With everyone being stuck at home and the cold weather season upon us, so many are suffering from cabin fever. You probably feel less motivated and are having a difficult time focusing on things you once enjoyed. This is completely normal given the current state of the world, but it doesn’t have to be your normal.

Exercise helps increase serotonin, the hormone in your brain that regulates mood, sleep, and appetite. This helps people with chronic depression alleviate some of their symptoms over time. The increase in serotonin with regular exercises, such as a simple daily walk, can help turn your depression symptoms around in such a way that you start to feel a teeny bit happier again.

Today we’re going to share some of the best forms of exercise to improve your mood. When you opt to include these exercises in your daily life, you’ll soon find that you start to feel happier even if you’re still stuck at home.

Cardiovascular Exercises

This is an excellent option to improve your mood that is if you enjoy swimming or running. Remember that the exercise you opt to do regularly must be an activity that you enjoy doing. Cardiovascular exercises are good for heart health and improved moods. Some of the popular cardiovascular exercises you can do include a brisk walk, burpees, running, or swimming.

Yoga

There are many yoga apps that you can download for free to your smartphone to make this exercise a part of your everyday life. Yoga can help relax your mind, stretch your muscles and improve posture. These poses are generally done with basic equipment at home, such as using a chair or a couch and exercise mat. This doesn’t require a lot of effort but will improve your mood tremendously.

A Mixture

Consider trying a mixture of exercises so that you don’t get too bored. Being bored of your exercise routine will only deter you from trying to use exercise to improve your mood. Plan to walk a few days a week, ride your bicycle one day, and take a Zumba class another day. Mixing up how you do your daily exercise will help keep you on track with using this method to feel happier.

The key to making sure your exercise routine improves your mood is to find a routine that you feel happy about. These should be exercises that make you feel slightly excited about getting up and doing them. For many people, a daily walk is something they can look forward to because it gets them up off the couch and outside for some fresh air.

More exercise won’t necessarily make you happier all of the time, but it can significantly impact how you feel overall. With each passing day that you include some form of exercise in your life, you’ll start to feel a weight lifted off your shoulders and find that you smile more often.