Can Exercise Protect Your Brain From Depression?

[WillBrink]

Exercise may help protect your brain from some types of depression.

A wide range of recent studies have found that physical activity can trigger neurobiological changes that may help protect your brain from depression.

A September 2014 study from Sweden found that physical activity might help shield your brain from stress-induced depression. The researchers found that exercise triggers a chain reaction that blocks the ability of a substance called kynurenine—which is linked to depression in humans and mice—from crossing the blood-brain barrier.

The Swedish study, “Skeletal Muscle PGC-1a1 Modulates Kynurenine Metabolism and Mediates Resilience to Stress-Induced Depression," was published in the journal Cell.
Related Links

In the new study on mice, the researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm found that exercise triggers changes in skeletal muscle that purges the blood of kynurenine which has been known to accumulate in muscles during stressful experiences.

The conversion of kynurenine to kynurenic acid that takes place in muscles during physical exercise may protect the brain from this depressive substance. Exercise appears to negate the depressive effects of kynurenine, but more human and animal studies are needed.

In a press release, Mia Lindskog, researcher at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet said, "In neurobiological terms, we actually still don't know what depression is. Our study represents another piece in the puzzle, since we provide an explanation for the protective biochemical changes induced by physical exercise that prevent the brain from being damaged during stress.”

Cont:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201410/can-exercise-protect-your-brain-depression

[maximus83]

I can't speak to the study, but I will say based on personal experience that for a number of years I allowed the demands of a growing family, career, and some health issues, to sabotage any regular PT discipline. As I gained weight and had more health issues, I also experienced depression and sleep problems. When I got back to doing regular PT a couple of years ago, it had a massive impact on eliminating depression, improving sleep quality, and mood. Nothing turned around it for me faster than getting back to doing regular PT.

[montanadave]

In my experience, both personal and with family/friends, regular vigorous exercise has a dramatic beneficial effect on depression.

[brickboy240]

I know that for me....getting out and doing anything physical....lifting, playing tennis or riding my bike...definitely helps ease tension and helps me "decompress" from daily stresses and pressures that could cause me to feel depressed.

I also know that if I got fat, bloated and out of shape...that too would cause me to feel depressed.

-brickboy240

[markm]

It'd be a hard sell to convince me that good exercise DIDN'T help with depression. Just one vigorous workout, and I immediately feel better.

[tylerw02]

Good article! And it certainly does! I actually had to so some research about mental health expenditures in active vs sedentary individuals for a class a few semesters ago. It's really astonishing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ghostsup]

IMO the answer is definitely yes. As Mark mentioned, one vigorous workout can make you instantly feel better. Release those endorphins!

[Leftie]

Excellent article, and anecdotally I can attest to the fact that a good PT session will make you feel better, no matter what is going on in your life.

I read and was told a while back that exercise helps the body regulate naturally the cortisol levels in your system, which when heightened are generally considered a marker of stress.

[ennbeegunny15]

Yes it does. 53 and I feel great. I can run with the young bucks.

[Honorthecall81]

I think exercise is the best at fighting depression for many reasons. I think as
we age we are faced with the fear that we will might eventually not be able
to do the physical activities that we love, and or that our quality of life will
diminish. Regular vigorous exercise is the warrior in all of us coming out and
fighting back against nature. Showing that just because you age doesn't mean
that your broken. By being this warrior into old age free's yourself of these
insecurities, and therefore free's others of the same insecurities. It's a
beautiful thing.

[brickboy240]

Does anyone else her start to feel bad if you MISS a workout or two?

I know I feel bad and sort of sluggish if I skip a workout or two or if I am out of town and unable to lift, ride my bike or play tennis.

I know that if I ate the fast food/processed crap that most Americans ate all the time and never got out and sweated it out...hell yeah...I'd be depressed as I could be! LOL

Even knowing I have a workout that day or court time can put me in a good mood.

-brickboy240

[Abraham]

Absolutely!

I have a routine: Weight training today - 28 miles tomorrow (I've increased it a bit) on my mountain bike.

This is my routine to keep my ass from getting wider than my shoulders. Without I hope not sounding to boastful, I'll soon be a septuagenarian. However, I've always physically pushed myself. Hell, it used to be 10/15 miles of running and two hours of heavy weight training every day, but as time marches by you have to realize what's reasonably doable, and then do more...

I supplement this routine by pruning treeing with a 16' Pole Saw and lopping down the branches to a smaller size and manually hauling all to a burn pile. Chain sawing firewood. Digging out stumps with a sharpshooter, 16 lb spike, shovel, come-along winch and grit. Mowing an 1 1/2 acres every 5/7 days and all the edging required. My driveway can accommodate 20 plus vehicles so the edging is well, a lot. Not to mention the edging of sidewalks inside my property. This list is incomplete... Washing and waxing my Tundra with camper shell and my wife's car. Using a chipper, grind up lots of cedar for mulch, but first harvesting the cedar. All great exercise.

[drenman]

I think most of the people for whom exercise would benefit depression probably don't have the type or severity of depression that many people deal with.

I'm but I'm sure that for those who have severe major depression issues, this can be huge.

I was a clinician working in inner cities, in co-occurring substance abuse and mental health issues, I think that as a start just doing anything can help,but for some folks just getting out of bed is a challenge.

I've seen staggering effective change in brain structure at a physical level in evidenced based studies involving the use of meditation.

Long cardio workouts, like cycling can produce a meditative state and this will change neuronal density in the pre-frontal lobe of the brain, late into middle and old age as well. If you've ever settled into a long paced run ride etc. you may have noticed clarity and a stream of thought.

I'm coming back from a severe health issue, neurological in nature, and I don't think I'd be alive without the meditation I've done. I've cheated death a couple times now. I've lost 105 lbs, half lean muscle mass and it's not coming back.

Still, I had a doctor tell me once to exercise ASAP, keep in mind I was and am recovering from paralysis from cord lesions, muscle wasting, I thought to myself, "I can't do that anymore."

I told him as much, that I couldn't walk around the block with my dog anymore. He just said, "Can you walk halfway down the block? Down the driveway?" I said "Yeah. I can do that."
It was a start.