Not only is exercise good for dealing with depression, but — as many of us would testify — it boosts happiness and contentment, as shown by a recent large scale review of exercise-related studies. The review combined 23 mostly observational studies published since 1980, combined involving over 500,000 people, of all ages and a wide range of socioeconomic and ethnic groups, and studied the relationship between their exercise and the their positive feelings (i.e., happiness).
Here are two media articles on the review:
Get moving to get happier, study finds
Even a Little Exercise Might Make Us Happier
Here is the research review:
A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Happiness
And there’s more. It’s likely that exercise can help middle-aged people reduce their risk of heart disease:
Middle-aged can reverse heart risk with exercise, study suggests
And exercise helps deal with chronic stress, even including the stress of advanced Alzheimer’s. Here are several media articles and research reports on the effect.
How Strenuous Exercise Affects Our Immune System
Meet the man living with Alzheimer’s who climbs the same mountain every day
Aerobic exercise for Alzheimer’s disease: A randomized controlled pilot trial
Running exercise mitigates the negative consequences of chronic stress on dorsal hippocampal long-term potentiation in male mice.
All links have been added to Health > Physical Exercise
