Exercise apps could help boost healthcare workers mental health

Simple home workouts using exercise apps can help reduce symptoms of depression, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia.

In order to conduct the study, researchers split participants (most of them were female nurses) into two groups. The first group was a waitlisted control group and the other was an exercise group that received free access to a home workout on an app called DownDog.

The app offered participants yoga, cardio and strength training workouts.

For 12 weeks, the exercise group was encouraged to engage in at least 80 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week.

Researchers found that this group reported “significantly lower” levels of depression symptoms in comparison to the control group.

"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,” said first author Dr Vincent Gosselin-Boucher, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC’s school of kinesiology.

The study found the positive effects of exercise were most prominent among those who completed an average of at least 80 minutes of exercise per week.

Researchers also looked beyond depression symptoms and measured the level of burnout in the participants and sick days over the two-week period prior to the beginning of their participation in the study, and every two weeks during the trial, while the exercise apps tracked participants’ workouts.

It was revealed that exercise notably improved cynicism and emotional exhaustion, two facets of burnout. The exercise group also reported fewer sick days compared to the control group.

"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.

However, the study did come across some challenges during the process.

Researchers found that it was a “major challenge” in getting participants to stick to the programme. 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.

And so, for future studies, 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.

Dr Puterman has urged healthcare institutions to think about ways to support healthcare workers to be more physically active. This can be done by offering workers free gym memberships, walk breaks at work, or staff exercise rooms within hospitals.

"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 well-being, in addition to the institutional, provincial, and federal measures currently being undertaken to reduce healthcare workers’ burnout, sick leave and resignations,” Dr Puterman added.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Providence Health Care and recruited participants across acute and long-term care hospitals in Vancouver, B.C and was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.