University of Queensland Study Shows Running, Yoga, and Dance Can Help Beat Depression

Intensive exercise can be an effective way to handle depression, especially if you exercise with others.

This article was written for the Conversation by University of Queensland's Dr Michael Noetel, senior lecturer in psychology

At least one in ten people have depression at some point in their lives, with some estimates closer to one in four. It's one of the worst things for someone's wellbeing — worse than debt, divorce, or diabetes (PDF).

One in seven Australians take antidepressants. Psychologists are in high demand. Still, only half of people with depression in high-income countries get treatment.

Our new research shows that exercise should be considered alongside therapy and antidepressants. It can be just as impactful in treating depression as therapy, but it matters what type of exercise you do and how you do it.

Walk, run, lift, or dance away depression

We found 218 randomised trials on exercise for depression, with 14,170 participants. We analysed them using a method called a network meta-analysis. This allowed us to see how different types of exercise compared, instead of lumping all types together.

We found walking, running, strength training, yoga, and mixed aerobic exercise were about as effective as cognitive behaviour therapy — one of the gold-standard treatments for depression. The effects of dancing were also powerful. However, this came from analysing just five studies, mostly involving young women. Other exercise types had more evidence to back them.

A quick recap:

• walking
• running
• strength training
• yoga
• and mixed aerobic exercise

seemed more effective than antidepressant medication alone, and were about as effective as exercise alongside antidepressants.

But of these exercises, people were most likely to stick with strength training and yoga.

Explore the data yourself below:

Antidepressants certainly help some people. And of course, anyone getting treatment for depression should talk to their doctor before changing what they're doing.

Still, our evidence shows that if you have depression, you should get a psychologist and an exercise plan, whether or not you're taking antidepressants.

Join a program and go hard (with support)

Before we analysed the data, we thought people with depression might need to "ease into it" with generic advice, such as "some physical activity is better than doing none."

But we found it was far better to have a clear program that aimed to push you, at least a little. Programs with clear structure worked better, compared with those that gave people lots of freedom. Exercising by yourself might also make it hard to set the bar at the right level, given low self-esteem is a symptom of depression.

We also found it didn't matter how much people exercised, in terms of sessions or minutes a week. It also didn't really matter how long the exercise program lasted. What mattered was the intensity of the exercise: the higher the intensity, the better the results.

Yes, it's hard to keep motivated

We should exercise caution in interpreting the findings. Unlike drug trials, participants in exercise trials know which "treatment" they've been randomised to receive, so this may skew the results.

Many people with depression have physical, psychological, or social barriers to participating in formal exercise programs. And getting support to exercise isn't necessarily free.

So, when starting out, it seems wise to avoid going it alone. Instead:

• join a fitness group or yoga studio — explore the athletics centre at your local school for help
• get a trainer or an exercise physiologist
• ask a friend or family member to go for a walk with you

Taking a few steps towards getting that support makes it more likely you'll keep exercising.