How Exercise Improves Your Mood

By: Susan Gazerro

Exercise has always been my therapy. It’s never just been a physical activity. I was never just focused on the physical result. It has always been just as much, if not more, about my mental health. Not only does it give us the energy we need every day, but it absolutely changes our mood. This has been scientifically proven.

You’ve probably heard that exercise increases endorphins, (the happy hormone), but it also increases many more brain chemicals that make you feel happy. I knew this, but when I suffered a TBI (traumatic brain injury) the doctors encouraged me to exercise. They explained that when you exercise, it does increase endorphins, but it also increases dopamine, adrenaline, and endocannabinoid. These are all brain chemicals associated with feeling happy, feeling confident, and feeling capable.

These endorphins contribute to having less anxiety, stress, and even less physical pain. When you exercise, you also increase nerve cell growth in the brain. Increasing nerve cells is directly linked to aiding with depression. Another chemical that is shown to help relieve stress and boost happiness is myokine, which your body creates when your muscles contract. Myokines begin to change the structure and function of your brain in ways that make you more resilient to stress and help most people recover from depression and anxiety disorders. Again, having a TBI can be very devastating and life changing, hence, the doctors encourage exercise as often as possible. It, again, is a source of therapy and it definitely helped in my recovery.

We all know having strong, healthy relationships is one of the most important factors in everyone’s overall happiness. Having a fitness family can mean more than just having a group of people you can depend on to workout with. I have been instructing at 6am for years and the group of women that attend, my “6amers”, as I call them, are definitely mine, and each other’s fitness family. When you connect with people that have common interests like working out and being healthy, you automatically bond. We have become such great friends. We all have our own lives, but we know every morning at 6am we are going to laugh, cry, vent, and have a great workout together.

There is no question that exercise will boost your confidence. Confidence is key to feeling happy, and I always say, “confidence is beauty.” Confidence makes you beautiful. People gravitate toward people who are confident. No one should take your confidence away or make you feel any less worthy. You are special and unique and you need to believe that. Your life will change once you do.

Exercise helps boost your confidence because not only does your physical appearance change, but when you workout, you’re doing something challenging, which gives you a sense of accomplishment. When you are with other people, whether working out or in any scenario, it creates a sense of ‘bigger than self,’ and this makes people feel more optimistic and empowered. It also allows people to feel more empowered about facing the challenges in their own lives. The interesting side benefit of moving or working out with other people is there is a sense of “we’re in this together” that translates into self-confidence. You also want to work harder and try harder because you are subconsciously trying to prove yourself and do good for the “team.” This in turn helps you take on challenges in your life.

If you love the outdoors and want to exercise outdoors, this could also be very beneficial. Exercising outdoors has an immediate effect on mood that is extremely powerful for depression and anxiety. Exercising outdoors puts you in a state of open awareness. This is very similar to meditation.

We have all heard that meditation has so many benefits. The good news is if you are not one to meditate, you may not have to. Your mind can play tricks on you. If you are the type who worries or overthinks everything, something as simple as going for a walk or bike ride outdoors can have an immediate profound effect that will give tremendous relief because it invites the mind to shift spontaneously without any effort of entering a meditation state. Again, being outdoors provides the same benefit. So, if you find yourself getting depressed or in a rut, make an effort to go outside and do something for yourself.

A lot of people don’t like to exercise. I have always tried to make people understand the importance and benefits of exercise. You will never regret working out. Think about this, you take care of so many things in life. You take care of your family, your car, work, house etc., isn’t your health the most important thing to take care of?

“The best investment you can ever make is in your own health.”