People in this thread are repeating the myth that exercise is a treatment for depression, when all the evidence we have shows that it probably isn't.<p>The article links to an old version of the NICE guidance. The new version of that is here: <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg90" rel="nofollow">https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg90</a><p>It's important to note that exercise isn't being touted as a treatment for depression, but as something that may help people with sub-clinical symptoms. They have one or two symptoms of depression, but not the whole package.<p>> Low-intensity psychosocial interventions<p>> For people with persistent subthreshold depressive symptoms or mild to moderate depression, consider offering one or more of the following interventions, guided by the person's preference:<p>> individual guided self-help based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)<p>> computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT)[4]<p>> a structured group physical activity programme.<p>NICE does <i>not</i> recommend exercise as a treatment for depression. This is because the evidence we have shows it does not work. It's not, as the author of the submitted article suggests, that we don't yet have good enough evidence.
So many people (including doctors) seem to be set on the idea that serotonin makes you happy and therefore is the solution to depression. This is only half true, and not in the way that most think. Serotonin (if high) makes you numb [1]. But that might be the lesser of two evils when it comes to depression [2], which is why it’s become popular as a mechanism to treat it. It not a solution, it’s just masking the underlying problem by replacing one set of symptoms with another.<p>[1] - <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989833/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989833/</a><p>[2] - <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/depression/is-your-antidepressant-making-life-a-little-too-blah" rel="nofollow">https://www.health.harvard.edu/depression/is-your-antidepres...</a>
Interesting review of non-drug approaches to depression and mood:<p>- Alterations in thought (meditation)<p>- Exposure to bright light (outdoors)<p>- Exercise<p>- tryptophan supplementation taken WITHOUT food for greater uptake<p>- α-Lactalbumin found in Milk but not really a great option<p>Definitely can speak to the exposure to light, and exercise ones. Nothing lifts my mood more than going for a run outside, in the heat of the sun.
I have a seasonal depression diagnosis and lifting weights has been by far the best treatment for me. Meditation, light therapy, and vitamins/nootropics are all good on their own, they each sort of take away some of the symptoms, but I wouldn't say the depression isn't still there. But weightlifting is incredible. I feel amazing after a heavy session - deadlifting and benching especially give me a kind of euphoria. Gym fixes my lack of appetite, lack of social energy, disorganization, lack of motivation to work on my hobbies, work focus, anxiety, everything. I can't recommend lifting enough.
More info on niacin/tryptophan<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yofewUE6L-k" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yofewUE6L-k</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l0S25DIxqw" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l0S25DIxqw</a>
Surprisingly, a <i>carbohydrate-only</i> meal provides an immediate, drastic increase in serotonin biosynthesis. A high protein meal does not. And it's probably pretty irrelevant to clinical stuff because there have to be high protein meals in the past to get the effect.<p>The reasons are:<p>- Trp transport into CNS is rate limited by large neutral amino acid (LNAAt) transporter<p>- Trp has a lower affinity for LNAAt than other amino acids<p>- Trp, 5HTP, serotonin are strongly buffered by blood plasma proteins<p>So, with a high protein meal, the isoleucine, phenylalanine etc. are outcompeting typtophan at getting into the brain. With a low protein meal, insulin triggers uptake of amino acids into tissue (again, preferentially stuff that's <i>not</i> Trp), and Trp in blood is enriched as it dissociates from plasma proteins. Then the composition of blood amino acids is mostly Trp so it is taken up by brain tissue.<p>[0] <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22677921" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22677921</a>
[1] <a href="http://wurtmanlab.mit.edu/static/pdf/1001.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://wurtmanlab.mit.edu/static/pdf/1001.pdf</a>
Doing my best to summarize the effects of 5-HTP and its' corresponding pubmed research:<p><a href="https://nutripeek.com/detail/5-htp" rel="nofollow">https://nutripeek.com/detail/5-htp</a>
One of the key findings is positive thinking can increase serotonin. “Self-induced changes in mood can influence serotonin synthesis.”<p>For those interested in a practical approach to positive thinking, check out “How Full is Your Bucket” by Tom Rath and Donald Clifton [1]. They discuss the 5:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions and how it’s the key to a happy relationship [2].<p>[1] <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Full-Your-Bucket-Rath/dp/1595620036" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/How-Full-Your-Bucket-Rath/dp/15956200...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-magic-relationship-ratio-according-science/" rel="nofollow">https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-magic-relationship-ratio-ac...</a>
This type of article makes me realize how much a love the more and more used abstract section with a couple of lines of: Introduction, method, result and discussion.
pdf — <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/pdf/20071100s00001p394.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2077351/pdf/200...</a>