Don’t Forget to move!

I don’t think there’s anything too surprising or novel in this article, but it serves as a good reminder that moving around, in and of itself, can make us feel better. While we have come to shorthand the feel-good benefit from movement as being caused by endorphins, Elle Hunt reminds us it’s actually a “cocktail of hormones, including endocannabinoids – all of which contribute to making us feel good.”

Ultiimately, whatever exercise you enjoy doing the most is going to be the best for raising your mood. It doesn’t matter whether it’s aerobic or anaerobic, it’s all beneficial.

Changing our body chemistry also changes our brain chemistry, so moving around will certainly have an effect on both. Keep in mind that the benefits of moving around are both immediate as well as long term. This becomes even more important considering how many of us are sitting for longer periods of time because of remote work, which has already been shown to cause many physical and mental issues. Taking adequate breaks and getting even some mild exercise is hugely beneficial.

For martial artists, this type of thinking may be obvious and hardly requires any convincing. But for many people in our lives, this information can be handy just to keep in mind on a day-to-day basis.