Improving Depression and Anxiety with Physical Activity

Improving Depression and Anxiety with Physical Activity

We constantly talk about improving depression and anxiety with physical activity (like here, here, and here).  Today we’ll explore the findings of a meta-analysis published in the 2023 British Journal of Sports Medicine. The conclusion? Physical activity is an effective tool for combatting symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other forms of mental distress.

The Study

We’re going to summarize a study titled “Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews.” The study is linked (click here) for those who love reading a good ol’ piece of academic research.

This study synthesized a ton of research on the relationship between physical activity and mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and other forms of “mental distress.” By conducting a meta-analysis, the research team was able to pool information from 97 reviews, 1,039 trials, and 128,119 participants to draw their conclusion. They incorporated studies with all different forms of “physical activity,” rather than limiting the research to specific types of activity. This means “physical activity” isn’t limited to going to the gym, running, or yoga; it includes a variety of movements.

The findings are powerful. Physical activity produces a meaningful reduction in symptoms of depression. Researchers learned that all forms of physical activity produced a reduction in symptoms of mental distress. Yoga, aerobic training, resistance/weight training, and mixed methods of exercise all had a meaningful benefit for participants. They noticed that resistance/weight training had the most significant impact on depression, while yoga/mindfulness exercises had the most impact on anxiety.

Why is this information important?

The results are clear: participants are improving depression and anxiety with physical activity. But strangely, this “lifestyle management” approach is rarely the first strategy for treating symptoms of mental distress. Instead, the U.S.’s policy is to provide psychotherapy or psychiatric medication first. Despite this mountain of evidence, physical activity considered “other,” “optional,” or “ancillary.” Weird, right?

At Surfside, we find physical movement to be an often overlooked piece of the puzzle. Sure, it’s not going to solve every issue or make depression disappear – we’re not naive. But we think it’s damaging to make it an optional aspect of someone’s care. Physical activity is relatively low-cost with minimal side effects, and can be implemented in a dozen different forms.  In any other medical scenario, we’d be concerned if the “expert” overlooked/dismissed an effective aspect of recovery from a chronic health condition.  So we refuse to overlook the importance of physical activity here.