This is how sport makes you happy
In the colder months, there is a lack of sunlight, which affects the production of happy hormones. Five tips on how to reduce this deficit – and why even chess can help.
In nature and with company, sport makes you happier.
Photo: Getty Images
Some runners know it: the runner’s high. That brief, energized post-workout state. During high-intensity sports, the brain begins to release dopamine after just a few minutes – and this makes people feel happier.
Such perfectly happy hormones are rare in fall and winter because there is no light. As a result, we move less and less. Exercise helps combat stress and has a positive effect on balancing hormones. But do you have to run a half marathon every time just to boost your hormones? of course not. You don’t have to do much to find a little extra happiness during the gray months.
Walking and stretching: a little exercise is enough
According to a meta-study from the University of Michigan More exercise leads to more happiness, but – and this applies to all ages – even small units of exercise have a positive effect on body and mind. It’s important for people to move at all, because just ten minutes of physical activity a week can make you happier.
And in order to be able to reap the benefits of exercise on a purely hormonal level, no one has to be into high-performance sports. Even regular walking, stretching and light weight training can help release hormones, effectively fight anxiety and counteract the stress hormone cortisol.
Inside vs. Outside: Nature is Worth It
In the summer many people like to go out into nature, but not in the winter. Then many move on to the couch or to the gym. The so-called “green exercise” promises greater benefits for physical and mental health than indoor training.
Like meta-analyses United State And the Germany It has been shown that participants in various studies feel better about themselves and are in a better mood when they are outside. In contrast, her anxiety and depression disorders decreased. Sometimes because athletes have the opportunity to temporarily escape from their daily worries.
Yoga and chess: the brain also does gymnastics
Mental training also helps release happiness hormones.
Photo: Getty Images
If you still don’t want to go to the cold nature, you can, of course, gain happiness hormones from home. Yoga, for example, and even surprisingly chess can help here.
As meta studies showThe first ensures the release of a hormone that increases psychological well-being, life satisfaction and self-esteem. This, in turn, helps prevent stress, depression, and anxiety. Yoga also reduces fatigue and negative feelings, while enhancing and energizing positive feelings.
and chess? As confirmed by scientists, makes playing chess happy too. It is suspected that the cause is an optimally robust release of dopamine in the brain’s “pleasure center” – This is said to be especially the case in blitz. To become happier, it is enough for the brain to exercise.
From aerobics to Zumba: with the power of a group
Those who seek happiness are better off training in a group than alone. On the one hand, community provides an extrinsic motivation to challenge each other further – together athletes can train beyond perceived limits and Feeling more happy. On the other hand, the presence of friends and coworkers releases endorphins that are greater than those obtained from physical exertion anyway.
And furthermore: Research reveals that the healthy behavior of others rubs off. In training, you subconsciously direct yourself to the motor behavior of your fellow human beings—and if they’re more active, you adapt. Group support helps the brain cope better with pain and fatigue. Oxford University researchers He called this effect a “social placebo” that helps improve performance.
Music effect: the heart is dancing
Whether it’s running, cycling or strength training – for many, music is essential to a satisfying workout. Since it can activate almost all areas of the brain, it helps strengthen a variety of brain pathways. And also those responsible for well-being, learning and quality of life – or also – for happiness. Some professional athletes swear by it for peak performance (Here is a selection).
In the 2020 meta-study Research supports all kinds of positive physiological factors in music; During exercise, it distracts from pain and fatigue, increases endurance, reduces exertion, and may increase metabolic efficiency.
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