How exercising with others can improve your daily mood.
HAVING A STEADY WORKOUT PARTNER, OR GROUP, COULD HELP IMPROVE YOUR OVERALL DAILY MOOD
With society’s increased focus on mental health, the role exercise plays in protecting against and treating depression is gaining more attention.
This is especially true since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Canadians became even more isolated from their normal social circles and exercise routines.
An overwhelming amount of evidence endorses physical activity as a mood enhancer, with several studies demonstrating that exercise works as well as medication in alleviating symptoms of depression — especially over the long term. Scientists claim it’s the post-workout flow of feel-good chemicals — endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine — that helps counteract depression.
Others suggest it’s the welcome distraction from worry and depressive thoughts along with improved self-efficacy and confidence that makes exercise a viable therapy for getting rid of the blues.
Most studies on depression and physical activity have featured aerobic exercise, like running, walking or cycling, as the primary mode of exercise. But recently yoga and strength-training workouts have been shown to be just as effective at creating positive vibes. What hasn’t been explored is whether exercising as part of a group can further improve the mood-boosting effects of exercise.
Members of sports teams and exercise groups tend to be more consistent in their exercise habits than people who work out solo.
The same goes for the decreased feelings of loneliness and isolation and greater life satisfaction that comes with being part of a group. Still to be determined is whether combining the mood-enhancing effects of regular exercise with the increased social connectedness of being part of a group is the ultimate one-two punch in knocking out depression.
Motivated by this gap in knowledge, a team from the Research School in Psychology at The Australian National University reviewed data compiled from two distinct groups: 4,549 older adults in England and another sample of 635 adults living in Australia.
Both groups indicated they were part of a sport club, gym or exercise group, as well as revealing how many times per week they participated in mild, moderate and vigorous exercise. They also reported how often they felt lonely, isolated, left out or sad. The researchers explored another interesting dynamic, related to what happens when participation in group exercise is suspended.
“Rather than focusing on the protective effects of belonging to sports or exercise groups under ‘normal’ circumstances, we capitalized on a unique opportunity — afforded by the enforced suspension of group-based physical activity due to COVID-19 — by assessing the relationships between losing physical access to one’s sport and exercise group and physical activity, loneliness and depression,” the researchers said.
Both cohorts reported fewer depressive symptoms while part of a group. Among the group of older adults, it seems that being part of a team resulted in more consistency in their exercise routine.
The Australian cohort provided additional insights into their feelings when participation in group exercise was discontinued.
“We found that participants who had lost physical access to more groups reported more severe depression symptoms," the researchers said.
Given the positive effects of exercising in a group, it seems simple enough to suggest signing up for a fitness class to anyone who can benefit from a shift in mood.
But the ability to engage with a group can be a hurdle for individuals suffering from depression. The same goes for starting an exercise routine.
Lack of motivation is common among people with a mood disorder. Given these challenges, setting modest exercise goals with as little as one extra person working out alongside is the perfect starting point.
As confidence in the ability to exercise and interact with others grows, workout frequency and the number of fellow exercisers can gradually increase, which should result in less sadness, anxiety and overall depression.
“While engaging in physical activity remains a strategy that people seeking to protect themselves against depressions can use, their focus may be best placed on joining one or more sport or exercise groups,” the researchers said.
“This would enable then to reap the dual benefits that our findings suggest may arise from them subsequently engaging in a greater amount of physical activity (and thus experiencing the biological and psychosocial benefit this confers); and feeling less lonely (thus experiencing the psychological benefit this confers).”
It’s worth noting that workout intensity isn’t a moderating factor in how effective exercise is in improving mood. Instead, focus on exercising at an intensity that produces the greatest level of enjoyment and will keep you coming back for more. So whether you and your newly formed exercise crew are walking, running or getting together for a yoga class, it’s the exercise and the togetherness — not the amount of sweat you produce, that changes your mood.