Simple home workouts using exercise apps can effectively reduce depressive symptoms in healthcare workers and could be a major tool to combat the global mental health crisis in the sector, new research indicates.
A study involving a suite of home exercise apps called DownDog – including yoga, cardio and strength training – showed positive impact, particularly among participants who completed an average of at least 80 minutes of exercise a week.
In two groups – one completing exercise, the other a control – exercise was also shown to improve burnout and also led to fewer sick days, the University of British Columbia research revealed.
“The exercise group reported significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms compared to the control group as the study progressed,” said first author Dr Vincent Gosselin-Boucher, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC’s school of kinesiology.
“The majority of the participants in the study started very high on the scale for depressive symptoms compared to the general population, so the changes were actually quite amazing to see.”
While previous research has shown that exercise can improve depressive symptoms, researchers said behavioural approaches such as exercise were missing in the mental health initiatives offered by healthcare institutions around the world to address COVID-19’s toll on their staff’s mental health.
“Our study provides the first evidence that working out at home using exercise apps, even with limited equipment, can significantly enhance the mental health of healthcare workers,” said lead author Dr Eli Puterman, an associate professor at UBC’s school of kinesiology and Canada Research Chair in Physical Activity and Health.
“The past three years have been incredibly difficult for healthcare workers. Offering accessible, easy ways to exercise could be a great tool for employers to support their staff’s mental wellbeing, in addition to the institutional, provincial, and federal measures currently being undertaken to reduce healthcare workers’ burnout, sick leave and resignations.”
The study was conducted in collaboration with Providence Health Care and recruited participants across acute and long-term care hospitals in Vancouver. Most participants were women who worked as nurses.
It found that a major challenge was getting participants to stick to the program: between week two and week 12, adherence to the recommended 80 minutes of exercise per week dropped to 23 per cent of participants, from 54 per cent.
In the future, the researchers plan to explore whether providing motivational support such as fitness coaches can nurture the exercise habit.
“We also hope to do longer-term trials to focus on the broader mental, physical and economic impacts of this type of intervention,” said Dr Puterman.
He encourages healthcare institutions to think about other ways they can support healthcare workers to be more physically active, such as offering free gym memberships, walk breaks at work, or staff exercise rooms within hospitals.
“While our findings underscore the potential of low-barrier interventions like offering exercise apps, we also have to figure out and address factors that prevent healthcare workers from exercising,” said Dr Puterman.
“Whether these are work-related stressors or other factors, we need to support healthcare workers on multiple fronts.”
