Study analyzes the role of exercise treatment in mood swings

Mar 4 2010

A paper that is published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics analyzes the role of exercise treatment in mood swings.

Outcomes are frequently suboptimal for patients with bipolar disorder who are treated with pharmacotherapy alone. Adjunct exercise has the potential to substantially improve acute and long-term outcomes, although how exercise would improve the course of bipolar disorder needs to be elucidated. The Authors of this study propose that exercise may improve mood and functioning by increasing neurogenesis and reducing allostatic load. In this paper, they review data suggesting that exercise increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which in turn increases neurogenesis and decreases allostatic load. Exercise as a psychosocial adjunct for bipolar disorder should be assessed with rigorous randomized clinical trials.