How can I Naturally Boost My Mood?

Finding a simple and natural mood booster throughout the day may seem like a difficult task but there are a couple of little pointers you can add into your daily routine that can help to give you the lift you need to improve your mood.

 

Exercise

Now some people think that taking part in exercise will make them more tired throughout the day but a lot of people find that they have a boost of energy after exercising which then reflects on their mood. When you exercise your body released endorphins, these are used by brain receptors to reduce pain and increase pleasure. This increase of endorphins resulting in the increase of pleasure within the brain and body makes your body feel happy which then results in a boost of your mood. We are not talking running 5k per day, exercise can simply be a walk in the park for 20 minutes or 10 minutes on the exercise bike.

 

Being One with Nature

Following on nicely from exercising taking a minute and being out within nature is an amazing mood booster. Going for a 10-minute walk through the park or taking the dog on a new dog walk route is an easy change to your daily routine that will help to make you feel happier throughout the day. Taking the small break reduces the amount of stress and anxiety our body feels, being within nature as well can help to reduce this further. Being out of the house is also an amazing way for you to get some all-important Vitamin D which is proven to help improve mood. If the big outdoors isn't for you there are many house plants that can give off the same effect on your mood, keeping a small house plant within several rooms within your home will help you to reduce your stress levels at home.

 Woman walking through woodland

Eat as healthy as possible

We all know diet can be a tricky one to get a grip on and you may not know that the types of food you eat can affect your mood. Eating foods that are low in vitamins and minerals can have a detrimental effect on your body and brain. As most vitamins feed the brain and work closely with your brain receptors it works hand in hand with your mood. Stick to a diet that includes a lot of fruit, proteins, vitamin D and B vitamins. Although you can get these from the foods you eat there aren't any rules stating that you cannot supplement these vitamins also. There are many ways you can supplement vitamins and minerals for example there are many vitamin jellies, effervescent or even vitamin drinks that include all important vitamins to boost your mood each day.

 

Get a good night's sleep

Everyone is aware that sleep has a huge impact on our sleep but how do you improve this? Tracking your sleep can become obsessive but mastering your sleep routine is essential! Getting into a rhythm of deep sleep means that you wake up feeling a lot more rested and in a better mood, although sleeping for 12 hours a night sounds amazing this is usually 12 hours of light sleep in which our body is aware of our surroundings and light sleep is where you dream. After a night of light sleep and constant dreaming this can make you feel unrested and can give the effect of no sleep at all which has a detrimental effect on your mood. To ensure you are entering the deepest sleep it is best to sleep in a cooler room that is as dark as possible, this enables your brain and body to completely switch off. There are also minerals such as magnesium, L-Theanine and 5-HTP that assist your body to relax before bed which enables you to enter a deep sleep.

 Woman sleeping

Spend time being practical

There are lots of ways you can be practical throughout a day, this could be within the workplace or at home. As you are practical and complete tasks, that you enjoy, this satisfies the brain and again releases the endorphins which boosts your mood. It is always enjoyable to find new hobbies and experiment in things you can enjoy, this can be something you want to get back in to from the past or a new hobby that you have never tried before. Taking part in artistic hobbies always has a positive effect on the brain, this does not mean you have to be Van Gogh but taking part in scrap booking, colouring in a picture, or even journaling your day can help you to feel happier throughout the day in turn making you feel happier. Reducing the amount of screen time, you have will also assist you to be more practical and again will aid your mood, sometimes we can become transfixed with what is happening on social media and within the news this can have a negative effect on your mood, this is what we need to avoid. Taking part in practical activities will take up more of your time which means you are not watching tv or spending all your time on your phone.

 

Have a spring clean

Although cleaning can be tedious and can sometimes take a lot of effort, like exercise, cleaning has a positive effect on the brain. Some people enjoy organising a single draw or rearranging your bedroom, anything that is aesthetically pleasing with release the endorphins to boost your mood. Cleaning also an outlet for bad energy and like the above is a practical task that can take your mind off what is happening in the world, as the bad energy leaves your body it releases the feel-good energy to again boost your mood throughout the day.

 

So, what can we take from this? I think the biggest thing is that as we are being practical and staying bust throughout the day, we think that this is going to tire us out and drain our energy but this isn't always the case. Lots of daily tasks release bad energy and allow the endorphins to enter the brain which makes us feel good! Leave us a comment below to let us know how you boost your mood.