Dr. Eshleman Latimer, MD

Movement to Improve Mood

by Tricia Eshleman Latimer, MD, May 20th, 2024

Changes in mood can be difficult, and depression, though still a taboo subject in many spaces, is surprisingly common, affecting nearly 10% of the population per year (1). When people talk about depression, they might say that it's difficult to get out of bed and moving can feel like it takes Herculean strength. However, acting contrary to those feelings of lethargy and slowness can be an enormously helpful treatment for depression and is often incredibly underrated. It also doesn't take a ton of movement to find those benefits.

Now before we dive into what kind of movement is helpful for mood, you might notice that I use the term movement rather than exercise. To me, exercise sounds punitive. Maybe you have a different relationship with this word than I do but I don't like using this term. I think that exercise can often feel constraining while movement encompasses a lot of different activities. Playing with your kids or pets can count as movement but not a lot of people count it as exercise. However, just moving your body with joy can be beneficial for your health.

Movement for depression has been studied for a while now, since the late 1980's to the early 2000's, and it has consistently shown benefit for the symptoms of depression.(1) Yet, it has been consistently underrated. They've compared exercise to medications even (sertraline, in this study I'm about to cite) and it is as effective as medication for improving symptoms of depression(2).

Now, the skeptic in you might ask (the skeptic that I want you to entertain and encourage!): does it lead to lasting benefits, though?? And yes! It does, actually. One study showed continued psychological benefits of movement even after one year with continued or even lesser amounts of movement over time (3). So, it may not even need to be a ton of sustained movement; you might even be able to skip a day, or you might just be able to get in a little bit of movement when things get hectic. I think the point is to just keep getting back to moving regularly.

Now, what type of movement benefits your mood? Does it have to be hours of jogging on a treadmill? I don't think you really have to do something you hate, and I'm not entirely convinced that doing a movement that you hate is going to help your mental health in the long run. When we look at aerobic vs non-aerobic movement (so, in other words, jogging vs lifting weights), there is a slight edge for aerobic movement but they both significantly improved mood (4). I really believe that what matters is finding a movement that you love and doing it whenever you can. Life can be busy (I know this!), and yet, at the end of the day, enjoying life is more important than filling it to the brim with endless tasks.

References:
1. Lynette Craft FP. The Benefits of Exercise for the Clinically Depressed. The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2004;6:104-111.
2. M Babyak JB, S Herman, P Khatri, M Doraiswamy, K Moore, WE Craighead, TT Baldewicz, KR Krishnan. Exercise treatment for major depression: maintenance of therapeutic benefit at 10 months. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2000;62.
3. TM DiLorenzo EB, R Stucky-Ropp, GS Brassington, PA Frensch, T LaFontaine. Long-term effects of aerobic exercise on psychological outcomes. Preventive Medicine. 1998;28:75-85.
4. EW Martinsen AH, O Solberg. Comparing aerobic with nonaerobic forms of exercise in the treatment of clinical depression: a randomized trial. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 1989;30:324-331.