What if it were possible to treat depression without psychotropic medication? Watch video
Rutgers University's Passion Puddle in a 2012 file photo. NEW BRUNSWICK -- A new Rutgers University study published earlier this month says it's possible to treat depression through a combination of meditation and exercise.
The study, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Translational Psychiatry, found that meditating and exercising twice a week for only two months "reduced the symptoms for a group of students by 40 percent," according to a statement from the university.
Participants began with 30 minutes of "focused-attention meditation followed by 30 minutes of aerobic exercise," researchers said.
The participants were told that "if their thoughts drifted to the past or the future they should refocus on their breathing -- enabling those with depression to accept moment-to-moment changes in attention."
The study found that this regime "improved depressive symptoms and high levels of anxiety" for participants, including a group of homeless mothers who took part in the study after being moved to a residential treatment facility. The women "exhibited severe depressive symptoms" and "elevated anxiety levels at the beginning" of the eight-week program. But by the end, they reported that their "depression and anxiety had eased, they felt more motivated, and they were able to focus more positively on their lives."
The primary objective of the study was to try and help individuals obtain new skills "so that they can learn to recover from stressful life events."
"We are excited by the findings because we saw such a meaningful improvement in both clinically depressed and non-depressed students," said Brandon Alderman, assistant professor in Rutgers' Department of Exercise Science and Sports Studies and lead author of the research study, in an interview with Rutgers Today, a university-run publication. "It is the first time that both of these two behavioral therapies have been looked at together for dealing with depression."
Alderman and Tracey Shors, a professor in Rutgers' Department of Psychology and Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, discovered that "a combination of mental and physical training (MAP) enabled students with major depressive disorder not to let problems or negative thoughts overwhelm them."
The participants -- 22 who suffered with depression and 30 who were mentally healthy students "reported fewer depressive symptoms and said they did not spend as much time worrying about negative situations taking place in their lives as they did before the study began."
Aerobic exercise, researchers say, can "help reduce negative thoughts."
Depression is a debilitating disorder that affects nearly one in five Americans at some point in their lives and "often occurs in adolescence" or early adulthood.
Currently, psychotropic medication remains the most common treatment for depression. The drugs "influence brain chemicals and regulate emotions and thought patterns."
Using drugs in conjunction with talk therapy, the researchers say "can work but takes considerable time and commitment on the part of the patient."
By learning to focus their attention, she says, along with exercise can allow people to combat depression and "acquire new cognitive skills that can help them process information and reduce the overwhelming recollection of memories from the past."
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.