Let's pretend you can shrink yourself to a microscopic level, because we're going on a field trip inside your brain.
We're going to take a look at your brain and try to learn all we can about its link with depression.
If we were to travel inside your brain, we would see special substances called neurotransmitters scurrying about.
These neurotransmitters allow your brain's nerve cells to communicate with one another.
They're responsible for helping you to feel good.
Although the exact biochemical causes of depression still elude scientists, they have found that doing one simple thing can help you feel better.
It's called exercise.
You can play Frisbee, take your dog for a walk in the park, or go for a jog.
Any of these will serve as a natural remedy for depression.
It's not really the type of activity that counts, it's just making sure you do something.
But why does exercise work? Let's go back inside your brain.
Your brain has special receptors for substances called opiates.
In case you haven't heard of them, opiates are substances that create feelings of pleasure and temporarily alleviate pain.
Synthetic drugs such as heroin mimic the effects of opiates in the brain.
Fortunately, you don't need drugs to create a feeling of pleasure.
There's another more natural way to do this.
They're called endorphins.
Endorphins are neurotransmitters that interact with your brain's opiate receptors to alleviate pain and give you an emotional boost.
You feel better when you stimulate endorphin secretion.
Study after study has shown that exercise increases your endorphin levels and make you feel better.
In addition, it also decreases the risk of various health problems such as cancer and obesity.
But what if you don't feel like exercising? Oftentimes, we don't want to try something new because we feel like it will be too hard or it's something we don't feel confident we can do.
So make it easy on yourself.
Don't try jogging 10 miles if you've never even run half a mile.
Start out slow.
Don't take the elevator when you can take the stairs.
Go for an easy stroll after dinner.
You're not training to beat Olympian Michael Phelps' world records.
You're just trying to increase the amount of physical activity you do.
The good news is it won't take up that much of your time.
One study from Northern Arizona University found that 10 minutes of pedaling on a stationary bicycle helped a group of women students feel better.
That's right, 10 minutes was all it took.
Although the research doesn't point to what type of exercise works best as a natural treatment for depression, it does show that almost any exercise is better than nothing.
So even if you feel like you can't do 10 minutes, make it easy on yourself by doing some physical activity for a few minutes.
Getting started at beating depression is easy.
It starts with moving your body.
It's free and it doesn't take that long.
When you exercise, you'll be releasing feel-good chemicals into your bloodstream.
It's one of the best natural remedies for depression and one of the safest to boot.