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| health information | health news

Green exercise is effective in treating depression

18 May 2007

Key facts

1 in 6 people in the UK suffer from depression at some point in their life.
In 2006, more than 31 million prescriptions were written for antidepressant drugs. This was an increase of 6 percent from the previous year.
The most commonly prescribed antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as fluoxetine (eg Prozac) and paroxetine (eg Seroxat).
Last year, there was a 10 percent rise in prescriptions for SSRIs from 14.7 million to 16.2 million.
In 2005, antidepressant drugs cost the NHS £338million.

Green exercise such as walking in the country or gardening is an effective treatment for depression, according to a report from the mental health charity Mind.

The report, Ecotherapy - the green agenda for mental health, looked at two studies carried out by the University of Essex to find out if "ecotherapy" was helpful in improving mental health. In the first study, 108 people took part in activities including walking, cycling and conservation projects. Of those who participated, 94 percent said the green exercise had improved their mental health.

The second survey also looked at the effect of the environment in which physical activity took place. One group walked around a woodland country park for 30 minutes (the green walk), while another group walked for the same length of time around a shopping centre. Afterwards, 71 percent of people who went on the green walk said they had a decreased level of depression. Twenty-two percent of those doing the indoor walk said their level of depression increased.

According to Mind's Ecotherapy report, participants in the studies felt better able to cope with their problems, enjoyed being part of a group and benefited from being out of doors.

The report comes as figures show that the number of people in the UK taking antidepressants is higher than ever before. However, in a survey carried out in 2006, more than nine in 10 GPs said they had prescribed antidepressants because no alternative treatment was available. This is despite guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) stating that drug therapy should not be the first choice of treatment for patients with mild depression.

Prior research has shown that a programme of physical exercise may be as effective as drug therapy for those with mild to moderate depression. Chief executive of Mind Paul Farmer said: "Mind sees ecotherapy as an important part of the future for mental health. It's a credible, clinically-valid treatment option and needs to be prescribed by GPs, especially when for many people access to treatments other than antidepressants is extremely limited."

Ecotherapy comprises a range of green activities including conservation projects such as tree-planting, garden design and maintenance and working on allotments. It can also be as simple as going for a walk in the park. Mind recommends that GPs consider referring all patients with mental health problems to green exercise programmes.