Treating Depression with Exercise

Depression is considered one of the more common diseases that affect people of all ethnicities worldwide. It is estimated that at least 350 million people suffer from the disease. There is a growing demand to curb the effects of depression. Depression is described as a mental disorder where an individual exhibits low self-worth, a depletion of energy, guilt feelings and/or loss of interest entirely in the normal routine. Depression is typically the result of anxiety symptoms and as such, it tends to be a chronic condition as more often than not, an individual's ability to care for themselves or think rationally is impaired. The World Health Organization notes that depression is more common in females (especially with post-partum depression), irrespective of the fact that both males and females become depressed. The WHO reasons that depression is one of the sole factors of the burden individuals within a certain income bracket face (Winokur, 1981; Beck Alford, 2009; Moragne, 2011; Marcus et al., 2012).

Treating Depression

Parker and Straton (2005) note that there are a variety of treatments, which individuals can seek out in the hopes of treating depression (pg.7-11). The majority of research pertaining to treatment of depression relates primarily to medication, yet with a myriad of studies that have uncovered a notable amount of viewpoints that medication is not the definitive treatment, researchers have opted to study other ways (Beck, 1979; Weissman, 2008; Schwartz & Petersen, 2006). One of these ways is exercise.

Several journals have studies the effects of exercise on depression but have not emphatically expressed a correlative relationship between strenuous physical activity that exercise is often denoted as and the reduction of health issues such as depression (ann het Rot et al., 2009; Eriksson & Gard, 2011; Babyak et al., 2000). Moreover, research has been lacking, to say the least as it mainly highlights exercise as an added bonus or in addition to medication rather than something an individual should solely depend upon (Scott, 2005; Dunn, 2005; Strohle, 2009; Baxter et al., 2010; Kruisdijk et al., 2012; Blumenthal et al., 2012). Thus, the primary objective is to ascertain if there is a definitive relationship between the healthy choice of exercise, and depression.

Research Question & Hypotheses

Research Question: Does exercise alleviate depression on its own without the assistance of other treatments? Is exercise therapeutic enough to reduce the growing global epidemic that is depression? Hence, several hypotheses must be stipulated at the onset of the research. They are as follows:

Ho = Exercise cannot alleviate depression on its own merits and requires additional remedies.

H1 = There is a strong relationship between exercise and depression to suggest that exercise can indeed be a clear marker for depression alleviation.

The null hypothesis has been continually proven in the course of several studies and strategies including Salmon (2001), Johnsgård (2004), Cox (2007), Johnson (2009), Larun et al. (2009). Carek et al. (2011), Otto & Smits (2011), Blake (2012), and

To test the hypothesis, the recommended study is quantitative. A quantitative study will provide the necessary feedback to determine whether or not there is a definitive relationship between depression and exercise. The quantitative design will encompass distinct groups that will be studied: those that are depressed that exercise and take medication; and those that are depressed that exercise only. This research design will follow the correlational approach and will hopefully identify that there is a specific correlation between exercise and depression and that exercise can solely alleviate depression.

References

aan het Rot, M., Collins, K. A., & Fitteding, H. I. (2009). Physical Exercise and Depression. MOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, 76, 204-214.

Babyak, M., Blumenthal, J. A., Herman, S., Khatri, P., Doraiswamy, M., Moore, K., & Krishnan, K. R. (2000). Exercise Treatment for Major Depression: Maintenance of Therapeutic Benefit at 10 Months. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62, 633-638.

Baxter, H., Winder, R., Chalder, M., Wright, C., Sherlock, S., Haase, A., & Lewis, G. (2010). Physical activity as a treatment for depression: the TREAD randomised trial protocol. Trials, 11(105), 1-7.

Beck, A. T. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Beck, A. T., & Alford, B. A. (2009). Depression: Causes and Treatment. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Blake, H. (2012, December 7). Physical activity and exercise in the treatment of depression. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 3, 1-4.

Blumenthal, J. A., Smith, P. J., & Hoffman, B. M. (2012). Is Exercise a Viable Treatment for Depression? ACSM’s HEALTH & FITNESS JOURNAL, 16(4), 14-21.

Carek, P. J., Laibstain, S. E., & Carek, S. M. (2011). Exercise For The Treatment of Depression And Anxiety. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 41(1), 15-28.

Cox, J. G. (2007). Is Exercise an Evidence-based Intervention for Clinical Depression in Older Adults: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Studies 2000--2006. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest.

Dunn, A., Trivedi, M. H., Kampert, J. B., Clark, C. G., & Chambliss, H. O. (2005). Exercise Treatment for Depression Efficacy and Dose Response. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(1), 1-8.

Eriksson, S., & Gard, G. (2011). Physical exercise and depression. Physical Therapy Reviews, 16(4), 261-268.

Johnsgård, K. W. (2004). Conquering Depression and Anxiety Through Exercise. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

Johnson, J. (2009). Exercise Beats Depression. Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Publishing.

Kruisdijk, F. R., Hendriksen, I. J., Tak, E., Beekman, A. T., & Hopman-Rock, M. (2012). Effect of running therapy on depression (EFFORT-D). Design of a randomised controlled trial in adult patients [ISRCTN 1894]. BMC Public Health, 12(50), 1-9.

Larun, L., Nordheim, L. V., Ekeland, E., Hagen, K. B., & Heian, F. (2009). Exercise in prevention and treatment of anxiety and depression among children and young people (Review). The Cochrane Library, (1), 1-49.

Marcus, M., Yasamy, M. T., Ommeren, M. V., & Chisholm, D. (2012). Depression: A Global Public Health Concern. Shekhar Saxena WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, 6-8.

Moragne, W. (2011). Depression. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books.

Otto, M., & Smits, J. (2011). Exercise for Mood and Anxiety: Proven Strategies for Overcoming Depression and Enhancing Well-Being. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Parker, G., & Straton, D. (2005). Dealing with Depression: A Commonsense Guide to Mood Disorders. Australia: Allen & Unwin.

Salmon, P. (2001). Effects of Physical Exercise on Anxiety, Depression and Sensitivity to Stress - A Unifying Theory. Clinical Psychology Review,, 21(1), 33-61.

Scott, S. (2005, July). Combating Depression with Exercise. ACSM’S HEALTH & FITNESS JOURNAL, 9(4), 31-33.

Schwartz, T. L., & Petersen, T. J. (2006). Depression: Treatment Strategies and Managementt (ebook ed.).

Strohle, A. (2009). Physical activity, exercise, depression and anxiety disorders. Journal of Neural Transmission, 116, 777–784.

Weissman, M. M. (2008). Treatment of Depression: Bridging the 21st Century (ebook ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Winokur, G. (1981). Depression: The Facts. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.