It’s Official: Exercise Lifts Spirits

Geezer suspects that regular readers have long been on to something that researchers are just figuring out: exercise does as much for your head as it does for your body. The Boston Globe reports on continuing documentation of the mood boosting effects of pumping up, or running, or just moving around. The newspaper cites a recent study conducted at Duke University that found that three sessions of vigorous aerobic
exercise a week proved about as effective at beating back depression as
daily doses of Zoloft, when the effects were measured after four months. In
another study, the Globe reports, depressed patients who got better with
exercise were less likely to relapse after 10 months than those helped
by antidepressants. And patients who continued to exercise after the
four-month mark were 50 percent less likely to be depressed months
later than those who were sedentary. Other
studies suggest that exercise may be about as effective as
psychotherapy, the other main tool for alleviating depression.
Read more about pumping up your head in the Boston Globe.