Exercise taps directly into the mind/body connection to work its wonders against depression. For the body, exercise does the following:

• Helps regulate your weight

• Strengthens joints and muscles

• Increases energy and stamina throughout the day

• Reduces the risk of heart disease

• Helps prevent or control type 2 Diabetes (adult-onset diabetes)

• Reduces the risk of arthritis and alleviates the symptoms associated with arthritis

• Helps lower cholesterol

• Helps lower high blood pressure

• Improves sleep

• Helps protect you from certain cancers

And, if all those benefits haven't got you thinking seriously about locating your gym bag or your sneakers, here are some ways that exercise benefits your mind:

• Relieves the symptoms of anxiety and depression

• May help in preventing a relapse of symptoms of depression

• Builds a healthy self-image and promotes confidence

• Gives your mind something else to think about

• Promotes social interaction

• Provides healthy coping strategies

• Promotes positive thinking and reduces negative thoughts

Endearing Endorphins

Endorphins, those “feel good” hormones, are activated when you exercise. They're your body's natural pain-fighters, and they can help you keep on track with your exercise program. Athletes actually speak about the addiction they have to endorphin release, and while you may not decide to take your treadmill on the road professionally, it's nice to know that your body will give you a reward for making it work. Endorphins also give your immune system a boost and improve your sense of well-being. Not bad for a free prescription!

Don't Forget Neurotransmitters

Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter in your brain, and it gets a jump start from exercise. Once it's been activated, it seems to work directly on improving your mood. If you feel better, you'll start to look better, act better, and actually get better.

A Good Night's Sleep

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are also parts of depression's laundry list of symptoms, but exercise can scrub them right off. Regular exercise can help you fall asleep more quickly and give you deeper, more restful sleep. There's a natural dip in body temperature five to six hours after your exercise, so if you exercise later in the afternoon, you can take advantage of that dip and get to sleep more easily. Scientists believe that this dip in body temperature works like a kind of trigger mechanism that tells your body it's sleep time.

A Natural Mood Lifter

Exercise reduces feelings of depression and anxiety. A couple of things are at work here. You're stimulating those neurotransmitters (more about them a little later in the chapter), and you're also reestablishing a sense of control over your body. You determine when you exercise, how much you exercise, and where you exercise. Your mind is working with your body now, not against it. Also, you're burning calories, toning your body, and gaining stamina. It's a neat and tidy package.

Scientific Proof That Exercise Works

Scientists love to watch people. They're good at it, and they especially seem to enjoy watching other people exercise! In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1999, researchers divided 156 men and women with major depression into three groups.

The first group followed an aerobic exercise regimen, the second group took an antidepressant drug, and the third group exercised and also took the antidepressant. At the end of the sixteen-week study, 60 to 70 percent of the total participants no longer showed the symptoms of major depression. Exercise had been shown to be as effective as the antidepressant.

There's also evidence that exercise can help prevent a relapse of depression. In a follow-up to the study mentioned above, researchers found that those people who continued to exercise after the conclusion of the study were less likely to relapse into depression. That was very good news, since relapse is not uncommon.