Hi, need to submit a 1500 words paper on the topic Exercise as a Means of Treating Depression.

Hi, need to submit a 1500 words paper on the topic Exercise as a Means of Treating Depression. The past few decades, many studies have come up revealing the positive connection between exercise and depression. Indeed, people can choose exercise as a means of combating stress and falling into depression.

Important Roles of Cortisol. Primarily, understanding the important roles that hormones play in our body can help us understand later the connection between depression and exercise. One of the body’s most important players in stressful situations is a corticosteroid hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal cortex in response to a hormone known as ACTH. It is also known as a “stress hormone” since it is part of the body’s response to stress especially when the body is in a “fight or flight mode’( Scott 2008). It also plays very important roles in the regulation of blood pressure, response to inflammation, and insulin release. Cortisol

is a steroid hormone released from the adrenal cortex in response to a hormone called ACTH (produced by the pituitary gland). According to Stewart ( 2008) “cortisol levels are often measured to evaluate how well the pituitary and adrenal glands are working” which is done through a simple blood test.

Role of neurotransmitters in the brain. Before elaborating the relationship between cortisol and neurotransmitters, it is valuable to understand how the brain works. The brain has 10-100 billion neurons that transmit messages through electrical impulses to other neurons whenever we react, think, or feel. When we use our brain, an electrical impulse is received by the axon, the impulse becomes chemical in nature known as neurotransmitters. The main function of these neurotransmitters is to deliver the message from one neuron to another. When a dendrite receives the message, the chemical impulse is converted again into an electrical impulse which repeats the whole process again. Undoubtedly, neurotransmitters are critical in brain&nbsp.functions.&nbsp.