September Wellness Works- Get happy: Exercise your way to well-being
Most people associate happiness with positive emotions like optimism, purpose, life satisfaction and a sense of well-being. Regardless of how you define happiness, research shows it plays a powerful role in your overall health. Your most important tool for boosting happiness may be the most obvious – exercise. A landmark study that reshaped the connection between exercise and well-being (Blumenthal et. al. 1999) found that a group program of aerobic exercise – three supervised 45 minute sessions/week of cycling or walking/jogging at moderate to high intensity for 4 months – was just as effective at treating depression as was Zoloft, or even a combination of exercise and Zoloft. Even after six months, participants who recovered were less likely to relapse into depression if they were part of the exercise group (Babyak et. al. 2000). Some researchers theorize that exercise acts as a distraction from negative thoughts that feed anxiety and depression. Regular exercise also boosts self-confidence and self-esteem. Basically, when you feel good you look good. (more…)