Exercising Improves Enthusiasm

I've been reading about the positive health effects of exercising, and thus far I've learned that it's useful for improving the cardiovascular system and reducing the symptoms of depression. A new study now shows that it can also boost excitement and optimism in people.

I can't help but wonder if these effects may be correlated to each other directly. What I mean is, what if this increase in optimism is what drives the apparent symptoms of depression away. A generally-positive attitude has been demonstrated to benefit overall health.

In the new study, for example, experts found that people who worked out tended to be more enthusiastic than their peers. This correlation held even in days when they were not working out, but were only slightly more physically active than usual.

“You don't have to be the fittest person who is exercising every day to receive the feel-good benefits of exercise. It's a matter of taking it one day at a time, of trying to get your activity in, and then there's this feel-good reward afterwards,” Penn State professor of kinesiology David Conroy says.