Exercise is Better Than Drugs at Beating the Blues…

Feeling stressed?

Are you too busy? Run down? Then try meditation.  The word may conjure up images of sitting cross legged chanting in front of a statue of Buddha but there is so much more to it.  I have used meditation for a few years now and have found it work in my aspects of my life from relaxing after a hard session in the gym or to help clear my head and reduce the stress of day to day life.

Meditation can help you conquer a problem or fear or help achieve a goal.  Check out www.learningmeditation.com

Exercise is Better Than Drugs at Beating the Blues:

Regular exercise can be more effective than drugs in treatment of depression, according to a new study published for some time now.  I personally have had several clients suffering from various degrees of depression who have in most cases come off medication because exercise gave them the same lift as the medication they were on previously.

The Duke University in North California found a few years ago than an exercise programme of three brisk 30minute sessions a week both treats and protects against depression more effectively than anti-depressant drugs from the same family as Prozac.

The extra activity was found more than four times effective in preventing relapses into depression than treatment with the drugs Sertaline, which has the trade name of Zoloth.  Sertraline, like Prozac is a member of a class of commonly used drugs used as anti-depressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

The study which is reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, involved 156 middle-aged patients diagnosed with major depression whose condition had previously been shown to improve after 16weeks of exercise.  After a further six months 8% of those in the exercise group saw their depression return compared with 38% of those who only took the drug.  Patients who combined exercise with the drug treatment were much more likely to become depressed again than those who just took exercise.

The important conclusion is that the effectiveness of exercise seems to persist over time and that patients who respond well to exercise and maintain their exercise have a much smaller risk of relapsing.

By Mike Buss

For more information on coping with stress or for booking a personal training session, call Mike on: 07791 356 482 or Email: activelifeuk@hotmail.com

Category: Fitness Advice