“Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study
Exercise is an evidence-based treatment for depressive symptoms, yet it often requires specialised knowledge, equipment, or professional supervision. Lay people in certain contexts, for example in remote locations or under pandemic restrictions, often lack these resources and thus cannot use exercis...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1202955/full |
| _version_ | 1797672389815828480 |
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| author | Dasha A. Sandra Jay A. Olson Benjamin Pageaux Benjamin Pageaux Benjamin Pageaux Mathieu Roy |
| author_facet | Dasha A. Sandra Jay A. Olson Benjamin Pageaux Benjamin Pageaux Benjamin Pageaux Mathieu Roy |
| author_sort | Dasha A. Sandra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Exercise is an evidence-based treatment for depressive symptoms, yet it often requires specialised knowledge, equipment, or professional supervision. Lay people in certain contexts, for example in remote locations or under pandemic restrictions, often lack these resources and thus cannot use exercise to manage their depressive symptoms. We developed a two-week home exercise program that bypasses these barriers and tested it in university students during pandemic restrictions. In an online study, we recruited 49 participants to complete a week of baseline symptom monitoring then follow the exercise program for 2 weeks (6 sessions) at home. The exercise program involved aerobic and resistance training; each session lasted approximately 45 min. After 2 weeks of the intervention, participants reported lower depressive (standardised β = −0.71 [−1.05, −0.38]) and anxiety (β = −0.87 [−1.19, −0.55]) symptoms. Although we cannot make causal conclusions, our results suggest that the brief home exercise program may have potential to reduce depressive symptoms in young adults. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:29:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e8d178c3766a429a8eba226110a0d48f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:29:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-e8d178c3766a429a8eba226110a0d48f2023-09-27T12:34:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402023-09-011410.3389/fpsyt.2023.12029551202955“Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot studyDasha A. Sandra0Jay A. Olson1Benjamin Pageaux2Benjamin Pageaux3Benjamin Pageaux4Mathieu Roy5Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, CanadaCentre de Recherche de l’Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, QC, CanadaÉcole de Kinésiologie et des Sciences de l’Activite Physique (EKSAP), Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaCentre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Cerveau et l’Apprentissage (CIRCA), Montreal, QC, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, CanadaExercise is an evidence-based treatment for depressive symptoms, yet it often requires specialised knowledge, equipment, or professional supervision. Lay people in certain contexts, for example in remote locations or under pandemic restrictions, often lack these resources and thus cannot use exercise to manage their depressive symptoms. We developed a two-week home exercise program that bypasses these barriers and tested it in university students during pandemic restrictions. In an online study, we recruited 49 participants to complete a week of baseline symptom monitoring then follow the exercise program for 2 weeks (6 sessions) at home. The exercise program involved aerobic and resistance training; each session lasted approximately 45 min. After 2 weeks of the intervention, participants reported lower depressive (standardised β = −0.71 [−1.05, −0.38]) and anxiety (β = −0.87 [−1.19, −0.55]) symptoms. Although we cannot make causal conclusions, our results suggest that the brief home exercise program may have potential to reduce depressive symptoms in young adults.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1202955/fullexerciseinterventionsdepressionuniversity studentsCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Dasha A. Sandra Jay A. Olson Benjamin Pageaux Benjamin Pageaux Benjamin Pageaux Mathieu Roy “Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study Frontiers in Psychiatry exercise interventions depression university students COVID-19 |
| title | “Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study |
| title_full | “Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study |
| title_fullStr | “Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study |
| title_short | “Ready-to-use” two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study |
| title_sort | ready to use two week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms pilot study |
| topic | exercise interventions depression university students COVID-19 |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1202955/full |
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