Feeling a bit depressed or suffering from anxiety?
According to a new study there is one very simple thing you can do during the day that will improve your mood significantly.
We already know that physical activity benefits not only our physical condition but also our mental state.
But what about spontaneous activity during the day, like walking to the store or even visiting friends? A new study conducted among psychiatric patients found that visiting many and varied places during the day, whatever they may be, improved mood in people suffering from depression or anxiety.
During the last year it was not easy for many to maintain the physical activity they used to do especially when many were afraid to even leave the house.
Some continued to exercise at home.
Still in routine days spontaneous outings are an important health factor that we tend to underestimate.
When most of us think about activities that strengthen the mind we imagine targeted and intense physical activity whether at the gym the pool or the park but actually visiting a variety of different locations is linked to higher well being among people suffering from depression or anxiety.
A study published recently by researchers at psychiatric clinics at a university in Switzerland found that the more people visit a more diverse number of places during the day the better they feel about their emotional and psychological well being even if their mental symptoms are still present.
The study which was conducted before the coronavirus pandemic entered our lives and mentally affected many people examined 106 patients with mental health problems including emotional disorders anxiety disorders mood disorders personality disorders and obsessive disorders. Some were hospitalized in hospitals and others lived at home but were treated regularly in medical institutions.
For a week these patients carried an additional phone to track their movements through GPS.
They also completed several surveys about their subjective well being their psychological flexibility and their mental health symptoms.
When examining the GPS data the researchers found that greater movement in space and time appeared alongside a greater sense of well being although the symptoms of the mental problems remained largely the same.
Our results indicate that activity alone is not enough to reduce symptoms of mental disorders but it can at least improve the subjective well being that the patient feels explained the clinical and health psychologist Andrew Gloster from the university in Switzerland.
The findings add to limited research on the effects of daily activities among people with mental problems and this is one of the first studies that used GPS tracking as a measure of spontaneous movement.
Many studies have already shown that physical activity significantly improves overall well being and mental health but most studies on this subject have so far focused on targeted physical activity.
Today it is not clear how spontaneous movement in daily life affects people dealing with different mental states.