Feeling sad and moving less? Or moving more and feeling better? Sport is key to mental health, but in depression processes, people tend to move less, contrary to what is commonly believed, as indicated by a new research from the University of Toronto (Canada). Adults who report more symptoms of depression in the past week are less likely to report physical activity in the same period, and this relationship generally goes both ways as being more active is also related to better mental health.
The study, published in the journal ‘Mental Health and Physical Activity’, contributes to a better understanding of how depression symptoms and physical activity are connected and mutually affect each other during adulthood.
“It was surprising to discover that present depression symptoms can negatively affect your levels of physical activity between two and five years later, while being inactive today is not related to your future depression symptoms,” says author Soli Dubash, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto. “Current depression symptoms can have lasting effects, but may be less substantial than the effects of current physical activity,” he adds.
Many studies show that going to the gym, dancing, gardening, or walking regularly can improve physical and mental health, with effects similar to antidepressant medications. The new study further supports this conclusion and shows that weekly physical activity is related to weekly depression symptoms and that moving more can improve mood.
“Better understanding the reciprocal relationship between mental health and physical activity can help people make evidence-based decisions about their health and the health of their loved ones and community members,” says Dubash. “It is important to allow people to make their own decisions about the causes and consequences of physical activity and depression symptoms and understand the impact that moving more (or less) can have on mood and overall health,” he adds.
Following a nationally representative sample of 3,499 US adults from 1986 to 2011, the study evaluated the lasting effects of initial differences in levels of physical activity and depression symptoms; how past physical activity predicts future physical activity; how past depression symptoms predict future depression symptoms; and the stability of this relationship during adulthood.
This study used a new causal inference technique to help ensure that these estimates represent people’s experiences in the real world. The method adjusted for stable individual characteristics, including omitted variables such as individual biology, family and community contexts, and life history.
While the idea that depression symptoms and physical activity are related during adulthood is not new, a new technique for examining reciprocal relationships over time allows for consideration of several alternative arguments. “One could immediately ask how personal factors influence this reciprocal relationship: wouldn’t genetics or early life history matter? “And that’s what this method allows us to adjust for, compared to previous techniques that would assume some relevant evidence for those important questions,” says Dubash.
Overall, physical activity and mental health mutually affect each other. Moving more week after week can improve your mood. This research shows that previous depression symptoms may persist, but their long-term effects could be less impactful than current physical activity. It also shows that over time, untreated depression symptoms can have negative consequences for physical activity levels that can then cause additional health problems.
“What really matters is that people make informed decisions about how to treat their mental health symptoms, particularly knowing that physical activity remains one of the best ways to improve people’s health and their communities; however, more people need to understand how depression symptoms can influence this process,” says Dubash.
