#12 Keep moving

Have you ever noticed that you feel great after going to the gym or for a run?

The vast majority of have shown that there is an important link between exercise and mental well-being and improved mood.

The researchers of these studies consistently found that exercise has a positive impact on mood. It has been demonstrated that physical activity stimulates the release of endorphins, the “feel-good” chemicals in the brain. Some researchers think that exercise also acts as a diversion from negative thoughts. Also, some researches show that the social interaction taking place in some types of exercise, like team sport for example, contributes to a greater personal satisfaction and therefore a mood enhancement.

Something we don’t know is that exercise has also been studied as an alternative treatment to antidepressant medications and therapies used for depression; and it was concluded that exercise has an important clinical impact on depression.

Now to keep convincing you of the benefits of exercise, there are 16 reasons why exercise makes us happy:

1)    Increased dopamine in the brain (feelings of pleasure and happiness)

2)    Lower anxiety and depression (achieve long term relief)

3)    Energy boost

4)    Stress reducer

5)    Slow down cognitive decline

6)    More self confidence (feel a great sense of accomplishment)

7)    Be more social

8)    Get better sleep (improve sleep quality)

9)    Be more creative (better mood = creativeness)

10)  A more productive you

11)  Memory booster (increased memory capabilities)

12)  Be more relaxed

13)  Better coping skills

14)  Gets addiction under control (helps in addiction recovery)

15)  Enjoy the great outdoors

16)  Increase your brain power (good cardio can help to create new brain cells)

Lastly, some practical tips for exercise: try to engage at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day, try to vary the type of exercise you do and choose activities you enjoy, and keep in mind that even if you cannot do high impact workouts there are plenty of low impact activities such as biking, walking or even swimming !

SO REMEMBER TO KEEP MOVING NOW !

#2 Take care of yourself

Obviousness? Not in the facts.

It is proven that a lot of anxious people do the contrary. The more they feel bad, the more they mistreat themselves; and it becomes a vicious circle.

Wake up in the morning and try to take care of yourself, as an individual before anything else is more important than you think. Put on the clothes you like, doing up hair, put some makeup on for girls is an incredible help for those who lack self-confidence. Think of the difference you can make when you feel confortable and more confident! Your family, colleagues or classmates can see and feel the difference, and believe me it feels so good to see the difference in the way they look at you and talk to you.

I know that many people recommend not to pay attention to what others can think of yourself. But, in reality the way people look at you and can to judge you can affect you a lot. So for once, let’s use the power they have on you to make you feel better! ;)

Once again, what you need to do is just to make this 5-30 minutes effort, once a day, to feel more confident for the rest of the day! Try tomorrow and believe me you won't make the mistake of going to work or university feeling one level lower than everyone else.

Please feel free to share your version of this experient by using the comment button below!