It may appear tiny from the front, but this Ballsbridge cottage on the market for €750,000 is surprisingly spacious
It may appear tiny from the front, but this Ballsbridge cottage on the market for...

Megan Burns

This picturesque West Cork home with separate basement apartment is on the market for €695,000
This picturesque West Cork home with separate basement apartment is on the market for €695,000

Sarah Finnan

‘The Easter holidays are a fresh kind of hell when you have kids and a job’
‘The Easter holidays are a fresh kind of hell when you have kids and a...

Dominique McMullan

Annutri co-founder and award-winning businesswoman Anita Donoghue on the power of a positive mindset
Annutri co-founder and award-winning businesswoman Anita Donoghue on the power of a positive mindset

IMAGE

This Clontarf home was reconfigured to streamline the layout and maximise its views
This Clontarf home was reconfigured to streamline the layout and maximise its views

Megan Burns

6 classic movies worth watching over Easter
6 classic movies worth watching over Easter

Jennifer McShane

The friend zone: How to navigate finding friends as an adult
The friend zone: How to navigate finding friends as an adult

Sarah Gill

Supper Club: Fearne Cotton’s haddock burrito, punchy salsa and homemade guacamole
Supper Club: Fearne Cotton’s haddock burrito, punchy salsa and homemade guacamole

Meg Walker

New life has been breathed into this Victorian Portobello home thanks to a revamp that’s full of personality
New life has been breathed into this Victorian Portobello home thanks to a revamp that’s...

Megan Burns

This rustic four-bedroom home in Westport is on the market for €449,000
This rustic four-bedroom home in Westport is on the market for €449,000

Sarah Finnan

Image / Editorial

Need A Mood Booster? Running Is The Answer


By Jennifer McShane
18th Apr 2016
Need A Mood Booster? Running Is The Answer

While we might bemoan our morning jog (waking up at 6 AM?never gets easier), new research has indicated there is yet another reason to lace up your running shoes;?working out, specifically running, can make you feel happier.

A new study has indicated that acute aerobic exercise is an effective, scientifically proven’mood booster.

Published in the journal?Cognition and Emotion, the study tested how moderate exercise affected the way?individuals regulate negative emotions.?The 80 participants (50% women) were shown a scene from a movie,?The Champ, intended to induce sadness, after which participants were asked to jog (aerobic exercise) or stretch (anaerobic exercise) for half an hour. After observing’surveys taken?about subjects’?emotional states before and after their workouts, researchers?concluded that those who did run reported feeling less sadness at the end of the study compared to those?who didn’t exercise. Meanwhile, those who showed difficulty regulating emotion,?and described their pre-workout state akin to “despair” also?felt less sadness?after a 30-minute jog than those who did’stretching.

They don’t call it a “runner’s high” for nothing, it seems.

And while researchers admitted they are still trying to fully determine the links between aerobic exercise and our moods, it’s a sure sign that it’s a good idea to revisit your running ambitions (as opposed to a Netflix?binge) the next time you’re feeling blue.