13/01/2026
Many of us experience a mood-boost after exercise, and now an updated review has revealed just how powerful it can be. Even light exercise, like walking or gardening, may ease the symptoms of depression as effectively as talking therapies or antidepressants.
“It really reiterates that exercise provides an option for people who have depressive symptoms, and confirms that exercise may be as effective as psychotherapy and antidepressants,” says Andrew Clegg at the University of Lancashire in the UK.
Prior studies, including a key review published by the Cochrane Library in 2013, have found that exercise may ease symptoms of depression as effectively as standard therapies, including antidepressants and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), where a therapist helps people change their thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
This has prompted healthcare organisations to recommend regular exercise for managing depression. For instance, the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends weekly aerobic exercise, such as jogging, for 10 weeks – usually in combination with other therapies, which, on their own, don’t benefit everyone.
But since the 2013 review, dozens more trials have been conducted, so the Cochrane Library is now publishing an updated review. “This latest review [almost] doubles the evidence base that was in the previous one,” says Clegg, one of the review authors.
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2510492-exercise-may-relieve-depression-as-effectively-as-antidepressants/
Image: Neil Lang/Shutterstock
