Benefits of Exercise You Don't Think About

A new small study has served as a reminder that exercise is a good way to improve mood and relieve symptoms of diseases such as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and depression without drugs.

In this study, the results of which were published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, researchers examined 32 adult males who had symptoms of ADHD. (Of the 32, two had an official diagnosis from a psychiatrist.)

The researchers examined these men's ability to focus and perform mental tasks, leg hyperactivity and mood before and after either sitting or cycling for 20 minutes. They started from the assumption that exercise could affect the brain in the same way as stimulant drugs often taken by people with ADHD.

"There is strong and consistent evidence that a short bout of moderate-intensity exercise is associated with increased feelings of energy, so if people need a reason to exercise, it's enough to say that exercise boosts energy," said study author Dr. Patrick J. O'Connor from the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Georgia.

According to this study, exercise boosts motivation and energy levels. Men reported feeling less tired, depressed and confused after exercising. Exercise did not affect cognitive abilities or degree of hyperactivity, but the authors found that it also did not increase feelings of hyperactivity. The researchers say their findings lay the groundwork for further trials into non-pharmaceutical ways to alleviate ADHD symptoms.

"Based on the results of this study, the effects of moderate exercise may not last as long as those of stimulant medication, but the effects of exercise may be more direct, meaning that exercisers may feel the benefits more quickly than those taking stimulant medication," say the authors. . They add that if a medication is not immediately available, people may consider exercise as "a useful way to immediately control ADHD symptoms." More research is needed before treatment decisions can be made based on these findings.

The number of respondents in this study is very small, so nothing definitive can be concluded, but the results support the claim that exercise does more than improve physical condition and increase muscle mass. Another, much larger study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry in 2014 followed 11.000 people over a period of 50 years. People who are active during adulthood have been found to have fewer symptoms of depression than those who do not exercise as often.

Evidence suggests that exercise can trigger the production of hormones and chemicals such as endorphins that can alter mood, and one 2015 study says that exercise can also prevent symptoms of depression. In this study, researchers examined data on nearly 3.000 adult women over a 10-year period and found that those who exercised at a moderate intensity for 150 minutes per week had fewer symptoms of depression. The more these women exercised, the less likely they were to be depressed.

Given that many people in the United States do not exercise and that many people take anti-depressants, experts recommend exercise as the first line of treatment. More data is needed to support this approach, but there are many other reasons to exercise for better health, reports Danas.rs.