Originally published January 31 2006
Harvard group promotes the mental benefits of physical activities
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Michael Craig Miller, editor-in-chief of the Harvard Mental Health Newsletter, discusses the benefits to mental health that stem from physical exercise.
We may not know the specifics of how exercise impacts depression and other mental health conditions, but since numerous studies show it to be beneficial, there is little harm in participating in it for that purpose, according to Harvard mental health experts.
"Although it is no magic remedy, there is little to lose and everything to gain by trying to work off depression and anxiety, " they write in the latest issue of the Harvard Mental Health Letter.
Dr. Michael Craig Miller, editor-in-chief of the letter, told Reuters Health: "It's clear that exercise is beneficial for mental health.
For example, in one of the studies cited in the letter, researchers found that adults who participated in a three-month rigorous exercise program experienced a decline in depressive symptoms about as great as they would have experienced had they received standard depression treatment, such as antidepressant medication.
Even among middle-school children, higher levels of physical activity have been found to be associated with fewer depressive symptoms, according to a Reuters Health report.
Other studies have found exercise to be similarly associated with improvements in panic disorder, post-traumatic stress and other anxiety disorders.
Researchers speculate that vigorous exercise may be associated with increased levels of "helpful chemicals in the brain," such as endorphins, which are responsible for the euphoric feelings associated with exercise, said Miller, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts.
What's more, some depressed individuals may simply not have the desire to exercise.
Citing the popular NIKE slogan, Miller said, "Most people cannot 'just do it,' particularly if they are depressed."
"The advantage of doing a little bit is that sometimes a little bit leads to a little bit more," he said.
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