Exercise as it relates to Disease/Depression and green exercise

What is Depression & What are the Symptoms?
Depression is a mental illness, where the sufferer experiences intense feelings of misery over an extended period of time. Symptoms include: a dysphoric mood, changes in appetite and sleeping patterns, changes in motor activity, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, diminished ability to concentrate and suicidal thoughts [8]

Causes
Causes of depression can be biological, psychodynamic, behavioural and/or cognitive [8]

What is Green Exercise?
Green exercise is exercising outdoors while at the same time being exposed directly to nature. It can be anything from exercising in the backyard, at a park, to walking trails or anywhere in open space, as long as it’s not indoors! [1, 2]

How it Helps in Treating Depression [1, 2, 7]

 * Improves physical health, self-esteem and mood
 * Helps you sleep better (fresh air workouts help some people sleep deeper)
 * Can strengthen the immune system by increasing the number of cells that act to fight cancer
 * Helps to reduce stress levels
 * Exercising in nature makes participants less depressed, angry, tense and confused
 * People who exercise in areas with is water present, such as lakes or rivers, show the biggest improvements in mental health
 * Promotes concentration and clear thinking

Benefits

 * It’s free! No need to pay gym membership
 * No waiting for gym equipment/machines, and no pressure to hurry up
 * Not limited by gym opening hours
 * Less likely to become bored than those who train in the gym [2]
 * Exercise any time

Comorbidities
Other behaviours such as smoking, over-eating and high alcohol consumption are coping mechanisms for depression sufferers. Depression is also known to be a major risk factor for other chronic diseases such as asthma, arthritis, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.[3]

Costs and Occurrence
In 2001, 121 million people were estimated to have depression worldwide [4]


 * Depression imposes a significant burden on patient and family well-being, health-care costs and loss of productivity [5].
 * By 2020, the World Health Organization estimates that depression and depression related illnesses will become the greatest source of ill health [3]

Recommendations for Implementing Green Exercise into my Lifestyle

 * Exercise in nature-it can be as simple as going for a walk around a lake/along a river, or doing yoga in the park
 * Low intensity exercise is recommended over high or moderate intensity exercise as low intensity has a tendency to keep participants exercising outdoors longer [6]

Where can I go to Get More Information?

 * World Health Organisation   http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/definition/en/
 * Black Dog Institute   http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/public/depression/treatments/index.cfm
 * Reach Out   http://au.reachout.com/find/articles/depression-management-and-treatment-options
 * Green Exercise-Nature Based Treatment Options   http://www.greenexercise.org/Nature_Interventions.html