Rat Study Suggests Even Mandatory Exercise Lessens Anxiety, Depression
New research using rats suggests that even when individuals are forced to exercise, they still benefit from reduced anxiety and depression. Prior research has shown that voluntary exercise is a method to relieve stress, but experts were uncertain as to the mental benefit of exercise when exercise is mandated. Specifically, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder wanted to study whether a person who feels forced to exercise, eliminating the perception of control, would still reap the anxiety-fighting benefits of the exercise. Examples of mandatory exercise include regimens placed on high school, college and professional athletes, members of the military or those who have been prescribed an exercise regimen by their doctors, said Benjamin Greenwood, Ph.D., an assistant research professor in CU-Boulder’s Department of Integrative Physiology. "If exercise is forced, will it still produce mental health benefits?" he said. "It’s obvious that forced exercise will stil
