Exercise Creates A Happier You

So your world is falling apart. You are having problems with your job, problems with friends, problems with family members. What do you turn to when finding happiness? Alcohol? Drugs? Solitude? Other friends? What do you do? What do you use to give you that happy feeling you so desperately need?

Studies have shown that exercise is the best remedy for the blues. I know in my own life, when I am feeling down, I tend to work out. Within a period of time my attitude changes, and I begin to feel better. Now don’t get me wrong, exercise does not make the problems go away, but what it can do is give you a bit of a break to refuel and find a solution to your problem. Or even just give you some “me” time to relax and rejuvenate.

Science has proven that while exercising, endorphins flood our system which gives us the ability to think under pressure and makes us feel better. If you feel better about yourself, the possibility of you feeling happier is greater.

I was reading a physical education journal and it said the following, “Small amounts of exercise could have an outsize effect on happiness. According to a new review of research about good moods and physical activity, people who work out even once a week or for as little as 10 minutes a day tend to be more cheerful than those who never exercise. Any type of exercise may be helpful. The idea that moving can affect our moods is not new. Many of us would probably say that we feel less cranky or more relaxed after a jog or visit to the gym.”

“Every one of the observational studies showed a beneficial relationship between being physically active and being happy,” says Weiyun Chen, an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Michigan, who, with her graduate student Zhanjia Zhang, wrote the review.

I could go on and on and show study after study relating exercise or physical activity to happiness, but I think we all know most of it, we just choose to think there are other ways to get that same feeling but there isn’t. My suggestion…get off your duffs and get to exercising, it WILL make you feel happier.