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20 Minutes of Exercise Boosts Mental Health

[Posted: Thu 10/04/2008 by Deborah Condon]

Taking part in just 20 minutes of any physical activity, including housework, each week can boost mental health, the results of a new study indicate.

According to researchers from University College London (UCL), while regular exercise is known to be good for mental health, it is unclear how much or what type of activity is best.

They looked at a representative sample of 20,000 men and women who had taken part in a Scottish health survey. The participants were queried about their state of mind and their physical activity levels.

Over 3,000 were deemed to be suffering from stress or anxiety.

The study found that any form of daily physical activity was associated with a lower risk of distress. The range of activities which proved beneficial included housework, gardening and walking.

However the strongest effect was seen for sports – it lowered the risk of distress by 33%.

The study also found that while just 20 minutes of physical activity a week improved a person’s mental state, the more activity a person undertook, the lower their chances of experiencing psychological distress.

Apart from the mental health benefits, the researchers pointed out that physical activity also reduces the risk of a range of serious diseases, such as heart disease and some cancers.

“It also improves several biological risk factors, such as glucose intolerance and inflammation, which have themselves been linked to depression and dementia”, they added.

Details of these findings are published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.