‘Thirty minutes of brisk walking can immediately boost the mood of depressed patients, giving them the same quick pick-me-up they may seek from cigarettes, caffeine or binge eating, a small study found.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that people suffering from depression who walked on a treadmill for 30 minutes reported feeling more vigorous and had a greater sense of psychological well-being for up to an hour after the workout.

Those patients and another group that sat quietly for 30 minutes both reported reductions in negative feelings such as tension, depression, anger and fatigue. But only the group that exercised said they felt good after the session, according to the study published in the December issue of the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Lead researcher John Bartholomew said the study reinforced past research that had found consistent exercise, along with medication and counselling, can help people overcome depression.

However, it is among the first studies to show that exercise can have a positive effect right away.’

Read more at Exercise gets you off depression’s treadmill

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