Other benefits of exercise
In addition to being helpful for depression, there are numerous physical health benefits of regular exercise that are well-established by research.  These benefits include prevention of numerous (including life-threatening) medical conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, strokes and certain types of cancer. At a population level, physical inactivity is ranked just behind cigarette smoking as a cause of ill health.

Therefore, regular exercise as a treatment for depression has the added benefit of improving general health and preventing serious diseases.

Exercise recommendations
The National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians recommend:

a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on most, preferably all, days of the week (an example of ‘moderate intensity’ exercise is brisk walking where you notice a slight increase in breathing and heart rate) .

exercising for at least 10 minutes at a time - the 30-minutes total does not need to be continuous - you can combine short sessions of different activities to a total of 30 minutes or more each day.

being active in as many ways you can each day (e.g. use the stairs).

At least one study has shown that exercising at around the above level for 12 weeks can significantly reduce symptoms of depression amongst people who are inactive and experiencing mild to moderate depression. For people who are very inactive, health benefits can be gained by becoming even slightly more active. A little activity is better than none, and more is better than a little.

For extra health and fitness, it is recommended that adults (who are able) should also do vigorous activity that makes them ‘huff and puff’ (e.g. jogging, squash, rowing).  For best results, vigorous exercise should be done for 30 minutes or more on 3-4 days per week (on top of moderate exercise).

Exercise and depression

Feeling tired and being less motivated in general are two very common symptoms of
depression. This means that exercise is often the last thing that people feel like doing
when they are experiencing depression.  Therefore, it can be useful to use some of the
strategies below to help with motivation to gradually become more active:

Make a plan
Start slowly and build up gradually. For example, if you have not been exercising at all, start with a 10-15 minute walk each morning, and gradually increase this to 30 minutes per day.
Set short-term realistic goals for exercising each week (e.g. 3 x 20 minute walks per week).  Plan to exercise at specific times of the day that fit in with your lifestyle and write your plan down.
A range of health professionals can assist with increasing activity (see “Where to get help”).

Keep motivated

Keep an activity diary each day.
A pedometer can be helpful in keeping track of your activity levels.
Reward yourself when you achieve your short-term exercise plan.
Get other people involved - ask a friend, partner or relative to join you.
Although it is common to not feel like socialising when experiencing depression, it can be helpful to include others in exercise, to gain support and help with motivation.
Write down the specific benefits that you would like to gain from exercise, and refer back to these to help with motivation (e.g. reduce stress, improve mood, get in shape, and improve sleep).
Write down the situations that you would expect to make it more difficult toexercise, and a plan to address these (e.g. if it rains, go for a walk in a shopping centre; if feeling tired, go for a 10 min walk)