FITNESS Let exercise boost your mood in five minutes

Feel good in five - Mood-boosting exercise


Personal trainer
Paul O'Brien

‘Is this winter?’ A couple holidaying in Ireland from the US recently were asked this question by their kids. In fairness, if you’re not a native, it’s hard to tell the difference. The couple went on to tell me of how they noticed the difference in their kids’ moods when the sun was shining. Thus was born the idea for this article.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a recognised form of depression that affects over 2 million people in the UK and Ireland and over 12 million in Northern Europe. Symptoms are more pronounced in winter months but can also be affected by changes in seasonal light and poor weather. It’s no wonder that more people are feeling SAD in Ireland these days.
There is, though, a ray of sunshine on the horizon, if you’ll pardon the pun. More and more research is focusing in on the psychological benefits of exercise. The good news is that a little exercise does wonders for your psychological well-being. A 2010 review of over ten research studies in the UK showed that exercise boosts self-esteem and improves mood.

Go green
The best type of exercise to improve psychological well-being is that undertaken outdoors. ‘green exercise’ has become one of the favoured expressions to describe a vast number of outdoor activities, including walking, running, cycling, rollerblading, swimming, gardening, walking the dog or taking the kids to the park. Anything else that involves moving your body outside could also qualify.
However, the real juice from the review is the optimal time commitment needed to gain psychological benefits. Whereas in a previous article, I wrote that as little as ten minutes exercise can bring substantial physical gains, the research shows that a ‘dose’ of just five minutes of outdoor exercise yields the highest benefits. This is great news for us all! Who cannot get outside for a five-minute walk every day?
All studies undertaken showed that a five-minute outdoor session improved self-esteem and mood more than a workout lasting 10-60 minutes. Though no reason for this was given, I would suspect that the brain has secreted most of its ‘feel-good’ hormones, like serotonin, in the first five-minutes of exercise, leading to a mood spike.
Exercise can also have positive long-term implications for psychological health and well-being. A 2009 study of the longer-term effects of exercise on depression showed that bouts of exercise of less than 30 minutes daily over 4-26 weeks led to significant reductions in symptoms.

Take control
The message is clear: Exercise is good for the body and mind. It can be difficult to lift our spirits when it’s so grey above, when we should have sunshine and sun-tans. Exercise offers a way out. Instead of playing the victim and complaining about our lot, we can change the things within our control. No, we can’t change the weather, but we can change our reaction to it – and prevent it affecting our mood. Once again, exercise can be the key.

Paul O’Brien is a Personal Trainer and Life Coach and runs his own fitness and coaching business in Westport. He is the founder of Bootcamp West, a fitness programme running in Westport, Castlebar and Louisburgh. For information about fitness training, coaching, bootcamp programmes and new TRX classes, email Paul at paul@bootcampwest.com or call 086 1674515.