Newswise — With more than three-quarters of children and teens experiencing depression or anxiety, parents are desperate for effective solutions. Now, new research from the University of South Australia shows that something as simple as regular exercise could be a powerful intervention to support young people’s mental health.
In the largest meta-meta-analysis of 375 clinical trials involving more than 38,000 young people, UniSA researchers found that when children took part in structured exercise programs, their symptoms of depression and anxiety improved. Specifically, the study found that:
Anxiety improved most through low-intensity, resistance exercises, such as light weights or gentle circuit activities.
Depression improved most through moderate-intensity, mixed-mode and resistance training, including circuits that combine aerobic and strength programs, particularly in programs lasting less than three months.
The biggest improvements in depression symptoms occurred in programs lasting fewer than 12 weeks, suggesting that benefits can emerge relatively quickly – especially for children aged 12 and over.
No significant differences were seen among the frequency of exercise sessions per week.
Children with depression and ADHD also showed the greatest improvements from exercise.
Lead researcher, UniSA’s Dr Ben Singh says the findings present parents with a non-invasive, low-cost solution to combat poor mental health in kids.
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“Depression and anxiety are among the most prevalent mental health issues affecting children and teenagers worldwide,” Dr Ben Singh says.
“Evidence-based treatment guidelines often recommend cognitive behaviour therapy and antidepressants as first-line interventions, yet 40-60% of children don’t receive treatment or fail to gain sufficient benefits, so we clearly need alternatives.
“Exercise is a low-cost, widely accessible strategy that could make a real difference to children’s mental health. And while people know that exercise is generally good for your health and wellbeing, there is little evidence that shows how exercise works for kids nor the types of exercise that might work better than others.
“Our study draws together global evidence to show that gentle, light-intensity exercise is highly effective in reducing anxiety in children and teens, while medium-intensity programs that combine resistance and aerobic training – like circuits with weights – can counteract depression.
“Importantly, it demonstrates how exercise is an effective, accessible, lifestyle intervention that can immediately improve mental health issues in children, without first defaulting to medicines.”
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Senior researcher, UniSA’s Prof Carol Maher says the findings reiterate the importance of exercise for mental health.
“Exercise should be a core part of mental health care for children and teens, whether at school, in the community, or clinical settings,” Prof Maher says.
“Short, structured programs that include strength training or a mix of activities seem especially promising, but simply exercising, even for short amounts of time will deliver benefits.
“And for parents, rest assured – you certainly don’t need to fork out money for a gym membership or training program; play-based activities, games, and sport are all valuable forms of movement that can support mental wellbeing.
“The key message is simple: get active and keep active. Even short bursts of movement can make a real difference to a child’s mental health and wellbeing – especially for those who are struggling”.
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Contact for interview: Dr Ben Singh E: [email protected] Media contact: Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E:[email protected]
Lillian Haynes reaches overhead and wraps her knuckles around a chalky metal pull-up bar. She takes a deep breath, sets herself, then contracts her back muscles, pulling her body skywards with surprising ease. She is 76 years old.
Later, she cranks out 15 perfect press-ups with technique that would put most twentysomething gym-goers to shame. Yet, at 59, she lacked the strength to hold a bodyweight plank.
Lillian, mother of experienced strength coach and Coastal Fitness founder Ed Haynes, is a prime example of the fact that it is never too late to start training, having started working out with her son shortly before turning 60.
“When I started training my mum, all she had done was jogging,” Haynes says. “I’ve been coaching her for 16 years now, and now she does strength training four days a week, plays golf three times a week and is more knowledgeable than most coaches when it comes to nutrition. At 76, she’s more active than most people half her age.”
Prioritise quick wins
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“If you walk 10km into the woods, you have to walk 10km to get out of it,” says Haynes. In other words: the impact of 20 years of unhealthy habits is going to take time and effort to undo.
“For most people, the rate of adaptation from exercise is quite slow, especially if they are a little bit older,” he adds. This is why he prioritises quick wins with his clients – lifestyle changes that have a near-immediate positive impact.
“I think a lot about the pain points that people are dealing with,” he continues. “One is physical pain – sore joints, or difficulty walking down the stairs. So what are the quick wins we can use that are going to reduce pain tomorrow?
For most people, it’s all about nutrition and lifestyle. “For example, most people don’t drink enough. But we know that if we can drink adequate amounts of water relative to our body weight and activity levels, inflammation reduces. And when inflammation reduces, pain reduces.”
Read more: I specialise in coaching people aged 40-plus – do these six things for immediate results
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Small lifestyle changes can have a near-instant positive impact on how your body feels (Kawee – stock.adobe.com)
Make gradual changes
Breaking old habits and creating new ones is hard. For this reason, Haynes recommends making gradual changes and building on them over time. For example, if you currently sleep for five hours each night, start aiming for five-and-a-half hours. When that feels manageable, look to hit six.
The same applies with exercise. Don’t jump from zero workouts to five gym sessions per week – rather, start with one short weekly workout, then when this feels like second nature, you can add more.
Read more: Do these five things daily for 90 days to see a ‘profound difference’ in your health, fitness and energy levels
Making and breaking habits is not easy – particularly if you have held them for a long time. Use gradual changes to ease yourself into healthier practices. (Getty/iStock)
“Changes are happening in our bodies all the time, and each time they do, it can be like dealing with a whole person.”
For this reason, you can’t bullishly push forward with your pre-existing plans and habits. Instead, as Haynes puts it, “the protocols need to evolve”. Find ways to build healthy, sustainable habits that work alongside your lifestyle, and change them as needed to suit your ever-updating circumstances.
