• Posted January 8, 2026

Depressed? Exercise Works As Well As Talk Therapy, Antidepressants, Evidence Suggests

Depressed folks might benefit as much from working out as they would from resting on a therapist’s couch, a new evidence review says.

Exercise appears to relieve symptoms of depression to an extent similar to psychological therapy, researchers reported Jan. 7 in the journal Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Physical activity might also work as well as antidepressants, but the evidence there is less certain, researchers said.

“Our findings suggest that exercise appears to be a safe and accessible option for helping to manage symptoms of depression,” lead researcher Andrew Clegg, a professor of health services research at the University of Lancashire in the U.K., said in a news release.

“This suggests that exercise works well for some people, but not for everyone, and finding approaches that individuals are willing and able to maintain is important,” he said.

For the review, researchers pooled data from 73 previous clinical trials involving nearly 5,000 adults with depression. The studies compared exercise against talk therapy, antidepressants or no treatment at all.

Overall, results showed that exercise can have a moderate benefit on reducing depression.

That doesn’t surprise Dr. Joseph Squitieri, director of ambulatory psychiatry at Northwell Health's Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y.

“The positive impact of exercise and physical activity has been known for some time,” said Squitieri, who reviewed the findings. “I am hopeful that research continues to focus on all the positive impacts of exercise so that health care providers will emphasize and discuss this in all their patient interactions."

Researchers also found that exercise had a similar effect on depressive symptoms such as psychological therapy, based on moderate-certainty evidence from 10 previous clinical trials.

Exercise might also work as well as antidepressants, but the evidence there was more limited. Only five trials compared physical activity against antidepressants, and evidence of long-term benefit was very uncertain, the review says.

Light-to-moderate exercise might be better at easing depression than vigorous exercise, researchers found.

No single type of exercise worked clearly better than others, but evidence showed that programs mixing aerobic exercise with strength training appeared more effecting than aerobic exercise alone, the review said.

“Exercise can help people with depression, but if we want to find which types work best, for who and whether the benefits last over time, we still need larger, high-quality studies,” Clegg said. “One large, well-conducted trial is much better than numerous poor quality small trials with limited numbers of participants in each.”

Squitieri, meanwhile, said there are many ways exercise can help depression.

“Exercise increases brain neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. It also enhances neurotransmitter receptor sensitivity,” he said.

Physical activity also reduces inflammation and oxidative stress in the body that contributes to depression, and lowers a person’s levels of the “fight-or-flight” stress hormone cortisol, Squitieri said. 

"A 'prescription' or recommendation for exercise should always be given for someone with depression,” he added. “Exercise can be a first-line treatment for mild-to-moderate depression along with therapy.”

However, Squitieri suggested people talk with a doctor before starting an exercise program to battle depression.

"Consult with your medical doctor before starting an exercise routine to make sure it is safe for you,” he said. “Decisions should be individualized based on an individual's health conditions, functional status and preferences.”

Then, ease into it.

“You should start slowly if you have not exercised in a while and increase gradually as tolerated,” Squitieri suggested. “Taking a walk in morning sunlight can help improve winter blues and seasonal affective disorder."

More information

Harvard Medical School has more on exercise for depression.

SOURCES: Cochrane, news release, Jan. 7, 2026; Dr. Joseph Squitieri, director of ambulatory psychiatry, Northwell Health's Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, N.Y.