We want to feel positive every day and really look after ourselves by doing the right things for our bodies. But how?
Hormones and exercise
- Physical activity appears to alter the brain’s biochemistry. In case you didn’t know, the buzz you get after exercise is not just in your head – it’s endorphins! Exercise releases this ‘feel good’ hormone and also helps ‘eat up’ the cortisol (the bad stress hormone) in our bodies. Need a mood lift? Try a workout!
- Exercise helps combat anxiety and depression. A good workout gets rid of excess tension and can leave you feeling happier and more relaxed.
- Physical activity provides a distraction from what’s bothering you.
It also helps you sleep better and look better, both of which put you in a better mood! Many studies show that regular exercise improves one’s ability to tolerate stress and cope better with change, without succumbing to stress-related illness.
Improve your food – improve your mood
The right food can lift you up, if what you’re eating helps you maintain a healthy blood sugar level. You are going to feel better in the long run if you make good choices such as lean proteins and lots of vegetables. Choosing to pig-out to make yourself feel better is self-destructive.
We’ve all experienced that sleepy feeling and fatigue of eating too much, or that guilty feeling of eating something we probably shouldn’t have! It’s not fun. So what to do?
- Establish good eating habits such as having small regular meals and eating natural unprocessed food, which leave you feeling energetic – not hungry and not stuffed.
- Adding protein to each meal helps keeps your blood sugar levels stable which helps prevent crashing – which can easily make us feel low.
- Another key to eating well is just not entertaining the thoughts of foods that are not going to fuel you with good nutrition! DISTRACTION! Keep busy and focus on your tasks. It works!
Prevent dehydration
Feeling tired and grumpy? Mild dehydration is a common cause of fatigue. And it’s the easiest to fix! If you’re not drinking at least eight glasses of water a day, often fixing this problem is as simple as taking a bottle everywhere you go or filling a large bottle in the morning. Keeping it on your desk and make sure you finish it.
Relaxation
You need adequate rest and relaxation to stay healthy and feel good each day. A good sleep most nights is a must. So are activities that allow you to have fun and relax!
Photo / FreeDigitalPhotos.net – Michal Marcol