"Ready-to-use" two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study

Dasha A Sandra; Jay A Olson; Benjamin Pageaux; Mathieu Roy

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1202955

"Ready-to-use" two-week home exercise program targeting depressive symptoms: pilot study

Front Psychiatry. 2023 Sep 22:14:1202955. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1202955. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Dasha A Sandra¹, Jay A Olson¹, Benjamin Pageaux^{2

3

4}, Mathieu Roy¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
² Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, QC, Canada.
³ École de Kinésiologie et des Sciences de l'Activite Physique (EKSAP), Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁴ Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Cerveau et l'Apprentissage (CIRCA), Montreal, QC, Canada.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; depression; exercise; interventions; university students.

Grants and funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. DS acknowledges funding from the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec—Nature et Technologie (FRQNT). JO acknowledges funding from the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec—Santé (FRQS) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). BP is supported by the Chercheur Boursier Junior 1 award from the FRQS.