Exercise Proven To Reduce Depression, Suicide In Bullied Teens: Study

A recent study has shown that regular exercise promotes a healthier well-being, decreasing the levels of sadness and suicide in bullied teens.

According to the University of Vermont, a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has proven that exercise is associated with significantly decreased levels of sadness, suicide ideation and suicide attempts.

The researchers said that although the effects of bullying on teens are well-described, there is but a little information known about factors that may protect victims. With exercise known to improve mental health, the researchers wanted to study the relationship that having a regular amount of physical activity (PA) might have in the sadness and suicidality in bullied U.S. adolescents.

For the study, the researchers used data from 13,583 adolescents that were in the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

They found that overall, 30 percent of the students reported sadness for two or more weeks. 22.2 percent reported having thoughts of suicide, and 8.2 percent reported that they actually attempted suicide. It was also found that bullied students were two times more likely to report feeling sadness and three times more likely to report having thoughts of suicide, or actually attempting suicide.

Compared to students with little or no exercise (one day per week or none at all), students who said they had regular exercise for four to five days in a week were in a better disposition: having lower levels of sadness, less thoughts of suicide, and lower risks for suicide attempts. Overall, four or five days of regular exercise per week was associated to a significant 23 percent decrease in reported sadness, suicide ideation and suicidal attempts in bullied students.

"I was surprised that it was that significant and that positive effects of exercise extended to kids actually trying to harm themselves," said the study's lead author Jeremy Sibold, associate professor and chair of the Department Rehabilitation and Movement Science, as per ScienceDaily.

The research couldn't be more timely. As more and more schools in the U.S. lessen their emphasis on physical education and put more on academics, students have been reported to have less exercise and physical activity. For such students having less to no time for physical activities, the benefits that exercise brings, as shown in the research, are far from reach.

According to UVM, this is the first study to show that exercise can actually help bullied students, who are at increased risk for poor academic performance, poor self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and substance abuse.

"Even if one kid is protected because we got them involved in an after-school activity or in a physical education program it's worth it," said Sibold.