Exercise is the new antidepressant | Letters

Of course there is a link between mind and body: mental health is inextricably linked with physical wellbeing

Your article shows the way that depression will be treated worldwide in future (A weight off our minds: how therapy got physical to beef up mental health", News). Exercise as a treatment for depression has five massive advantages: it is free; it can be used in combination with other treatments; the benefits last; it confers other health benefits; and it empowers the individual to take positive action in fighting off depression.

The underlying science has little to do with release of endorphins: exercise has been proved to work more permanently by stimulating neuroplasticity (ie new circuits) in key parts of the brain that subserve mood, emotion and executive functioning. It works in the same way as all other treatments for depression, from placebo to talking therapy to medication to ECT, and is synergistic when combined with any of these. Those with seasonal affective disorder should start an exercise programme when the clocks go back. Exercise really is the new antidepressant.
Dr Jeremy Seymour
Sheffield