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Read more: Why the perfect workout doesn’t exist – and why that’s good news
Choose full-body workouts
“Generally speaking, full-body resistance training works really well for this demographic,” Haynes says. “Most people don’t really need to be doing strength training more than three days a week, but if you’re at zero weekly workouts right now, you should start with one. If you’re at one and comfortable with that, we will look to get you to two.”
If you can commit to this, you will see increased muscle mass, which Haynes likens to “armour” – capable of preventing injury and protecting you from falls. It also improves physical capacity and aids blood sugar regulation, combatting diabetes.
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“It’s also the best way to increase bone density,” Haynes adds. “Running, yoga and pilates are not going to do it because there’s not enough tension on the muscle tissue and bone structures to make them adapt and fight things like osteopenia and osteoarthritis.”
Read more: The uncomfortable truth about building muscle and eight golden rules for strength training in midlife
Full-body strength training workouts allow you to recruit every major muscle group in a single session, making for a time-efficient and effective approach to training (Alamy/PA)
Choose your exercise wisely
Strength training sessions for people aged 50 and above can generally look quite similar to those used by people of any age. But there are some extra elements to consider.
“My stance on exercise is that nothing is off the table – why put limits on yourself because you’re 70?” says Haynes. “Most exercises are useful, but every exercise can be bad if performed incorrectly.
“There are plenty of beautiful things that might come from learning more complex exercises if you can nail it, but there’s also a potential risk of injury. It’s about working out if you are OK with that, or if you would rather stick with safer dumbbell or machine exercises.”
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For example, if you want to strengthen your legs, you can choose between a barbell squat and a leg press, among other movements.
“Both exercises are training the knees and hips in a flexed position – they’re flexing, then extending,” says Haynes. “But with a barbell squat, we have a high stability component, and you have to keep your joints in alignment and learn to brace effectively.”
The leg press, on the other hand, has a shallower learning curve and can be safer as a result.
“Because time is precious and the risk of injury is higher when you are older, we’re often going to choose lower-risk movements,” Haynes concludes.
Read more: The science-backed exercise method that can help fight the effects of ageing
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The key is finding the right exercise for your fitness goals, considering their safety, complexity, stimulus and how much you enjoy them (Getty/iStock)
Choose your rep scheme carefully
If you are new to an exercise, start by using lighter weights and performing more repetitions – Haynes suggests 15 to 20 reps per set. This, he says, is generally safer than performing a five-rep set with a heavier weight, while still allowing you to challenge your muscles.
“You’re going to start light and do lots of reps,” says Haynes. “As time passes and your body learns to handle this, you can gradually reduce the target number of repetitions and increase the load.
“Maybe, in a few years’ time, you will be able to work to a five-rep max [the most weight you can lift for five repetitions] of an exercise.”
Read more: Doctor of strength training shares a 40-minute weekly dumbbell workout plan for building strength and mobility
Physical ability peaks at 35 but if you can create a healthier lifestyle than you followed in your younger years, there’s no reason why you can’t see impressive fitness progress at any age (Getty/iStock)
Avoid comparison syndrome
“I have a lot of conversations with people comparing themselves to their younger self, which can be a massive roadblock for some people,” says Haynes. “Another thing that comes up a lot is biological age – people think they’ve missed the bandwagon and there’s no point in training.”
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But if you only start strength training in your thirties or forties, or you change your routine to live a healthier life than your younger self, chances are you can trump your former abilities, Haynes says.
“You can still have your highest level of muscle mass in your sixties and be hitting strength PRs in your seventies because you’re so new in your training journey,” he explains. “The best time to start is now.”
Read more: Expert warns why this daily habit is shortening your life – even if you exercise
Amazon’s Big Spring Sale starts on March 25, but discounts are already going live on some of my favorite products.
I’ve rounded up some of the best items I have tested over the past few years, or looked for suitable alternatives where this wasn’t possible.
All of my picks are products I either use myself or that people I work with rate highly.
For in-depth product reviews, you can browse our collection of buying guides, where we’ve tested everything from ab rollers to yoga mats, and walking shoes to water bottles.
Keep reading to see the best early Amazon Spring Sale deals.
BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) – People feel called to exercise for many reasons — whether it be weight loss, heart health, or recreation. But for one woman on the Coast, it’s fueling her quest to be the best mother she can be.
Bridgette Hamlett is a safety worker at Chevron, a volunteer firefighter, a mother and an endurance athlete.
Hamlett was a college softball player, but her dedication to endurance training did not come until after the birth of her second child.
“One day, I was just doing a CrossFit workout post-partum. I was a couple of months postpartum, and it just hit me: ‘This workout really sucks.’ I just thought about that deeper, and I just came up with the choice to learn to be okay with being uncomfortable,” Hamlett said.
Mental health and fitness
Hamlett said exercise helped boost her mental health after the birth of her second child.
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“After my second son, I did have postpartum depression, and I was very fortunate to have a husband that did pay attention to me and was able to notice the signs, but I think that if I didn’t have my workout community and I wasn’t working out the way that I was, it could have went a lot worse,” Hamlett said.
According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, based on 2021 data, nearly 21% of women in the state reported symptoms of postpartum depression.
Hamlett is encouraging new mothers to take up fitness.
“Pregnancy in itself is kind of rough. So, I think staying active while pregnant is the biggest tip I can give anyone,” Hamlett said. “It gave me an outlet and a way to feel refreshed when I started getting really anxious about things. It is 100% the best medicine for that.”
Hamlett still feels the call to challenge herself, hoping to teach her kids valuable lessons in the process.
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“Constantly, in my mind I’m thinking, ‘Man, if I quit, then I show them it’s okay to quit, and if I keep going, I show them that hard work does pay off,’” Hamlett said. “I just want to show my kids that it is okay to be uncomfortable, and that’s just life.”
Hamlett has her eyes set on the Clash Endurance Duathlon, prepping for over 20 miles of running and biking.
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