5 ways exercise can make you happier

Think back to your childhood. Physical activity was instinctual and often filled with pure joy. Maybe you raced your sister or dad to the front door. Or maybe you jumped on the bed with your friends at sleepovers. Or maybe you played a team sport. Or maybe you rode your bike in the park. For many, the connection between physical activity and joy was broken and forgotten on the way to adulthood, replaced by the realities and responsibilities of everyday life. Physical activity may have become more of a duty, something we had to do to optimize our health or get in shape. Or maybe it just took too much time. For some, injury, illness, or the passage of time may have made physical activity a pain. But we give up on physical activity at our own risk and our health. Research shows that exercise, and more challenging, purposeful exercise, is not only good for our physical health, but is also closely linked to our mental state and mood. Related Video: Mental Activity Has Been Proven to Reduce Depression and Anxiety. “I always say that exercise is like an IV drip of hope,” psychologist Kelly McGonigal recently told CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the podcast “Chasing Life.” “And it's any exercise that you're happy to do with any part of your body that you can move.” McGonigal is the author of The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage. A group fitness instructor and lecturer at Stanford University, she has used movement and exercise throughout her life to manage her own anxiety and depression. According to McGonigal, movement enables the production and release of “hope” molecules, technically called myokines, during muscle contractions, for example, when you're exercising or simply moving around. Some of these myokines have antidepressant effects. “Muscles can't just move bones or stabilize the skeleton,” she says. “Muscles are like endocrine organs. They produce these molecules and release them into the bloodstream to travel throughout the body and affect all of the organs. And some molecules can even cross the blood-brain barrier to affect the brain, including mood, mental state, and brain health.” According to McGonigal, exercise allows you to see your body as an ally. “I think that's one of the most amazing things about exercise and the science of exercise, especially because it makes your body feel like a friend,” she says. “It's our partner, not something that we're trying to modify or control through exercise.” McGonigal said many other brain chemicals released during exercise can affect a person's mental state, resulting in a runner's high, a flow state, or even a feeling of euphoria, for example. “The brain states you can experience during exercise are actually very diverse, and it's not one 'thing,'” she said. What can you do to derive pleasure from exercise and during exercise? McGonigal gives these five tips: Exercise on the Go Get out into nature. “We know that mindful exercise or exercising outdoors in nature brings the brain into this heightened state of awareness of the present moment, which tends to make you feel more energized and connected to life,” McGonigal said. “People often feel a release from internal noise, stress, and worries. … It shifts which brain systems are most active, and puts you in a meditative state.” “Turn up the volume, put on your favorite playlist, and get moving.” “When you exercise while listening to high-energy music you love, moving to the beat, and doing something that really gets your heart rate up… it often feels close to euphoric,” she said. “It makes you feel incredibly good, it releases endorphins, and it helps your brain chemistry feel more connected to other people, too.” Video below: The key to a good workout can be as simple as choosing the right music Join a group Being social helps exercise. “Make movement social. Whether it's strength training or running, we know that people form friendships and communities of support through movement,” McGonigal said. Who doesn't need another friend or source of support these days? Exercise can also help you be more social. “People who exercise report feeling less lonely, having better relationships with others, and being able to connect better with others for a variety of reasons, including biochemical reasons and how exercise brain chemicals make you more social,” McGonigal says. “If you're socially anxious and you exercise, by the end of that workout, you're almost a more extroverted version of yourself.” Back to basics Find something you really love. Think about the positive experiences you've had with exercise in the past. “The most important thing in life is to exercise,” McGonigal says. “Revisit something you miss or find a new way to do it.” Change your mindset to be grateful. When you're moving, instead of just monitoring it, find a way to be grateful for your body being able to move. “Switch to a mindset of, 'Wow, my body, I can't believe this!' or, 'Thank you for the energy that lets me do this,'” McGonigal says.