Cardiovascular Health, Exercising with Health conditions, Health Care, Home Gym

Mood boosters to snap you out of a funk : NPR

Photo of author

By admin


Mood boosters to snap you out of a funk : NPR



Mood boosters to snap you out of a funk Six techniques to energize you when you feel sluggish and relax you when you feel stressed. Feel the transformation in 15 minutes or less.




In a slump and want to turn your day around? Try these science-backed techniques to help improve your mood in a matter of minutes.

They can help you feel energized when you feel sluggish, calm when you feel stressed or connected if you feel lonely. No special tools or materials required (unless you want to jump in the ice bath!).

“The other day I woke up feeling … sad,” says Marielle Segarra, Life Kit host – a petite woman with short hair and hoop earrings. “And I wasn’t sure why until I finally had lunch. I was just hungry!” Bad moods can signal that we need to meet a basic bodily need or address an emotional concern.

If there’s an emotion at play, you might want to explore that later. Marielle sits in a dark room. But if you want to snap out of a funk quickly, here are 6 research-backed mood boosters you can do in 15 minutes or less. While these tips alone can't treat serious mental health conditions, they can supplement your routine. She lights a candle that fills the room with a gentle glow.

Stressed out? Watch videos of cute animals. When University of Leeds researchers showed 30-minute montages of cute animal videos to college students, their blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety dropped. So if you’re feeling blue, watch a few videos of your favorite animals until you feel better.

Feeling lonely? Take a walk down memory lane. Nostalgia can help us find meaning in our lives and feel less alone, say scientists. Connect to your past by looking through old photos, listening to throwback songs or reading your favorite book from childhood. It may stir up fond memories.

Need to relax? Listen to ASMR. Some people experience autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), like pleasurable chills, when listening to certain sounds. A PLOS One paper found that listening to 3-minute ASMR videos helped lower participants’ heart rates by more than three beats per minute.

Feeling sluggish? Go for a walk. Columbia researchers studied desk workers and found that participants felt better and more energized when they incorporated more walking into their day – even just a five-minute walk every half hour. So if you feel tired sitting at your desk, move your body.

Feeling hopeless? Make some art. Creating art is an ancient impulse. Some researchers think it helps us navigate problems that might arise in the future by preparing us to imagine possibilities and survive them. A hand draws cave paintings of animals to be discovered hundreds of years later.

Making art also activates the reward pathway in the brain, creating a pleasurable experience that can lower stress and anxiety. So if you’re feeling stuck, get creative with some art supplies. Don’t worry about making it perfect — do whatever feels good to you, be it drawing, knitting or sculpting.

Feeling stagnant? Try a cold plunge! Dip yourself in cold water — about 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit — for a short while. If it’s your first time, try it for about 30 seconds. You can do it in a body of water, an ice bath or a cold shower. Scientists say this activates the cold shock response …

… which then causes your body to release endorphins, which can relieve pain and boost your mood. And this creates a feeling similar to a runner’s high after exercising, say scientists. To read all of the sources for this comic, go to the digital story on npr.org.

Footnotes

  1. Is Being ‘Hangry’ Really a Thing ― or Just an Excuse?, Cleveland Clinic, 2021
  2. What are the health benefits of watching cute animals?, University of Leeds, 2020
  3. What Nostalgia Is and What It Does, University of Southampton, 2013
  4. More than a feeling: Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by reliable changes in affect and physiology, PLOS One, 2018
  5. Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting to Improve Cardiometabolic Risk: Dose-Response Analysis of a Randomized Crossover Trial, PubMed, 2023
  6. Feeling Artsy? Here’s How Making Art Helps Your Brain, NPR, 2020
  7. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy assessment of reward perception based on visual self-expression: Coloring, doodling, and free drawing, The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2017
  8. Jumping into the Ice Bath Trend! Mental Health Benefits of Cold Water Immersion, Stanford Lifestyle Medicine, 2024



Source link

Related posts:

  1. U.S. lawmakers propose a ban on weighted infant sleepwear : NPR
  2. How are colleges confronting overdose risks? : NPR
  3. You can soon order free COVID tests again : NPR
  4. How to make your donations count : Goats and Soda : NPR

Vegan Curried Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Afghan Women Have Been Brought Back in Time

Leave a Comment