The best exercises to help beat depression

The results are in for the best exercises to boost your mood, with a new study published in The BMJ providing the most comprehensive review on exercise for depression.

Walking and jogging, yoga, and strength training are the most effective types of exercise for treating depression, according to the new research co-authored by University of Southern Queensland researcher Professor Stuart Biddle.

“Depression is a leading cause of disability, and exercise is often recommended alongside treatments such as pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy,” Professor Biddle said.

“Treatment guidelines and previous reviews of literature disagree on how to prescribe exercise to treat depression best.

“After assessing more than 200 randomised controlled trials – the strongest research designs – we found that various exercise modalities are effective, including walking, jogging, mixed aerobic exercise, strength training, yoga, tai chi and qigong.

“Effects appeared proportional to the intensity of exercise prescribed and were stronger for group exercise and interventions with precise prescriptions.

“Exercise could be considered alongside psychotherapy and antidepressants as core treatments for depression.”

The paper ‘Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials’ was led by Dr Michael Noetel from the University of Queensland.

Professor Stuart Biddle, who works in UniSQ’s Centre for Health Research, is a highly-cited researcher specialising in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and well-being.