“I would sleep for days so they pass faster and not realize it. “I have moments when getting up is like running 42 km,” Aitana (45 years old) told me. “Everything hurts. It hurts inside. Both the psychologist and the psychiatrist recommended that I start exercising. Here I am,” he added.
It can happen to anyone. “Being depressed goes well beyond being sad,” Elena Ibáñez, a psychiatrist and professor of personality psychology at the University of Valencia, told me a while ago. Depressive disorder involves a depressed mood, loss of pleasure, or loss of interest in activities over a long period of time. People who have experienced abuse, severe loss, or other distressing events are more likely to be affected. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), women are more likely to suffer from it than men.
Usually, depression is accompanied by a feeling of tiredness and loss of appetite, leading to less enjoyable activities and a decrease in physical activity, leading to more tiredness and a more depressed mood. The challenge is to break this cycle. It would be important to understand that small steps (e.g. performing everyday actions that involve movement) can be achieved.
You must give them the importance they deserve if you want to end a sedentary lifestyle. “A lifestyle transformation increases the efficiency of treatments at different levels: not only because of the direct effect on the symptoms, but also because of the prevention of recurrence and the positive consequences in other areas of health and psychosocial functioning,” says Laura Hernangómez Criado . Doctor of Psychology and one of the authors of the manual “Step-by-Step Treatment of Mental Health Problems in Adults”.
The recommended treatments currently include psychotherapy and antidepressants (or a combination of both), but more and more psychotherapists and studies, such as the meta-analysis published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine or the meta-analysis published by the American Journal of Psychiatry, include physical exercise as part of the comprehensive Recommend treatment of pathologies. Active men and women are less likely to suffer from depression than sedentary people.
Research already suggests that in non-major depression there is no difference between physical activity and pharmacological interventions to relieve symptoms. “You don’t have to be very successful to benefit from exercise. “Something is better than nothing,” repeats Dr. Ibáñez in her consultation with patients.
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“Something is better than nothing”
Research such as that in the journal JAMA supports this psychiatrist’s idea and suggests that benefits can be achieved when patients exercise for just a few minutes a day or a few days a week. Results suggest that most are acquired when transitioning from no activity to anything. Accumulating a volume (amount) equivalent to 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week was associated with a 25% lower risk of depression, and half that dose was 18% lower compared to a sedentary lifestyle.
Significant positive mental health impacts can be achieved, even below public health recommendations, with additional benefits if the minimum recommended target is met. According to this study, “Assuming causality, one in nine cases of depression could have been prevented if the entire population had been active at the level of current health recommendations.”
The beginning is the key. As acknowledged in this publication, starting with simple goals should be given due importance – “especially for inactive people who may find general recommendations unrealistic”. The adaptations exercise can bring about range from the neural architecture of the brain to psychosocial behavioral benefits, including improved physical self-awareness, enhanced body image, and increased social interactions. “Furthermore, physical activity helps regulate sleep patterns, which are also often altered in depression: exercise promotes a healthy physical fatigue that paradoxically aids recovery compared to the usual anergy (lack of energy) so characteristic of depression.” , explains psychologist Laura Hernángómez.
How much is positive?
Health goes hand in hand with flexibility. The Mayo Clinic advises that any physical activity that gets you off the couch and involves exercise can help you improve. Exercise helps release endorphins (natural brain chemicals that can boost your well-being) and break the cycle of negative thoughts that fuel depression and anxiety.
Recommended levels include moderate-level aerobic activity (e.g., brisk walking) for 2.5 hours per week, and strength training of major muscle groups twice per week, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For its part, the Mayo Clinic points out that exercising 30 minutes or more a day, three to five days a week can significantly improve symptoms of depression or anxiety. At first glance, it might seem like a long time or a complicated goal, but as this meta-analysis published by Sports Medicine admits, physical activity as little as 10 to 15 minutes a day contributes to well-being. Similar benefits can be obtained by training for a daily workout or by doing shorter times split into 24 hours. For example, you can do an activity for 15 minutes in the morning and another 15 minutes in the evening.
The role of the environment must also be taken into account. The sea or activities in the natural environment can relieve symptoms. For example, using green spaces is associated with a lower risk of depression.
sleep, not to live. This is one of the consequences of depression, an illness from which no one is exempt and which goes beyond sadness. It can happen to anyone. Physical exercise is a key part of treatment. Which is the best? The one that serves as a motivation to stay awake, that gets you out of the house, off the sofa, off the bed…Movement is life.
From theory to practice
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