Boosting your physical activity could reduce your chances of developing neuropsychiatric disorders like anxiety, depression, and dementia, as suggested by new preliminary research.
The findings indicate that the benefits for brain health don’t depend on the intensity of the exercise, underscoring the significance of regular movement for mental well-being, according to Dr. Jia-Yi Wu, the lead author and a researcher at Huashan Hospital, Fudan University in Shanghai, China.
“Find an activity you enjoy and make it a habit,” Freeman advises.
In an analysis of accelerometer data from over 73,000 adults with an average age of 56, researchers compared levels of physical activity to occurrences of neuropsychiatric diseases, as detailed in an abstract released Thursday. This information is expected to be shared in April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego.
Although the results have not yet undergone full peer review, Dr. Scott Russo, the Leon Levy Director of the Brain and Body Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, who was not involved in the research, noted that the large sample size and reliable accelerometer data bolster the findings. He pointed out the established connection between exercise and better outcomes for brain-related conditions.
“With the volume of data available, both correlative and causative, I’m quite confident,” Russo stated.
The results showed that increasing physical activity and minimizing sedentary behavior positively impacted conditions like dementia and depression, which isn’t particularly surprising, Russo noted.
Some studies suggest that exercise can be as effective as medication in combating depression, he added.
To grasp how exercise may offer such benefits, it’s essential to recognize that some experts are beginning to view depression not as a singular condition, but rather as a collection of subtypes, each with distinct causes.
Russo mentioned that around 25% to 30% of individuals suffering from major depressive disorder may fall into the immunometabolic subtype, characterized by inflammation and changes in metabolic function.
Exercise may play a role in regulating metabolic functions and reducing inflammation associated with this subtype of depression.
“That could be a promising approach to treating patients with this specific subtype,” Russo remarked.
