A growing body of evidence indicates a correlation likely exists between mental health and exercise, said Joseph Carmona, deputy director for the Department of Behavioral Health at Irwin Army Community Hospital.
“The research is still emerging on it but I think it's almost a truism at this point to stay that exercise is a protective factor against mental health disorders,” he said. “We’re not talking about things like schizophrenia [or] anorexia nervosa. We're really talking about the biggest one, which is depression.”
Depression affects about nine to 10% of the U.S. population with 15 to 18% of Americans experiencing a major depressive episode at some point in their lifetime, he said. These episodes can be anything from mild to debilitating with long-term effects on work, quality of life and social interactions.
After witnessing the effects of exercise on his own mental health, Cpl. Dillon Moran, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, is an advocate of hitting the weights rather than a pill bottle. His journey to the gym started when he was in college and tipped the scales at 280 pounds.
“I decided to do something about it and … did a really deep dive into research,” Moran said. “Then I got into different fitness communities and eventually became a trainer. I worked at the gym and I helped teach functional fitness.”
He started taking charge of his life — a life that had been marked by the effects of anxiety and chemical depression.
“My family comes from a background with … issues like that,” he said. “When I say chemical depression — these are things that are not attached to any worry or concern or sadness or what have you. They're just very strictly physical — it's w weird.”
As Moran researched and became stronger physically and mentally through exercise, he realized his experiences resembled the research he was finding.
“The preponderance of research has found that exercise is beneficial almost to the same degree as some medications,” Carmona said.
He does caution that the benefits of exercise are not across the board for everyone and are slower to manifest results than medication.
“The effects of medication are more immediate than the effects of (exercise),” he said. “But looking over a long-term period — three months, six months to a year … a sustained exercise program can be just as beneficial as medication.”
Choosing exercise
When people exercise, they increase their serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
“We know that some medications that target serotonin, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, increase the presence of serotonin in key areas of the brain associated with pleasure and well-being,” Carmona said.
By developing an exercise regimen, people who are susceptible to low to moderate depression can reduce or eliminate their need for medication by producing the neurotransmitters in a natural way.
The choice of exercise is up to the individual. Carmona said the research shows benefits regardless of whether the exercise is aerobic or non-aerobic.
“What we find is that it doesn't matter whether you do aerobic exercise or non-aerobic exercise; both of them yield equal benefits across the spectrum,” he said.
Moran found CrossFit and weightlifting to be his go-tos when the stress and chaos of life start building. It allows him a chance to zone out and focus on what makes the chemical
adjustments he needs.
“It’s a … scenario that is very simple — the bar is loaded and the bar goes from here to there,” he said indicating from the floor to above his head. “It's very simple. You can overthink it — wrap your hands around the barbell and it goes from here to there. That's it. Your very complicated and messy world, for a brief period of time, becomes very simple — bar goes from here to there. And that's it. That's your whole world.”