Making room for an extra 30-minute workout or adding 5,000 steps per day each week can reduce the incidence of depression in women by 19%. Even modest adjustments to weekly exercise can prevent nearly one in five cases of the disorder, a new study found.
Routine physical activity has been promoted as a way to improve mental health and reduce the risk of depression and the symptoms associated with it, but research rarely quantifies how much of a difference it can make. Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression compared to men, and this study, conducted in South Africa by Discovery Vitality, a health insurer that incentivizes its members by rewarding financial decisions with wellness and fitness benefits, focused on what kinds of increased exercise can benefit women’s risk of depression.
“By demonstrating an intervention that anyone can access, we are beginning to get depression out of clinical corridors [and] to the streets, which is actually where depression lives,” says Dr. Mosima Mabunda, co-author of the article and director of wellness for Discovery Vitality. Fortune. “We can structure environments that allow us to reduce the prevalence of depression.”
Low to moderate exercise
The study, published last month in the International Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, examined nearly 50,000 Discovery Vitality members between 2013 and 2015 who had not been diagnosed with depression at the start of the study. The researchers tracked the participants’ exercise using physical activity trackers and recorded attendance at gym visits or physical activity-related events, who were then awarded points for various exercises based on duration and intensity. The study then compared exercise habits with diagnosed cases of depression in the group. The researchers found that even small adjustments in weekly exercise made a difference in women’s incidence of depression, specifically when going from low to moderate intensity for 30 minutes; this appears to be moving at an average of at least 5.5 km/h, swimming at an average of at least 1.5 km/h, or cycling at an average of at least 10 km/h, according to the study. It also reflects a typical gym workout. While the research doesn’t distinguish the baseline at which to add this additional activity, all participants began the study with low levels of fitness. The current guidelines in the US they recommend 150 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of weekly vigorous-intensity activity and at least two days of strength training.
The study found no significant association between exercise and reduced depression in men, in part because women were more likely to be diagnosed with depression, and therefore the sample size was not large enough to to detect a pattern in men. However, previous studies point to mental health benefits of routine physical activity, regardless of gender.
While exercise alone doesn’t cure all depression, Mabunda hopes studies like this one will normalize the discussion about active measures that protect mental health. The researchers write that being able to assess other factors that can affect exercise ability, such as family history, socioeconomic status, and geographic location, could provide more robust results in the future.
“When people know their risk, they are more likely to act,” she says.
exercise on the brain
While the direct mechanisms of how exercise affects our mental health are still being studied, exercise increases blood flow to the brain, supplying it with oxygen and nutrients. It can also promote the release of those feel good hormones associated with reward and pleasure and is recommended as a preventive measure for the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Mabunda also speculates that routine exercise can boost self-esteem and confidence, something she personally resonates with.
“I can be much more focused. I can be much more confident in how I present myself at work,” she says.
The study moves away from the idea that you need to be out of breath or train for hours for something as intense as Iron Man, to get mental health results. Finding something you really enjoy doing helps you stick with it more and therefore benefit from it more consistently. Walking with loved ones, going on a hike, or working out at the gym all fit the mold.
“It’s almost always possible to find something you enjoy,” says Mabunda.
This story originally appeared on fortune.com
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