Increasing exercise each day can help patients with Chronic Fatigue System to feel less tired and feel better, a new study suggests.

Scientists at Queen Mary University of London placed 200 people on a 12 week programme in which they were either encouraged by a physiotherapist to walk a little more each or given a programme of medical care including medication for depression, pain and insomnia.

After four months the mean fatigue score of the exercise group was four points lower than in the control group, on a scale of 100, which researchers said was a moderate but significant impact. Physical function was also six points higher.

One in five of the group who had exercised also reported feeling ‘much better’ or ‘very much better.’