There are strong, early indications that aerobic exercise - while it's saving you from those pesky heart attacks and strokes and stuff - is also cheering you up. A lot.

Doctors at Duke have been studying depression for a long time. Just recently they did a test of exercise, antidepressant drugs and a placebo, to see what effect they had. Turns out that group exercise - that's spin class, step class and the like - was EQUAL TO ANTIDEPRESSANTS as an antidote to depression. And both, of course, were much better than the placebo.

Says Dr. James A. Blumenthal, a professor of medical psychology at Duke University Medical Center, "there is growing evidence that exercise may be a viable alternative to medication, at least among those patients who are receptive to exercise...."

Our anecdotal experience with people who follow the Younger Next Year books strongly supports that notion. People routinely say that they don't just get a high from working out...rather, the whole water-table of their mood rises over time. They are happier, more optimistic, more game in life in general. That's certainly my experience. Give it a shot. See what it does for you.