A study found regular exercisers had higher levels of happiness, self-esteem and life satisfaction than infrequent exercisers.

If you’re one of those people who exercise regularly, you’re already familiar with the calming yet exhilarating effect of physical activity, the way you can begin a workout feeling tired and cranky, and 30 minutes later you’re smiling and high-fiving random strangers.

Now, a spate of recent research has confirmed what everyone from avid gardeners to ultra runners know: Moving your body alters your mind. Studies have shown that movement can reduce hostility, depression, anger, and anxiety, even in people who are mentally healthy. It can boost happiness, self-esteem, energy, and life satisfaction. It may even cause minuscule genetic changes, which protect you from developing depression. 

Exercise supports mood on a mood scale that’s similar to the effects of psychotherapy and medication, but unlike those treatments, it has an immediate effect.

What’s more, a morning walk or a lunchtime strength session may keep your mood elevated for hours and help you sleep better at night.

With anxiety and depression becoming more common, the prevalence has increased 25 percent in the past two years, according to the World Health Organization.

 It’s time for everyone to embrace the uplifting habit of exercise. 

Researchers who had studied the effects of exercise in people with anxiety explained that because exercise causes symptoms similar to anxiety: pounding heart, sweating, and shortness of breath, it can help people get used to those feelings and over time reduce the intensity of anxiety. 

Exercise may even protect you from developing a mood disorder. Even if you don’t have a diagnosable disorder, regular exercise can be a tonic for mood.

Physical activity can be broader for categories of psychological health, too. Regular exercisers have higher levels of happiness, self-esteem, and life satisfaction than those who exercise infrequently or not at all.

Be sure to prioritize activities you enjoy enough to do regularly. We often approach exercise with “shoulds”, such as ”I should be going to the gym” or “I should take a yoga class”. But that can make exercise feel more aversive and sets up barriers doing it. 

If you’re finding it hard to get to the gym, think about how good exercise made you feel last time you did it. 

If happiness is your goal, it doesn't take much movement to give it a boost. The type of movement or exercise intensity doesn’t matter; stretching, balancing exercise, walking, and jogging all make people feel happier at least within 30 minutes.