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Let's pretend you can shrink yourself to the size of an atom, because we're going to dive inside your brain. We're going to explore your brain and try to learn all we can about its link with depression.
If we were to take a journey inside your brain, we would see special substances called neurotransmitters moving about. These neurotransmitters allow your brain's nerve cells to communicate with one another. They're responsible for helping you to feel good. Although the exact biochemical causes of depression still elude scientists, they have found that doing one simple thing can help you feel better.
It's called physical activity.
You can play basketball, jog in the park, or take your dog out for a walk. Any of these will serve as a natural remedy for depression. It's not really the type of activity that counts, it's just making sure you do something.
But why does exercise help make you feel better?
To understand that, we have to go back inside your brain. Your brain has special receptors for substances called opiates. These opiates are substances that temporarily alleviate pain andcreate feelings of pleasure. Synthetic drugs such as heroin mimic the effects of opiates in the brain. Fortunately, you don't need synthetic drugs to create a feeling of pleasure. You can do it naturally.
All you have to do is tell your body to fill your bloodstream with endorphins.
Endorphins are neurotransmitters that interact with your brain's opiate receptors to alleviate pain and give you an emotional boost. You feel better when you stimulate endorphin secretion. So how do you do this? In a word, exercise. Study after study has shown that exercise increases your endorphin levels and make you feel better. In addition, it also decreases the risk of various health problems such as cancer and obesity.
But what if you don't feel like exercising?
Oftentimes, we don't want to try something new because we feel like it will be too hard or it's something we don't feel confident we can do. So make it easy on yourself. Don't try running a marathon if you've never even run half a mile. Start out slow. Park in the farthest parking spot so you have to walk more. Go for an easy stroll after dinner. You're not training for the Olympics. You're just trying to increase the amount of physical activity you do.
The good news is it won't take up that much of your time.
One study from Northern Arizona University found that 10 minutes of pedaling on a stationary bicycle helped a group of women students feel better. That's right, 10 minutes was all it took. Although the research doesn't point to what type of exercise works best as a natural treatment for depression, it does show that almost any exercise is better than nothing. So even if you feel like you can't do 10 minutes, make it easy on yourself by doing some physical activity for a few minutes. From personal experience, I know that a good half hour jog always makes me feel better.
Getting started at beating depression is easy.
It starts with moving your body. It's free and it doesn't take that long. When you exercise, you'll be releasing feel-good chemicals into your bloodstream. It's one of the best natural remedies for depression and one of the safest to boot.
Adam Appleson has been actively involved in using personal development techniques to promote psychological health and goal-oriented success for the past 11 years. He is the founder of ZenTactics.com, a website with advice written especially for survivors of abusive and dysfunctional families.
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