Previous research has shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help reduce inflammation and symptoms associated with depression. Getting some exercise helps increase serotonin production in your brain, a feel-good hormone that improves your mood. However, it turns out that these aren't the only factors at play when it comes to improving your emotional well-being. This is according to a study conducted in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
Several studies found that eating healthy foods and exercising regularly helped people feel happier and more fulfilled. There may be a link between delayed gratification and mood boost.
Study data came from approximately 40,000 households in the UK participants in the Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study. This study tracks social and economic circumstances, lifestyle habits, attitudes, family relationships and health changes.
Researchers looked at diet and activity as lifestyle factors and found a strong correlation between those factors and better moods. People may be naturally more inclined to take better care of themselves if they are happy, but the data suggests it's the opposite, says the lead researcher in this study.
A recent study suggests that healthy eating and exercise provide many benefits on a physical level; however, the proposed mechanism is psychological and the motivation lies in the idea of delayed gratification.
When you're able to delay gratification, you can live a better lifestyle, which ultimately makes you happier.
If these behaviours are undertaken with a long-term perspective instead of one dependent on short-term gains, people can do better to maintain them. Investing time and emotions in these changes seems to pay off over the long term.
The study points out that there were some differences in results between men and women. In contrast, the latter tended to eat fruits and vegetables more often while the former tended to exercise more often. However, those differences were not enough to give one gender an advantage over the other in terms of happiness.
Prevention strategy
This new study adds to considerable evidence that physical activity and healthy eating alleviate anxiety and depression symptoms and may also prevent them from occurring.
People may be more willing to incorporate activities into their lives with the perspective of seeing them as a source of joy.
One review of 49 studies showed people who maintained a regular exercise routine experienced a decreased likelihood of developing depression, as demonstrated by a meta-analysis published in Current Sports Medicine Reports. This result was consistent across several countries and among people of all ages, from children to seniors.
Several studies suggest that physical activity can help people not only overcome depression, but also reduce its occurrence in the first place.
Unfortunately, thinking of exercise as a prevention or treatment option isn’t considered a high priority in many cultures; That may be because there is still the perception of this as a chore, which can cause resistance and low motivation. Having the perspective of seeing activity as a source of joy may help many people take steps toward including it in their lives.
Along with psychological changes like embracing delayed gratification and long-term happiness, exercise also leads to physical changes that positively affect mood. Depression usually results from a loss of neurons in the brain, which activity can prevent.
A diet high in fruits and vegetables is also believed to be beneficial to the brain and body. A study found that eating extra portions of fruits per day could provide a mental well-being shift alongside 2 to 3 days of exercise per week.
Supplements provide your muscles with the nutrition they need to repair and grow. For example, Norateen Heavyweight II is proven to help people build their desired physique, thereby making them fit and happy.
