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Why Exercise May Be A Natural Antidepressant

What impression do you get when you think of exercise? Maybe a happy land comfort life, oh no maybe a life full of tiresome jogging and stretching. It’s quite true your thoughts are not far from my thinking. Though exercises may sound hectic at the mention, research has it that it works in the same effects like an alleviate depression natural antidepressant. You may actually ditch all your medications in the dust bin and start using exercise as your personal natural mood booster. But, be patient on the ditching part; let’s have a short glimpse of what the doctors and researcher have to say on the importance of everyday exercises.

Reasons For Exercise

Reasons that justify why exercise is an alternative antidepressant that helps ease depression symptoms have not been clearly defined yet. Recent studies done by use of a microarray tool to examine how exercise change the gene activity in mice, gave a clue on the effects in human beings. The focus of the research was based on a brain region called the hippocampus which is known to be responsible for mood regulation and how dl-phenylalanine does affect fertility. The rodents were put on a running wheel and the effects showed alteration of 33 genes, which were ever observed in other experiments. The conclusion was that exercise enhances nerve growth factor known as ‘Nerve growth Factors’ (NGF) – they are small proteins that maintain nerve cells. The researchers further infused synthetic version of NGF in the brains of mice, and the result was a robust natural antidepressant effect that acted as a natural mood booster to animals that were in stressful conditions.

Exercise And Depression Information

According to a senior researcher Dr. Ronald S. Dunman of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, the major breakthrough was the finding identified a major factor that underlies antidepressant effects of exercise; a masterpiece that could be used to develop a ray of therapeutic agents.

The effect of the nerve cells in the hippocampus proved that exercise was a natural antidepressant treatment that purported the free flow of blood that further increased hormonal activities.  The good news from the research was that the findings of NGF created an idea for development of alternative antidepressants that could replace the known manufactured over the counter drugs that claimed to be natural mood booster.

Turning our heads to other researchers, we have Dr. Rober E. Thayer who authored the book “Calm energy: How People Regulate Mood with Food and Exercise.” He explains how exercise can actually be used as a natural mood booster without necessarily relying on alternative antidepressants.  A research supporting this evidence showed that ten minutes of brisk walking raised the mood and energy levels of the individuals for up to two hours.

In a nutshell, natural antidepressants are not a very far idea than the use of exercise, proper dietary, and exposure to good lighting.   If you are seeking alternative natural antidepressants that will enable you evade the harsh fatigue caused by exercises, then you are going in the wrong direction. You need to turn around and start thinking of exercise as the best natural antidepressant treatment second to none.