Because both meditation and aerobic exercise boost brain health, investigators at Rutgers University in New Jersey explored the potential benefits of combining them.

Healthy volunteers as well as those with major depression engaged in twice-weekly, 30-minute sessions of focused-attention meditation and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.

The meditation involved concentrating on breathing and learning to monitor moment-to-moment changes in attention.

A total of 52 volunteers (22 depressed, 30 healthy) completed the eight-week program, after which the volunteers with major depression reported significant mood boosts. The healthy participants reported fewer symptoms of depression as well.

The researchers also measured brain signaling patterns before and after the intervention.

The depressed volunteers showed improved signaling in the frontal lobe, as well as increased concentration and attention.