If your family and friends tend to duck around corners when they see you coming or they call you grumpy, you probably should take note. If you are constantly in a bad mood, there’s a way to change it. You can take some simple steps to get in a better mood. Most of these help you improve both physically and mentally, in addition to improving your emotional outlook.
Anger and stress can all build up and leave you feeling depressed or in a bad mood.
It’s time to burn off those stress hormones. The perfect way to do it is with exercise. Stress triggers the fight-or-flight response. Working out mimics the movements of running or fighting and helps burn off those stress hormones. As you exercise, you’ll feel your bad mood, regardless of the cause, seem to melt and almost disappear, leaving you feeling refreshed. It doesn’t mean your bad mood won’t return later. It does give you a break from a bad mood that gets longer every time you workout.
Your brain creates neurotransmitters.
Exercise causes the brain to send a message to create and mobilize hormones that block pain and leave you feeling relaxed. Those endorphins immediately improve your mood. The brain creates the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine which are often called happiness hormones. Exercise is such a powerful mood-altering activity that it’s used as an adjunct therapy for depression. Studies show that patients who exercised while taking treatment for a major depressive disorder remained in remission longer. A follow-up interview found the subjects didn’t relapse almost a year later.
Your body creates more BDNF— brain-derived neurotrophic factor.
BDNF protects the brain and repairs memory neurons. They also allow the brain to reset, like a mini reboot for the brain. That can break a look of a bad mood that plays repeatedly in your head. Exercise boosts the creation of brain cells and the functioning of the brain. Exercise also helps you stay in the present moment and release the past.
- A study by James Blementhal, PhD at Duke University, found that exercise provided higher rates of remission than antidepressants used for treating major depressive disorder.
- Besides exercise, adequate sleep and a healthy diet can help chase the blues. Exercising can help you sleep better at night. Eliminating sugar and simple carbs that spike energy, only to have it drop just as rapidly, helps keep you on an even keel.
- Creating a habit of regular exercise can help you become more productive, which should put a smile on anyone’s face. You’ll look and feel better, so it’s bound to improve your mood.
- If you aren’t ready to start a complete exercise program, increase your daily activity. Walk 30 minutes a day. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park further from the store or your office and walk.
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