Exercise is a hot topic today with many people going to the gym to get "swole" or attending hip work-out classes like hot yoga, pilates, and spin classes. Numerous studies on exercise have shown its positive effect on overall health, including reduced risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Some researchers have even suggested at an association between exercise and mental health.
A recent study that was published in August this year compared the "number of days of bad mental health" between those who exercised and those who didn't. There were about 1.2 million people who participated in the study, and they were matched for "age, race, gender, marital status, income, education level, body mass index category, self-reported physical health, and previous diagnosis of depression" to make sure that what was being observed was associated with exercise rather than other confounding variables. The findings indicated that those who exercised had 43.2% "fewer days of poor mental health in the past month."
Interestingly, the largest association between fewer mental health and the exercise was found in team sports at 22.3% lower in exercising individuals compared to non-exercising individuals. This isn't too surprising as team sports allow individuals to be a part of a community with heightened and perhaps deeper relationships with other people. Other types of exercise that appeared to be associated with less poor mental health days were seen in aerobic and gym activities (20.1% lower) and even household chores (11.8% lower). They found that the optimal amount of time for exercise may be at 45 minutes as they did not observe any increased benefit beyond 90 minutes, claiming that "more exercise was not always better." However, this was simply a cross-sectional study, so causation cannot be concluded. More research into this field is necessary, especially considering the wide variety of different conditions within the term mental health.
Even with all the health benefits that exercise can provide, many don't consider it a valid "treatment." Perhaps exercise is perceived as a common activity that everybody should be engaging in without any explicit direction. Maybe it's due to the subconscious human nature to necessitate medications because we've grown so accustomed to associating treatment with white tablets. Whatever the case, it's up to you to take care of your body that will be with you from the very beginning until the end – so start exercising in whatever form you like!
