Single workout can lift mood in depressed patients

By John M Grohol PsyD
January 28, 2006

A single 30-minute walk on a treadmill can give a temporary emotional lift to patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder, the results of a small study suggest.

Researchers found that among 40 men and women recently diagnosed with major depression, those who spent just a half hour on a treadmill reported a short-term improvement in energy and emotional well-being.

Though a single workout is not the answer to clinical depression, the researchers say, exercise could offer depressed patients a way to give themselves an emotional boost.

“If you can go out and walk and get the recommended amount of exercise, then it might help you manage your symptoms on a day-to-day basis,” said lead study author Dr. John Bartholomew of the University of Texas at Austin.

Past studies, he explained in an interview, have shown that regular exercise can help treat depression over time. But the new findings show that “you don’t have to wait” to start getting some benefit, he said.

Bartholomew and his colleagues report their findings in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues, and the intersection of technology and psychology since 1992.