TL;DR – Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
If running after the bus is your only exercise, this article is for you.
If you’re feeling lazy or very nua, sometimes all you need is a good workout. And as ironic as that sounds, exercising will actually energise you, which in turn, can make you feel better and happier.
According to a report by CNN, what exercising does is that it increases endorphins and other feel-good chemicals in our brain. This will then reduce our levels of stress hormones cortisol in the body and bring about feelings of euphoria and general well-being, making us feel less tense/angry and more revitalised and energetic instead. “Endorphins are also involved in natural reward circuits related to activities such as feeding, drinking, sexual activity and maternal behavior,” explains J. Kip Matthews, Ph.D, a sport and exercise psychologist.
Endorphin junkies will also say that exercising can give you some therapeutic respite and clear your mind, whether you prefer to do it at the start or end of your day.
Feeling stressed out by that major project at work? Exercise may actually help ward off depression and anxiety by enhancing the body’s ability to respond to stressors, says Matthews. “What appears to be happening is that exercise affords the body an opportunity to practice responding to stress, streamlining the communication between the systems involved in the stress response,” he explains. “The less active we become, the more challenged we are in dealing with stress.”
There has also been research done that shows how exercise triggers ‘a cascade of positive events’ that flow into the day of and the day after your workout.
So, if feeling happy isn’t a reason to hit the gym, go for yoga or do a quick HIIT workout at home, then just convince yourself that you’re sweating your way to a better bod.
Cause you know, you want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You better work b*tch.