involved.

The good news for those who persistently lack physical activity in their lives is that even a small amount of exercise was enough to realize the results. There was no need to dive into an intensive program of physical activity just to improve mental health. Even an hour or two a week was enough to add beneficial results to study participants’ mental health. More exercise was not found to create a greater mental health benefit.

The findings apply to anyone, male or female, and whether they exercise a little or a lot. Physical activity yields mental health benefits. Researchers did note, however, that the activity does continue to have physical benefits even if the mental ones seem capped.

Key Points:

  • 1One hour or more of exercise every week has been proven to help curb symptoms of depression.
  • 2Intensity of the work out does not necessarily matter as much as the consistency.
  • 3There is not a direct cause and effect between exercise and depression.


Career couch potatoes, take heart: Just one hour a week of any kind of exercise may lower your long-term risk for depression, new research suggests.

See the original at: https://medlineplus.gov/news/fullstory_168820.html

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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