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Getting more exercise may prevent depression. Getting out for a jog or bike ride can go a long way to boost your mood and past studies had found that it helps with symptoms of depression as well. But new research is indicating that getting your workouts in may help prevent depression all together. “The researchers looked at 10 years’ worth of data from 2,891 women between ages 42 and 52, who filled out questionnaires about their depressive symptoms and levels of physical activity. They found that the women who were meeting public health recommendations for physical activity—150 minutes a week of moderate intensity exercise—reported fewer depressive symptoms. The more physical activity the women said they did, the less likely they were to have signs of depression.” Given that older women are at higher risk for developing depression, the study provides a potential way of lowering the likelihood of developing the illness in this population. “Given the high prevalence of depression in the United States, particularly for women, exercise is still not considered a first-line treatment option, even though exercise can be of low cost and low risk, can be sustained indefinitely, and has additional benefits for multiple aspects of physical health and physical function.” The researchers hope their findings encourage more physicians to prescribe exercise as part of addressing depression risk.
