Panacea: noun. A solution or remedy for all diseases.
Most people know that exercise is "good for you." But do you know HOW good it is? Exercise can extend your life by as much as 4.5 years, by reducing your risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and breast cancer, colon cancer, and possibly lung and endometrial cancers as well. Not only can you live longer, but you can live better. Regular exercise boosts immune functioning, reduces your risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures and reduces your risk of developing dementia!
Obviously, there are lots of physical benefits, but are you ready for this? Regular exercise can be extremely effective in preventing and treating mental health problems too! When making treatment recommendations, I always look at the science. The research evidence is clear: Exercise has an important role in the treatment of depression, insomnia, ADHD, and anxiety disorders.
Regular exercise is explicitly recommended in the treatment guidelines for depression. I believe it should be considered first line treatment for mild to moderate depression. For milder depression that does not improve enough with exercise and therapy, and for more severe depression, medication is absolutely appropriate, but exercise is still very important! There is strong research data showing that it reduces risk of developing future depressive episodes! Once you get well, exercise can help keep you well.
Multiple studies on treating anxiety disorders have shown that medication plus exercise is significantly more effective than either treatment alone. This has been found for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias including social phobia, and PTSD.
Parents of children with ADHD have long known that exercise helps with ADHD related hyperactivity. In the past year, researchers have found evidence that exercise also helps with inattentive symptoms. At present, studies have only involved children with ADHD, but as I often say, children are not aliens. At any age, exercise releases norepinephrine in the brain. Medications to treat ADHD have a stronger effect on norepinephrine, but work in much the same way. Additional studies are being done, but exercise plus medication can be a really powerful combination in the treatment of ADHD.
What kind of exercise should you do? Anything that you enjoy and is accessible enough for you to stick with. For me, it's Zumba fitness classes.* Music and dancing make me happy and the friends I've made motivate me to make getting to class an even bigger priority. But maybe dance isn't your thing, or you prefer to work out at home. Good news! It doesn't seem to matter what you do, as long as you're moving your body. Cardio, strength training, TaiChi, and yoga have all found to be beneficial for mental health. There are no specific recommendations of type of weight training or yoga, but for cardio, the recommendation is 30-60 minutes more days than not, intense enough to raise your heart rate.**
So maybe calling exercise a "panacea" is not completely accurate, because it does not always completely solve or cure all problems. But incorporating this one thing, exercise, into your life can dramatically improve almost all aspects of your physical and mental health. I believe that's as close to a panacea as we've found, and for that reason, it is a part of every single treatment plan I make. You can't pick it up at the pharmacy, but consider it a prescription.
For more on exercise and mental health and other great self care tips, follow me on Facebook or Twitter!
Be well,
Kit Ko, ARNP
Most people know that exercise is "good for you." But do you know HOW good it is? Exercise can extend your life by as much as 4.5 years, by reducing your risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and breast cancer, colon cancer, and possibly lung and endometrial cancers as well. Not only can you live longer, but you can live better. Regular exercise boosts immune functioning, reduces your risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures and reduces your risk of developing dementia!
Obviously, there are lots of physical benefits, but are you ready for this? Regular exercise can be extremely effective in preventing and treating mental health problems too! When making treatment recommendations, I always look at the science. The research evidence is clear: Exercise has an important role in the treatment of depression, insomnia, ADHD, and anxiety disorders.
Regular exercise is explicitly recommended in the treatment guidelines for depression. I believe it should be considered first line treatment for mild to moderate depression. For milder depression that does not improve enough with exercise and therapy, and for more severe depression, medication is absolutely appropriate, but exercise is still very important! There is strong research data showing that it reduces risk of developing future depressive episodes! Once you get well, exercise can help keep you well.
Multiple studies on treating anxiety disorders have shown that medication plus exercise is significantly more effective than either treatment alone. This has been found for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias including social phobia, and PTSD.
Parents of children with ADHD have long known that exercise helps with ADHD related hyperactivity. In the past year, researchers have found evidence that exercise also helps with inattentive symptoms. At present, studies have only involved children with ADHD, but as I often say, children are not aliens. At any age, exercise releases norepinephrine in the brain. Medications to treat ADHD have a stronger effect on norepinephrine, but work in much the same way. Additional studies are being done, but exercise plus medication can be a really powerful combination in the treatment of ADHD.
What kind of exercise should you do? Anything that you enjoy and is accessible enough for you to stick with. For me, it's Zumba fitness classes.* Music and dancing make me happy and the friends I've made motivate me to make getting to class an even bigger priority. But maybe dance isn't your thing, or you prefer to work out at home. Good news! It doesn't seem to matter what you do, as long as you're moving your body. Cardio, strength training, TaiChi, and yoga have all found to be beneficial for mental health. There are no specific recommendations of type of weight training or yoga, but for cardio, the recommendation is 30-60 minutes more days than not, intense enough to raise your heart rate.**
So maybe calling exercise a "panacea" is not completely accurate, because it does not always completely solve or cure all problems. But incorporating this one thing, exercise, into your life can dramatically improve almost all aspects of your physical and mental health. I believe that's as close to a panacea as we've found, and for that reason, it is a part of every single treatment plan I make. You can't pick it up at the pharmacy, but consider it a prescription.
For more on exercise and mental health and other great self care tips, follow me on Facebook or Twitter!
Be well,
Kit Ko, ARNP
*Zumba is a registered trademark of Zumba Fitness, LLC. I am not affiliated with them in any way other than liking the class. The information and recommendations above are based solely on my survey of the currently available research and my clinical experience.
**The American Heart Association offers guidelines for determining a safe intensity, but you should always check with your primary care provider if you have any health issues that might be affected by exercise.
**The American Heart Association offers guidelines for determining a safe intensity, but you should always check with your primary care provider if you have any health issues that might be affected by exercise.