Does Exercise Affect Brain Chemistry As Antidepressants Do?

Exercise is an antidepressant, that's now quite clear. Now comes an article which shows that exercise appears to have the same effects on brain chemistry that antidepressants do. This article takes us another step toward knowing just how exercise improves mood. Here's the full text if you have the science background to follow it.

If you don't, you can follow a simpler story on my website in the section on Exercise, Not the Usual Rap. There you'll find a summary of the science on exercise and mood.

But the main point of my essay is this: "hey, everybody already knows exercise is a good thing. Let's not bash you over the head with that again!" Let's focus instead on what's getting in the way, for you. The article above just makes the idea of exercise a little more logical, and the benefits a little bit clearer: exercise can help grow your brain!