As if you needed another reason to exercise, new research from the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain found that people who take more steps during the day experienced few symptoms of depression.
To conduct the study, researchers assessed data from over 96,000 adults across nearly three dozen separate studies. The authors found that walking at least 5,000 steps per day was linked to improved mental health. Further, individuals who crossed the 7,000-step mark were found to have significantly reduced depression, with each incremental 1,000 steps netting further reductions.
The takeaway? Even small increases in your daily movement can benefit your mood.
Still, the study is not without caveats.
“One of the most important to mention is that although a correlation is seen between steps and lower depressive symptoms, there is no evidence to suggest a causal relationship. … For example, is it that more steps reduce depressive symptoms, or is it that having fewer depressive symptoms results in being more likely to be physically active and therefore having more steps?” Alexander Rothstein, a program coordinator of exercise science at the New York Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the study, told Yahoo Life.
In October, The Dallas Express detailed the findings of a recently published report that found physically healthy children are more likely to grow up with improved mental well-being. One study found that upwards of 30% of adolescents experience impaired mental health.
Another study from a team at the University of Queensland in Australia concluded that walking, jogging, and yoga at least twice a week netted significant improvements in patients’ depressive symptoms.
Nationwide, an estimated 21 million adults and 3.7 million youths aged 12-17 suffer from depression, according to Mental Health America. The majority, around 65%, never seek treatment.
The U.S. Surgeon General recommends Americans engage in at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity weekly exercise to help reduce the risk of severe health conditions, including depression.