3 Quick Ways to Boost Your Mood
It’s cold outside, and it’s easy to succumb to a case of the wintertime blahs. But you can feel better fast with these three quick tricks! Try one of them next time you feel your mood heading south (along with the geese).
Give thanks.
Spending one minute to offer up a thank-you for the health of a loved one calms adrenal glands to soothe stress and lift your mood. And Harvard researchers say, done daily, the strategy lowers depression risk by 81 percent.
Snuggle a fuzzy.
Touching something soft (a sweater or blanket) while you relax for 60 seconds releases oxytocin, a hormone that improves outlook and mood, says Paul J. Zak, Ph.D., a neurology professor at California’s Loma Linda University.
Inhale a rose scent.
Taking six deep sniffs of rose essential oil triggers brain-chemistry changes that ward off dips in feel-good serotonin, so you feel calm and happy in under a minute, say Chicago neurologists. Also smart: sipping rose tea.
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman’s World.
