Bouldering with mindfulness may ease symptoms of moderate depression
Controlled studies reported meaningful symptom improvements with a combined program, but the review could not isolate the contribution of climbing itself.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Indoor bouldering combined with mindfulness exercises reduced depression symptoms compared with no intervention in adults with moderate depression. The review judged this improvement clinically meaningful and rated that comparison highly certain. Some benefits persisted at later follow-up, but the evidence does not establish how climbing alone compares with antidepressants or other established treatments.
Programs and comparators differed, so the review used narrative synthesis. Mindfulness was combined with bouldering, preventing attribution to climbing alone. This abstract-based summary cannot establish safety from the absence of reported adverse events.
What counted as improvement
The review considered both changes on validated depression scales and whether those changes exceeded a clinically meaningful threshold. Bouldering with mindfulness met that threshold in the reported comparison with no intervention.
An important difference between programs
Top-rope climbing also showed symptom reductions, but the reported change did not meet the review's clinical-importance threshold. Evidence for that approach was less certain, and differences between programs do not establish which climbing format works best.
The original publication
Effectiveness of indoor rock climbing and bouldering as treatment for depression - a systematic review.
Larsson R, Larsson A, Nordeman L
BMC Psychiatry · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40988014
- Record checked
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