By Melvin Durai
If you’re feeling depressed, there is one thing I recommend to brighten your mood: ice cream. Nothing puts a smile on a person’s face faster than giving them ice cream. If you don’t believe me, just go to any public place, find a kid who is crying and give the kid an ice cream cone. The tears will disappear faster than an unlocked bike in New York City. I wish I could cite some scientific evidence on the effectiveness of ice cream in treating depression, but scientists have not yet gotten around to conducting studies on this important connection. What they’ve done, however, is make a connection between exercise and depression. The less time you spend exercising, the happier you will be. Nothing lifts your spirits more than sitting on the couch and watching your favourite TV show, while eating a bowl of ice cream. Actually, scientists have found the opposite to be true. Exercise may be just as effective as psychological therapy in reducing symptoms of depression, according to a review of evidence by researchers connected to Cochrane, a London-based network of health researchers and professionals. They also found that exercise may be just as effective as antidepressant medication, but more evidence is needed for them to feel confident about this finding.
Researchers from the University of Lancashire conducted the review, examining 73 randomised controlled trials involving a total of almost 5,000 adults with depression. “Our findings suggest that exercise appears to be a safe and accessible option for helping to manage symptoms of depression,” said Professor Andrew Clegg, lead author of the review. “This suggests that exercise works well for some people, but not for everyone, and finding approaches that individuals are willing and able to maintain is important.” The phrase he used — “willing and able” — is important. You may be willing to climb Mount Everest tomorrow, but are you able to do it? Will they put you on a stretcher and call an ambulance for you, saying that you almost made it to base camp? You may be able to participate in a daily aerobics class, but are you willing to do it? For me, the answer is “no.” I prefer to follow my own routine and pretend that I’m as coordinated as Simone Biles.
According to the review, light to moderate intensity exercise may be more beneficial than vigorous exercise. Light to moderate exercise is any activity that gets your heart beating faster — and I don’t mean looking at photos of your favourite actor. You need to be slightly out of breath. If you’re out of shape and have not exercised in a long time, it’s important to start with something that’s not too challenging. Don’t take the stairs to your ninth-floor apartment — take the elevator, but do jumping jacks on the way up. Once you have established a habit of exercising regularly, you can gradually increase the duration or intensity of your exercise, but try not to overdo it. As psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Mateka told National Public Radio (NPR) in the US, “When it comes to exercise, it’s about just finding the exercise that works for you, such as something like yoga or tai chi versus something like walking and jogging.” Even if you have to pay a membership fee to a gym, exercise will cost you less than therapy, and you won’t have to reveal any family secrets. “Exercise is something that is extremely low cost,” Mateka said. “It’s very accessible. It has very minimal side effects. And it has the opportunity to impact you positively, mentally, emotionally, socially and physically.” Depression affects more than 280 million people worldwide. That’s equal to the entire population of Indonesia. Imagine if we could get them all to start playing badminton. The only depressed people would be the ones who didn’t buy stock in Yonex.