The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage

“It alleviates boredom, makes…movements more rhythmical, and reduces fatigue.” It buoys the spirits,

Many of the positive changes here described—increased BDNF levels, better-functioning neurotransmitter systems, growth in the hippocampus—are key to running providing short- and long-term relief from depression and anxiety.

What begins as the attuned play of mother and child continues with the rhythmicity of a good basketball game, the synchrony of tango dancing, and the harmony of choral singing or playing a piece of jazz or chamber music—all of which foster a deep sense of pleasure and connection.

Move your body every day.21 Take walks. Mix it up—don’t do the same thing all the time, and don’t move your body in the same way whenever you move it. And, at least sometimes, move intensely, and move outside, where the stakes are higher.