Move your mood to happy
The classic 2005 animated movie "Madagascar" ends with a funny rendition of the song "Move It," in which all the zoo animals bust out their dance moves. Most of the moves involve little more than hip shaking or shuffling. But they make you laugh and send you out of the theater feeling happy.
The next time you see this movie (or a promo for it), we hope it'll remind you of what a new study found: Movement, no matter how little or silly, helps improve your mood.
To track how mood was connected to moving, researchers created a special app that 10,000 Android users downloaded. For 17 months, the app regularly asked the folks if they'd been sitting, standing, walking, running, lying down or doing something else in the past 15 minutes and how they were feeling. It also periodically checked overall life satisfaction.
The scientists found that the more people moved throughout the day, even if it was just standing or fidgeting, the happier they were. (If you're doing your 10,000 steps a day, you're ahead of this curve.)
The lesson: If you can't exercise (you're stuck at a desk or busy at home), make sure you move around. It's vitally important not just for your physical health, but your emotional well-being, too.
To help you remember to move, download a free app such as MOVE, Stand Up! or StretchClock. Then every 30 minutes walk around the room or bust out a silly dance move like the animals from "Madagascar."
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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