Moody? Me?

Exercise helps mood.  We all need help with mood sometimes, so here are five ways that exercise makes it better.

1.     It makes us breathe.  Cardio, by definition, targets our heart and lungs.  When we do it, we get more oxygen into our bodies and more carbon dioxide out.  It’s one version of body house-cleaning.

2.     It improves our sleep.  No, don’t sleep while exercising.  Except maybe that last five minutes of yoga during savasana, when there is an unwritten rule that someone in the class has to fall asleep.  We do sleep better at night if we move during the day.  Well-rested people are happier people.

3.     We get a sense of efficacy.  Maybe everything else in our lives is totally out of control.  Maybe our dog died and we’re not sure how to pay the bills and we ate a healthy dinner of Cheetos and beer last night, but we can show up for one workout.  We can’t possibly be totally hopeless if we can do this one thing.  And if we do it over and over, we even get stronger!  We might be able to tackle other things, too!

4.     We can do it with friends.  One of the biggest contributing factors to the general malaise many of us feel is our sense of isolation.  Walking with a friend or catching up after an aerobics class or spotting a workout buddy can renew our sense of connection.

5.     Our bodies feel better when they move.  That mind-body connection thing is real.  If we improve one, we improve the other.  Things that make the body feel good help our minds and healthy minds help us have healthy bodies.

Go play.