Being physically active can seemingly help you be happier.
Exercise is great for burning fat or building muscle, and it seems that it also has other benefits as well. One of the biggest perks is that exercising actually has been proven to help keep a person more mentally healthy. A new study found that physical exercise actually makes a person happier throughout their day.
The Relation Between Being Physically Active and Your Mood
The release of dopamine is one of the main reason why being physically active improves a person’s mood and makes them happier. Dopamine is released to the brain during times of pleasure, and it is what makes people feel happy and excited.
Physical exercise actually causes the body to release dopamine and send it to your brain. In turn, this will them make people feel happier after exercising.
“More importantly, even a small change of physical activity makes a difference in happiness,” states Weiyun Chen, a study co-author.
People will also feel better after working out because of fact that the body releases endorphins while they work out. Endorphins are the body’s natural hormones, and they have a variety of impacts on it.
The body released endorphins during any period when a person feels their heart rate increasing. It also happens when they need a burst of energy.
This is why people feel more energized after being physically active. No matter how tired they might be, working out will release endorphins and cause people to feel more energized than if they hadn’t worked out.
Conclusion
Being physically active can make a person feel better for many different reasons. One of them is that while exercising, your body releases dopamine, which is the chemical behind feeling happy. Another reason that exercising increases your mood is because it increases endorphin levels, which in turn, boost your energy levels.
Exercising has many other benefits as well. An improved sleep quality and reduced levels of stress are among them. Overall, exercising has many different positive impacts on the body and the mind.
A paper with the study’s results is available in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
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