The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time

by Alex Korb

Almost everything that depression causes can be combatted by exercise. For example: Physically Depression makes you lethargic and tired, but exercise gives you more energy and vitality. Depression often messes up your sleep patterns, but exercise improves your sleep, making it more restorative for your brain (chapter 7). Depression wreaks havoc on your appetite, so you either eat too little or chow down on junk food (in fact, people who eat lots of processed foods are at higher risk for depression1). Exercise improves your appetite, leading to more enjoyable eating and better health. Mentally Depression can make it hard to concentrate, but exercise makes you mentally sharper and better at planning and decision making.2 Depression makes you…well…depressed, but exercise improves your mood.3 It also reduces anxiety,4 decreases stress,5 and boosts self-esteem. Socially Depression usually keeps you isolated and alone, but exercise tends to bring you out into the world. Furthermore, all of these effects make it more likely that you’ll engage in other activities and thought processes that also reverse the course of depression. For example, exercise improves sleep, which then reduces pain, improves mood, and increases energy and alertness. Then reduced pain makes you more likely to exercise and increases your enjoyment of exercise. Having more energy also makes it more likely that you’ll exercise. The take-home message is that all these causes and effects intermingle and build on ...