\nPeople over 50 who exercise for at least 20 minutes five times a week may have a lower risk of depression than those who don\u2019t, a new study has found.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe research, published earlier this month in JAMA Network Open<\/em>, suggests older adults may see significant health benefits from moderate exercise, even if they don\u2019t hit the target recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) of getting in at least five 30-minute workouts each week.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cWe were trying to figure out: What is the bare minimum dose of physical activity you need for depression?\u201d Eamon Laird, PhD, a lifestyle health researcher at the University of Limerick and the first study author of the new paper, told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cCurrently, it\u2019s [thought to be] 30 minutes per day, and that can be quite hard for people to do," he said.<\/span> "That\u2019s the reason we wanted to investigate this.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nKnowing the benefits of shorter workouts may help more people prioritize exercise, Susan Albers-Bowling, PsyD, a psychiatrist and psychologist at Cleveland Clinic, told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cExercise can be like a magic wand to your mental and physical health,\u201d she said. \u201cBut although we know it is great for our mental health, a lot of people struggle to do it."<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe new findings suggest that benefits only go up when people over 50 exercise more than 20 minutes a day; the study authors wrote that the risk of depressive symptoms continued to decrease as time spent exercising increased.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe research team also noted that people with certain chronic diseases\u2014such as diabetes, lung disease, osteoporosis, and liver disease, among others\u2014may need to exercise more than people without those diseases to reap the same mental health benefits.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nBelow, experts explain the connection between movement and mental health, as well as how to figure out how much exercise is right for you.\n<\/p>\n Getty Images \/ Dean Mitchell<\/p>\n <\/span> 3 Walking Workouts, According to Experts<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nPhysical activity and mental health, go hand in hand.\n<\/p>\n \nExercise can help you deal with stress, lessen feelings of depression, and improve your mood and emotional well-being, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe new study's research team used two different tools to determine whether participants were depressed.\n<\/p>\n \nThe first is called the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), a 20-item list that helps experts determine the severity of a person\u2019s depression.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nTo complete the CES-D, participants report how frequently they\u2019ve recently experienced certain symptoms or feelings related to mental health. For example: how many times during the past seven days did you feel fearful, lonely, and sad.\n<\/p>\n \nThe second test the researchers used is called the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI); it is structured similarly to the CES-D and allows experts to determine whether a person is suffering from panic disorder, general anxiety disorder, or major depression.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe participants were also asked about how much exercise they got on average, per week. Their activity level was measured using a system called the metabolic equivalent of task (or MET), which helps experts determine how quickly a person burns calories while they\u2019re active vs. resting.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nThe new study involved 4,016 participants, all of whom were enrolled in The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging. The average age of the participants was 61, and 54.9% percent of them were women. The researchers collected data from the participants at five different points from October 2009 to December 2018, then analyzed it from June to August 2022.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n According to Laird, the study was limited in a few key ways:<\/p>\n \nThe researchers determined that people over 50 without chronic conditions who practiced moderate exercise (such as brisk walking) for 100 minutes a week\u2014which works out to five 20-minute workouts\u2014had a 16% lower rate of depressive symptoms. People in this category were also 43% less likely to have experienced major depression.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nBy contrast, the WHO recommends that everyone ages 18 to 64 get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise\u2014or five 30-minute workouts\u2014each week.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nStudy participants who exceeded 100 minutes a week saw an even greater benefit to their mental health.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThe more [exercise] you did, the better,\u201d Laird said.\n<\/p>\n \nPeople who got 120 minutes of exercise a day had a 23% lower rate of depressive symptoms and were 49% less likely to have experienced major depression.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nIt\u2019s worth noting, the study authors wrote, that older adults who get a lot of exercise may also be more inclined to have other healthy habits, like eating balanced diets and prioritizing social engagements.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nTherefore, it could be that multiple lifestyle choices, not just the amount of exercise they get, lower their risk of depression.\n<\/p>\n \nThe researchers found that people with chronic illness were also less likely to experience depression if they exercised, though they may need more exercise to see the same benefits as people without chronic illness.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n The Benefits of 10 Minutes of Moderate to Vigorous Activity Daily<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n \nThough the new research is focused on adults over 50, the results are applicable to people of all ages, Albers-Bowling said. \u201cYou have to find the right dose [of exercise] for you."\n<\/p>\n \nTo do this, she recommended keeping a log of how much you exercise over a given period of time. Note what kind of exercise you do each day and how long you practice it. Additionally, she said, you should take notes about how you\u2019re feeling each day.\n<\/p>\n \nThis will help you make connections about how much exercise you need to feel your best. \u201cMaybe one day you do 20 minutes, another day an hour. Ask yourself: Does it make a difference, doing an hour?\u201d Albers-Bowling said.\n<\/p>\n \nIt\u2019s also helpful to remember that \u201cexercise\u201d comes in many different forms.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cOur initial cognitive stereotype is cardio, when you\u2019re really sweating,\u201d she said. \u201cBut walking your dog, going up the stairs vigorously, playing with your kids\u2014any kind of movement\u201d can help.\n<\/p>\n \nSome people may associate the word \u201cexercise\u201d with negative feelings, Albers-Bowling added.\n<\/p>\n \nIf this is the case for you, try swapping it out.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIf you have a knee-jerk reaction to the word exercise, I often reframe it to \u2018movement\u2019 or \u2018mindful movement,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThis can help you overcome that block and stop seeing exercise as a punishment, something you have to do to burn calories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Getting just 20 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week may significantly lower the risk of depression in adults over 50, according to a new study. The findings suggest people in this age group can reap benefits from getting less exercise than the amount recommended by the World Health Organization. The findings don't apply […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1113,410],"tags":[1114,116],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17286"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Group](\"https:\/\/www.health.com\/thmb\/eug_YqojdoGG24D-SHrwY4BAC6Y=\/1500x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()\/GettyImages-1163495015-b3c11a0b652446bfab5a2d844ae9db33.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The Relationship Between Exercise and Depression <\/span> <\/h2>\n
\nStudy Limitations<\/h3>\n
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How to Determine If Your Exercise Routine Is Working for You <\/span> <\/h2>\n