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| Exercise reduces depression symptoms about as effectively as therapy, according to a major review of the evidence. And it doesn’t appear to matter what exercise you do — consistent walking, dancing, or gardening all send the same signal to a stuck nervous system.
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Let’s look into it,
Tim Snaith
Newsletter Editor, Healthline
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Written by Tim Snaith
January 28, 2026 • 3 min read |
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| How movement shifts your mood
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| The review examined trials involving nearly 5,000 adults with depression. When researchers compared exercise to doing nothing, they found moderate symptom relief, results similar to those with therapy.
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| The type of movement matters less than you’d think; it appears to be consistency that really counts. So, why might exercise work?
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| A 2024 systematic review identified three mechanisms:
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