Depression can affect anyone, and research shows that young adults and teenagers are particularly susceptible to it, but now new studies are emerging showing medical treatment as well as exercise can help ease the pain the condition brings. Medical treatment for depression is not surprising, but the idea that exercise can help is.

How Exercise Can Help Treat Depression

The study, conducted in the UK and scheduled to be presented to the Society for Neuroscience meeting, included 10 girls and 3 boys, all of whom suffered from depression. Each one was enrolled in workouts with a trainer, and they engaged in exercises three times a week for three months. When they weren’t working out with the trainer, the teens were asked to exercise for half an hour a day.

At the end of the 12 week program, the exercises helped improve the moods of the participants, with the state of depression reduced by 63%, and 85% of the participants declared they no longer felt as depressed as they were before the workout program began. According to the author of the study, Robin Callister of Newcastle University, exercising has many benefits, and one of them is its therapeutic nature, and this study shows its promise in helping fight depression.

How Does Exercise Help Treat Depression?

The positive result of the aforementioned test is encouraging researchers to conduct larger tests. One reason why exercise is effective against depression is the fact that when you engage in rigorous workouts your body boosts its endorphin levels, chemicals in the brain that have been shown to reduce stress. The findings have been supported by researchers in the United States who note that exercise can help not just teens but adults battle depression. However, while workouts can help battle depression, experts are one in saying that you still need therapy and medication to effectively deal with the condition.

Treatment Options

Depression is treated with antidepressant drugs, and they are specially formulated to keep suicidal and other negative thoughts at bay. Sarafem is an antidepressant doctors prescribe to treat panic attacks, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder and bulimia. Sarafem can improve mental and emotional disposition as well as increase your energy level, boost appetite and help you sleep. At the same time the medication can help renew your interest in performing your daily everyday tasks as well as get rid of feelings of fear, being unwanted and also eliminate compulsive habits like repeated checking, hand washing etc. that get in the way of daily living.

Sarafem side effects include yawning frequently, feeling sleepy and in some cases anxiety or difficulty sleeping. Most of these effects are temporary and vanish after a few days of treatment, but if they persist tell your health provider immediately. Severe side effects such as muscle weakness, loss of interest in sex, trembling, and susceptibility to bleeding are rare but should be reported to your doctor immediately. If you are diabetic have your blood sugar levels monitored regularly as the drug might affect it.