How to change your mood: 8 scientific ways

One way or another, everybody makes themselves feel better. For this, some people require total silence, while others have an urgent need to attend a party or consume something delicious. Even the simplest pleasures can put a smile on your face and change your mood. In this article, we have compiled how to change your mood scientifically.

1. Play with your dog

Researchers from the University of Uppsala in Sweden looked at the effectiveness of this method in improving one’s mood.

When the experiment results were analyzed, the researchers discovered that the levels of the hormone oxytocin increased in the subjects after they had been in touch with dogs for ten minutes.

Therefore, if you own a dog but aren’t in the mood to play with it or pet it, you should make an effort to do either of those things nevertheless. It will also work for a variety of other animals.

2. Look at photos

An investigation into the effect of photos on one’s disposition was carried out in 2006 by Peter Neish, a researcher from the United Kingdom. He looked at the behaviour of two different categories of participants. The first one overcame their feelings of depression using whichever approach they wanted. The following step was to look through all of her photo albums.

Before and after they took part in the trial, every participant had their mood assessed. It was discovered that the first group saw a one percent increase in their overall sense of moral well-being. Moreover, people who looked at the photos saw an 11% improvement in their mood.

It is important to keep in mind that you do not need to rush to print photos and buy an album because looking at digital images is just as beneficial.

3. Take some gum

An interesting investigation was carried out by Japanese researcher Takanobu Morinushi, a PhD, in the year 2001. He was curious about how the habit of chewing gum would influence the participants’ overall health.

He requested that they eat gum throughout the EEG recording so that he could monitor any changes in how their brains were functioning. The researcher suggested producing two different varieties of sweets: one with a base that contained sucrose but no flavorings and the other with flavorings. The participants also took deep breaths while inhaling the aroma of the essential oil.

It has been discovered that chewing flavored gum can lead to a state of relaxed concentration, similar to what one might achieve from practicing yoga.

4. Smile

Smile no matter what, as the old saying goes. You’ve probably heard this statement before. The results of a study carried out by researchers from the United States and published in the journal Psychological Science show some validity to this assertion.

Tara Kraft and Sarah Pressman, who specializes in psychology, have researched the many sorts of smiles and how they affect one’s ability to recover from stress.

Standard smiles, created by the effort and tension of the muscles of the lips, were separated from sincere smiles, also known as Duchenne smiles, which occur when both the eyes and the mouth are involved in the smiling process.

The individuals who took part in the experiment were instructed to maintain a variety of facial expressions while holding chopsticks in their mouths as part of the trial for them to be able to use the muscles responsible for each mood that they reproduced.

While the participants were completing many tasks at once, the researchers monitored their heart rates and assessed their stress levels.

Participants who appeared to be honest in their smiles had a more excellent performance on the tasks. In addition to this, their overall levels of stress were noticeably lower as compared to those people who had a neutral face position. And the fake smiles weren’t that far behind the genuine ones in terms of quality.

Researchers have concluded that smiling, even if it’s not genuine, might boost one’s well-being and happiness in times of high stress.

5. Straighten up

Maintaining a healthy muscle tone and correct weight distribution is not the only reason adequate posture is essential, and it also contributes to your overall feeling.

Scientists working with the Association for Psychological Sciences in the United States concluded. Therefore, if you feel overwhelmed, you should sit up as straight as you can in your chair. Alternately, you might stand erect with your shoulders pulled back and your chin raised.

The yoga tree position is another beneficial posture. To accomplish this, you will need to assume an upright position and then place the foot of one leg on the inside surface of the thigh of the other leg. The hands can be folded into a prayer position on the chest or stretched out in front of the person’s head. Keep your body in this position for ten to fifteen seconds.

6. Sing

Music has a positive effect on mood and should be listened to. The result is amplified even further if you sing along while listening to your favorite music.

Singing has been shown to raise levels of the feel-good hormones endorphin and oxytocin, according to a study conducted by the British Academy of Sound Therapy. In addition, they make it easier to deal with stress and maintain a positive attitude.

You can sing anything, from the most basic sounds to the most complicated compositions.

7. Make some calls to your friends

Scientists from the United States named Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler conducted a large-scale investigation together to confirm that happiness may be contagious.

According to the experiment results, the likelihood that we will be happy ourselves improves by approximately 9 percentage points whenever there is another happy friend in our immediate area. It’s interesting to note that the increase in income only made a 2% improvement in mood.

Therefore, calling a cheerful girlfriend might lift your spirits and infect you with their upbeat attitude. According to the findings of scientists, unpleasant feelings share the same quality.

8. Do aerobic exercise

Dr Ashish Sharma of the United States researched how different types of exercise affect mood and which ones are most effective at elevating it. In 2006, he presented the results of his research demonstrating that aerobic exercise is useful in regulating feelings of sadness and anxiety. Activities such as running, swimming, walking, and cycling are included in this category. And also dancing and skating or rollerblading.

Thirty minutes of daily exercise is recommended by the medical professional. However, if you cannot commit a whole thirty minutes all at once, you can still reap the benefits of working out for only ten minutes at a time. The most important thing is to keep up with them consistently, which should be at least three times weekly.