Life

Exercise can make you happy

Meenakshi S.

January 27, 2021

Feeling anxious, stressed? Don’t curl up in a corner; get up and exercise instead. A workout is guaranteed to make you feel happier, energized and calm.

Exercise has been shown to stimulate the growth of cerebral blood vessels, enhance communication across synapses, boost mood and act as a natural anti-depressant, augment memory and learning and increase brain density. Yes, exercise can make you happy.

Researchers have tested volunteers who were accustomed to working out six days a week. After skipping two workouts, all experienced one or more of a variety of mood swings, including depression, anxiety, confusion and sluggishness.

A workout can activate the pleasure circuits of the brain by triggering the release of chemicals like endorphins or dopamine, leading to a level of relaxation. Research suggests that with age, our stores of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that plays a role in happiness, depletes. Which is why we need to constantly seek out experiences that release dopamine. The best way to do that is to exercise.

Exercise also plays a large role in reducing stress-related issues. By raising your heart rate and triggering your hormones, exercise induces a low-level form of stress. Your ability to handle that stress better prepares you to tackle other stressful situations that may come up in life.

Staying active and exercising on a regular basis has also been shown to improve sleep too.

While a single exercise session may have positive effects on mood, chances are you will begin to feel the real impact once you have established a consistent and regular workout schedule. So stay the course and enjoy the journey.

To get started with the best diet & training choices for your fitness or weight loss plan, sign up today and speak to our experts.

About the Author

In addition to doing her Master’s in Physiotherapy from Oxford College, Bangalore, Meenakshi has done her MD in Alternative Medicine too. She is also a Certified Childbirth Educator, a Pre and Postnatal Fitness Expert and an ACSM Health and Fitness Specialist. Meenakshi attributes most lifestyle disorders to today’s sedentary way of living. She has always shared HealthifyMe’s vision of incorporating healthy habits into an individual’s existing lifestyle. “Do not think of diet and exercise as sacrifice, make it a habit and enjoy it instead,” she says, recommending small changes to ease the mind and body towards a more wholesome life.


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