30 Minutes to a Better Mood

ivykivy

30 Minutes to a Better Mood
http://www.realage.com/blogs/doctor-oz-roizen/30-minutes-to-a-better-mood

In the time it takes to fast-forward through two TiVo’d sitcoms that aren’t all that funny anyway, you can lift your mood. You’ve probably already heard -- likely from some smiley, tennis-racquet-slinging type -- that exercise helps alleviate depression and improve well-being over the long term. Well, you don’t have to be a long-term exerciser -- and you definitely don’t have to wear tennis whites -- to reap the benefits. In fact, the mood-enhancing rewards of physical activity may show up after a single 30-minute walk.

Even better, the mood lifting happens if you simply walk at a moderate pace -- 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate -- for 30 minutes. (For the average 55-year-old, that’s about 100 heartbeats per minute). In a study that compared walkers with people who just loafed around for 30 minutes, the walkers all got relief from depressive symptoms, including confusion, anger, distress, and fatigue. Plus, they got significant improvements in their sense of well-being, a benefit the loafers didn’t get. By the way, both groups weren’t just down after watching the economy tank (again); they had major depression. So if it worked for them, imagine what it can do for you after just a single rough day at home or at the office.

Although many kinds of depression respond to exercise, severe depression may also require professional intervention in the form of counseling, medication, or both. Many studies have found that SAMe -- a natural body substance that is often recommended for depression -- may be as effective as standard antidepressants, without their side effects. While you can get SAMe without a prescription, if you’re feeling depressed, your best route is still to go to a doctor first, not a pharmacy -- but walk there!
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This one reason I still do the Leslie Sansone dvd's. I like her spirit and it's a great pick-me-up.