Exercise: A winning way to balance your life

Take a hike when you're feeling low, and you may hike up your mood.  Research shows that staying physically active improves your mental health as well as your physical health.  Not into hiking?
No problem.  Any exercise will do--even a daily walk around your neighborhood.

Scientists aren't sure why moving your body improves your mood.  It may be that it gives you a sense of control, or perhaps it triggers the release of certain hormones that boost your mood.  If you work our in a group setting, the social interaction also may help ward off depression.  The fact is, exercise does you good.  Here are some ways it helps to balance your mood--and your life.

Stimulates your mental well-being.  A recent study found that people ages 55 to 75 who were leaner and more physically fit were less likely to be depressed or to report problems with tension, anxiety, and anger.  They didn't follow a regular exercise plan either--they may have just been more active in their everyday lives.
 
May replace antidepressants.  Regular exercise may even be as effective as antidepressant drugs.  A recent study at Duke University Medical Center divided 150 people with major depression into three groups.  One group took antidepressant medication, one group exercised three times a week, and the other group exercised and took medication.  After four months, all three groups improved at about the same level.

Improves your sleep.  More than half the people who see their doctors about insomnia are found to have a mental disorder, most commonly depression.  Insomnia may be both a symptom and a cause of depression,
you can't sleep because you're depressed, and the lack of sleep leads to even more severe depression.  Taking a daily walk, swim, of bike ride could break this downward cycle. 

Being more active can lift your mood, improve your sleep patterns, and help you achieve a rosier outlook on life without the side effects most prescription drugs can cause.  To maintain the positive effects of exercise, though, you have to keep it up.  Luckily, the mood-lifting effects of exercise work even for former couch potatoes, so it's never too late to start moving to shake of your gloom.  Just make sure you check with your doctor before beginning a strenuous exercise program, particularly if you've been inactive most of your life.