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Running for Your Life - Page 2

© John McManamy

And should you have your doubts about the Duke findings, Depression.com lists several more:

Researchers at the University of Illinois surveyed 401 adults and found that more exercise correlated with less depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

Harvard University researchers put 16 moderately depressed individuals over age 60 on a weight-lifting regimen, and found that at the end of 10 weeks only two were still depressed compared to everyone in the control group.

University of California-Berkeley researchers have been tracking 6,000 individuals since 1965, revealing strong associations between a sedentary lifestyle and depression and equally strong associations between physical activity and relief from depression.

University of Nebraska researchers divided 180 college students into three groups - one that swam for an hour twice a week, another that did hour-long weight training twice a week, and the other that was the control group. Compared with the controls, both exercise groups were significantly less depressed.

A LaTrobe Univerity (Australia) study found two month's of tai chi beneficial for depression.

Exercise works against depression in a number of ways:

• By reducing the stress hormone cortisol, which is linked to depression.
• By restoring one's sleep and eating patterns, and raising energy levels, all critically important to feeling alive.
• By releasing endorphins, which are associated with good mood.
• By raising serotonin levels, according to one study.
• Finally, getting in shape improves self-esteem.

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University (UK) claim the chemical phenylethylamine (PEA) to be a byproduct of exercise and the cause of the euphoric mood called "runner's high." The researchers measured PEA levels in 20 men before and after exercise and discovered all but two had increased levels 24 hours later. The study's author, Ellen Billett DPhil says that endorphins, previously thought to cause runner's high, don't penetrate the brain as easily as PEA does, though endorphins may still play a role. According to Hector Sabelli, MD, PhD of Rush University in an article in WebMD: "What we have seen is that PEA metabolism is reduced in people who are depressed. If you give PEA to people with depression, about 60 percent show an immediate recovery - very fast, a matter of half an hour."

Significantly, PEA is a key ingredient in chocolate, which along with fat and sugar is thought to account for the treat's feel-good effect. One can easily imagine humankind divided into two poles, all based on how we seek our PEA fix.

There is no scientifically-proven exercise or type of exercise that is superior to the others. Dr Weil, the natural health guru, strongly advocates 30-minute aerobic workouts five times a week. Aerobics are what one associates with Jane Fonda workout tapes and prancing fitness instructors, but the term applies to nearly all physical activity that is not specifically strength-oriented, such as walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, and tennis.

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