Many people think of walking as a gentle activity that mainly benefits the heart and muscles. However, scientists are increasingly discovering that physical activity can also have powerful effects on mental health.
A new study has found that one particular form of walking, known as Nordic walking, may significantly reduce symptoms of depression and may start helping people feel better in only a few weeks.
Depression is much more than feeling sad for a few days. It is a medical condition that can affect emotions, thoughts, physical health, and relationships. People with depression often feel tired and lose interest in hobbies and social activities.
They may have trouble concentrating, struggle with sleep problems, and find even simple daily tasks exhausting. Depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and affects millions of adults every year.
Treatments for depression commonly include talking therapies and medications. At the same time, researchers have become increasingly interested in the role of exercise.
Previous studies have shown that regular physical activity can reduce symptoms of depression, but there are still questions about how quickly exercise works and which activities may be especially helpful.
The new research focused on Nordic walking, an activity that uses specially designed poles during walking. The poles look similar to those used in hiking, but they serve a different purpose. They encourage the upper body to work together with the legs, turning walking into a whole-body exercise.
Nordic walking began in Finland several decades ago. Cross-country skiers wanted a way to maintain their fitness during the warmer months when there was no snow. The exercise eventually became popular among people of all ages because it is easy to learn and places less stress on the joints than many other forms of exercise.
The study was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. Researchers recruited 64 adults who had moderate to severe depression and who were not exercising regularly before the study began.
The participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Forty-eight people joined the Nordic walking program, while sixteen people continued their normal routines without participating in exercise sessions.
The walking group attended two supervised sessions each week for ten weeks. Each session lasted about one hour. The instructors monitored participants’ heart rates to make sure they were exercising at a moderate level that was challenging but still comfortable.
To track changes in mental health, the researchers used a widely accepted questionnaire called the Beck Depression Inventory-II. This survey measures the severity of depression symptoms by asking participants about their emotions, physical feelings, and daily functioning.
The findings showed clear benefits. People who participated in Nordic walking experienced substantial reductions in depression symptoms compared with those who did not exercise. Improvements appeared surprisingly quickly, with much of the progress taking place during the first five weeks of the program.
Participants with severe depression showed particularly strong improvements. By the end of the study, between 35 percent and 53.6 percent of the walkers had reached remission, meaning their symptoms had improved enough that they no longer met the usual criteria for clinical depression.
The study also reported that participants completed the exercise program without injuries or major health problems. This is important because depression can make it difficult for people to begin or continue demanding exercise routines. Nordic walking may provide an activity that feels manageable and enjoyable while still offering significant health benefits.
The researchers believe their findings support the idea that physical activity should be viewed as an important part of mental health care rather than only a way to improve physical fitness.
Community exercise programs may provide people with opportunities for movement, social interaction, and time outdoors, all of which can contribute to better mental well-being.
The study cannot prove that Nordic walking alone will work for everyone with depression, and the relatively small number of participants means more studies are still needed.
Nevertheless, the findings are encouraging because they show that a simple and inexpensive activity may produce meaningful improvements in mood within a relatively short period of time. The results also suggest that exercise programs deserve greater attention as part of comprehensive approaches to treating depression.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about 6 foods you can eat to improve mental health, and B vitamins could help prevent depression and anxiety.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how dairy foods may influence depression risk, and results showing Omega-3 fats may help reduce depression.
Source: Journal of Affective Disorders study.
