Movement is medicine: It can strengthen your bones and muscles, help your heart, and boost your brain power.

Now, a new study provides more evidence that exercise can also reduce symptoms of depression, perhaps as much as talk therapy or antidepressants.

“Exercise provides an option for people experiencing depressive symptoms, along with pharmacological and psychological treatments, which should be offered to people to allow them to choose the best option in consultation with their health professional,” says the study’s lead author, Andrew Clegg, PhD, a professor of health services research at the University of Lancashire in England.

How Exercise Compares With Other Depression Treatments

The latest study is an update of a systematic review originally published in 2008 and first updated in 2013. Since then, Dr. Clegg says, additional evidence has confirmed the benefits of exercise for people living with depression.

“It’s important to update reviews when new studies are published to ensure people are aware of the latest evidence to make their decisions about healthcare,” he says.

In the latest review, researchers identified 73 randomized controlled trials, involving nearly 5,000 participants diagnosed with depression, that were published up to November 2023. The studies assessed the effectiveness of exercise for treating depression, compared with no treatment, talk therapies, and antidepressant medications.