There’s no doubt that exercise improves your mood. Most of you have probably felt the runner’s high, that happy buzz that comes from moving your body. Now, research is revealing some very specific ways for people to tap into the positive mental benefits of exercise. If you feel good after working out, you’re more likely to keep coming back for more, and do it consistently. And that consistency will help you reap all of its longer-term benefits, including improved brain health and a reduced risk of depression and anxiety. It’s a winning formula.
Here are seven exercises to feel calm and happy today:
1. Group high - do it together
Whoop for groups! Human beings are social and tribal – and we need to move. Professor James Goodwin, author of Supercharge Your Brain, explains: “1.5 million years of evolution has embedded the need for exercise into your brain, as hunter-gatherers led a highly active lifestyle.” That included fast-paced hunting, as well as the more regular, sustained activity of gathering. Movement equals food, which means survival of the tribe. And so, evolution has encouraged us by making movement feel good. Your capacity to interact with other people is one of the three pillars of brain health, according to Professor Goodwin. The other two pillars are executive function (or the ‘thinking you’) and emotional regulation. The beauty of exercise is it affects all three pillars, directly and indirectly, by helping you to balance your emotions and reduce intrusive and negative thoughts and by enabling you to socialise. And group exercise has been shown to reinforce these positive effects on all three brain pillars. A huge 87 per cent of members of one fitness studio said they couldn’t wait to get back post-lockdown. People do work harder in classes, according to a study by exercise company Les Mills, which coined the term ‘groupness’ to describe the fact that people in classes are more satisfied and more likely to return.
How to do it: Try any exercise where you work out with someone else, such as a group run, and particularly in a rhythm. Go regularly and you’ll get the feel-good results from making friends and being part of a community, as well as all the usual health benefits that come with it.
2. Persistence high - go for over 20 minutes
“As soon as you start to sweat and feel your heart pumping, your body goes into a different state, which drives your feel-good hormones,” says fitness instructor Maria Eleftheriou.
Experts used to think these happy hormones were endorphins, the body’s painkillers. But more recent research points to the root being in the endocannabinoid system. This is a lesser-known whole body system that helps to keep the body in balance. It’s also the area that responds to cannabis and CBD – and exercise helps you produce chemicals that are similar to the euphoric effects of the plant. The key is to go at a steady state of moderate intensity, so you don’t stop or slow down. There are other brain chemical changes that happen when you move, according to psychologist Dr Kelly McGonigal, author of The Joy Of Movement. One is your muscles releasing “hope molecules”, she says. “They travel to your brain, cross the blood-brain barrier and can act as an antidepressant. They can make your brain more resilient to stress, they increase motivation, they help you learn from experience.” It’s also beneficial to work out regularly, no matter how fit you are (or not). In a Swedish study, 36,000 men and women were asked how many times they’d exercised in the past week, and were questioned about mood and worry. It was found that physical activity more than once or twice a week was linked to better mood.
How to do it: Work out for 20 minutes or more at a moderate intensity, without stopping or slowing. You can run, but also cycle, power walk, skip rope… anything that gets your heart rate up and keeps it there.
3. Nature high - move outdoors
Nature is a free antidepressant with no side effects – unless you count being rained on! Being in green and blue environments has been shown to counter stress and anxiety as well as reduce negative emotions and feelings such as tension, anger and depression, according to Professor Goodwin. It’s not known why the effect is so strong. It could be that we respond to nature because we evolved in it. It could be that being around green induces a relaxation response. It could be that nature is restorative for your brain, helping you to concentrate and pay attention. Or it may be some combination of all of the above. All we know is, it works.
How to do it: Try to spend at least 120 minutes a week outside (that’s just 17 minutes a day). Take a mindful nature hike, noticing the sights, smells and sounds as you walk. Or, says Professor Goodwin, do a target-related activity outside, such as archery or ten-pin bowling. These release oxytocin, the love hormone, as well as giving you a positive hit of dopamine.
4. Healing high - target mind and body
Yoga can be a really effective mood-booster – here’s why. In a US study, people were asked to do either three hour-long sessions of yoga a week for 12 weeks or to walk for the same amount. Though both groups saw improvements, the yogis had a particular reduction in anxiety scores. It’s thought that yoga poses raise levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the calming, anti-stress brain chemical. The exercise has also been shown to grow new brain cells, called neurogenesis. “The brains of people who do yoga have a larger volume of grey matter than those who don’t, and also have more white matter – the connections between brain cells – too,” says Professor Goodwin. This is thought to have a knock-on effect on improving your stress response.
How to do it: Try a beginner’s yoga course at a local gym. If you want to mix it up, find classes online, such as Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, or sign up for virtual one-on-one or various recorded classes at bendbycourtney.com
5. Music high - tune in to workout
What’s the song that always gets you off your seat? “The brain seems to be hardwired to hear music as an invitation to move,” says Dr McGonigal. “If you listen to tunes while lying motionless in a brain scanner, scientists will see your motor system light up.” The right playlist will not only make you move, but also make you move more, go harder and have a better time while you’re at it.
How to do it: Dr McGonigal recommends using a power song, such as Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor, to help you push through fatigue. The lyrics matter, too, as a track’s positive message will go right into your brain. Happy songs are generally uptempo, in a major key and have a strong beat – like Happy by Pharrell Williams. Dr McGonigal’s other best workout songs include Good To Be Alive by Meghan Trainor, Like A Girl by Lizzo, Faith by Stevie Wonder, Feel Good by Jordan Smith, Lola by Iggy Azalea and Alice Chater, and Confident by Demi Lovato. Find Dr McGonigal’s The Joy Of Movement playlist on Spotify.
6. Heavy high - lift some weights
Research has shown that lifting weights, or using your own bodyweight, helps to reduce anxiety. In fact, one study found that it decreased anxiety scores by more than half. The participants exercised using free weights or bodyweight, including squats, bench presses, bent-over rows, lunges and abdominal crunches, increasing the weights they used as they became stronger. They saw immediate mood improvements in the first week, but the biggest changes happened in weeks four to eight. The benefits are thought to be due to the feeling of achievement, as well as an increase in growth-factor hormone and a reduction in inflammation.
How to do it: Under supervision is best, to ensure your form is safe and you’re not overdoing it or doing it in a way that may cause harm. So take a trial class at a local gym and then dive in.
7. Cold high - tackle a drop in temperature
Swimming during the colder months of the year is increasing in popularity – and for good reason. Once you get in, you can’t get enough of the amazing feelings it brings. It’s thought that cold water primes your stress response, and your body reacts to it by releasing adrenaline and going into fight-or-flight mode. At the same time, it ups your level of the feel-good hormone, dopamine, according to Professor Mike Tipton, who’s studied this process extensively. He describes the fight-or-flight effect as being like an amphetamine rush”. But there’s more: as your body becomes more used to the cold, after about six immersions, your shock response reduces. The theory is that this reduction of your stress response can then help you cope with different kinds of demanding events, including psychological stress.
How to do it: Just give it a try at your nearest beach – though you may not be able to stay in for long at first. (Tip: take it slow and never swim in open water alone, as the body can go into shock.)
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