How Exercise Can Boost Your Mood


We've all heard the saying "You're only one workout away from a good mood" at some point in your life. 
 
Whenever I used to hear this, I wouldn't think much of it. Working out isn't going to solve all my problems. How could moving my body possibly change the way I think? It didn't make sense to me. 

I finally began to understand this saying during my freshman year in college. I've always been an active person, growing up I had multiple extracurriculars that allowed me to move my body. When I started college, that all changed. I no longer had any practices to go to and whether or not I moved my body was all up to me. 

This was the first time I could explore different types of exercise, and I began noticing the differences in my mood before and after a good workout. I found it so interesting how different types of exercise could have different effects on your mood! 

After four years of sustaining mindful workouts that I choose, I can confidently say that you truly are only one workout away from a good mood. Not only does exercise have short-term effects on your mood, but sustaining a habit of moving your body on a regular basis can affect your long-term happiness. The coolest thing about this is that there's actual scientific evidence to back this up. 

I've attached three different studies which show different ways that working out can change the way your brain functions. 
  • Your brain plasticity changes positively when you work out. This means that your brain adapts and deals with emotions better when you exercise, leading to the lessening of depressive symptoms. 
  • Your serotonin levels increase when you work out, primarily when you perform aerobic activities! This can be anything like running, biking, swimming, walking, or rowing. Serotonin is the chemical that people refer to as a "runner's high." Although the runner's high is more euphoric and short-term, there are long-term benefits to increased serotonin levels as well. 
  • Exercise can also reduce stress hormones like cortisol. This decreases anxiety and can help improve your moods. I've recently learned about an exercise you can do that combines mindfulness with muscle relaxation to decrease stress. It's called progressive muscle relaxation and is performed similar to meditation. It focuses on a combination of the engagement of muscles and breath-work to decrease body tension and increase the sensation of relaxation. 
All things considered, you are really only one workout away from a good mood, and there's scientific data to back that statement up. Even 10 minutes of exercise a day can result in increased levels of happiness. So next time you're thinking about skipping the gym or don't wanna get up early for your cycle class at 6 am, think about all the great things that exercise will do for your body and your mind. 

Comments

  1. Marie HolmanJuly 18, 2022 at 1:29 PM

    Hello Sophia,
    I enjoyed reading your informational blog. I can say that it so interesting to see how exercise can provide long term happiness. I always used to think that doing exercise was only going to keep me in shape. However, it does play a huge role in my mood. Every time when I workout, I feel that so much stress has been reduced and I can relax. Also, I always feel positive and happy when I perform some type of workout. I feel that this provides me motivation to not skip in doing any exercise because I want to have increased levels of happiness.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Breathe In Breathe OutJuly 18, 2022 at 8:58 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Breathe In Breathe OutJuly 18, 2022 at 9:05 PM

    Hi Sophia! First off, I wanted to let you know that I fully support your purpose and mission for this blog. I think it is an experience many don't get to feel because they don't believe in the wonders of how amazing you get to feel after working out and knowing you didn't want to do it. Even though I've experienced this considering I love working out, sometimes I feel like I don't want to do anything but then decide to do it and feel amazing afterwards. I do believe taking breaks is primordial but having a positive schedule that makes us become disciplined more than motivated is key!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Erin FlewJuly 21, 2022 at 7:28 AM

    from Karla: Hey Sophia, your blog is great, It was super informative. The articles you mentioned that provide the scientific evidence are crazy! I don't prioritize working out even though I know I should. Your post definitely has made me rethink physical activity. I can't believe it fully changes the way your brain processes emotions. Combining that with less stress and more serotonin, wow! Your blog was encouraging, consider me influenced.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Keeping a Sleeping Routine

Image
Today's post is about how to create a sleep schedule. Sleep is super important to how we function on a day-to-day basis, and once you lose sleep, you can't make up that time. In this post, I go over how to keep a sleep routine so you can be just as successful with sleep as you are during your waking hours! This topic is super important to me because for most of my life I've had difficulty falling asleep. This would lead to me being pretty cranky in the daytime, and I would have to take tons of naps to feel rested. I could never get my mind to quiet down when I tried to sleep, and I just assumed it was my genetics that was the issue. About two years ago I stumbled on a youtube video talking about sleep hygiene, and I realized that my body wasn't the problem, the issue was that I wasn't taking the right steps to get myself to sleep.  Create a Pre-bed routine Wind down for at least 30 minutes. It's easier to fall asleep if you're at ease and relaxed. My persona...
Read more

5 steps to changing behavior

Image
As humans, we all are constantly looking towards the next goal we can achieve, and how we can better ourselves. But sometimes it can become difficult to achieve these goals or changes we want without proper structure. This blog post will give you a psychologically proven way to achieve your goals and change behaviors while sustaining them! Making a lasting change in behavior is rarely a simple process. It usually involves a big commitment of time, effort, and emotion. While trying to make changes, many people become discouraged and give up on their goals. The keys to achieving and maintaining your goals are to find ways to sustain them. For more information on this topic, check out   this link! A couple years ago, I had really bad eating habits. I rarely made room in my diet for protein even though I was working out every day, and because of this I always felt malnourished and tired. When I decided it was time for a change, I came across this method for behavior change, and it help...
Read more

Journal for Motivation!

Image
To achieve your goals, you need to have strong motivation. If you're going to be successful at something you wanna do, you'll need to be motivated. It usually comes naturally simply because you're working toward something you want, but there will be times when you have to deal with rejections and defeats. At this point this is when the motivation disappears. You need to be able to rediscover your motivation, and tap into your motivation even when it seems like the most difficult task in the world. One way to do this is through journaling! Journaling is proven to improve motivation . Keep reading to learn more! 1. Write about what you want more than anything else What do you want? Is it your dream job? To travel the world? To have more money? To lose weight? To be a better person? Think about what is most important to you at this point in your life, and write it down.  2. Why do you want it The why matters. Why is what drives you to action. If you want something bad enough,...
Read more