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Why To Exercise Today: Feel Better About Your Life

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(Wikimedia Commons)

Fyodor Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov:

"Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light. Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love."

That's my euphoric mood today and I know why: Not just release from storm-related claustrophobia, but a harder-than-usual workout to release pent-up shpilkes (Origin: Yiddish. Definition: Nervous energy, ants in pants.) Life is good. Good good good. And a recent study out of Penn State confirms that among its many magical effects, exercise can make us feel better about our lives. Science Daily reports here:

Had a bad day? Extending your normal exercise routine by a few minutes may be the solution, according to Penn State researchers, who found that people's satisfaction with life was higher on days when they exercised more than usual...

By controlling for these variables [mental health, fatigue, stress and more], the researchers were able to determine that the amount of physical activity a person undertakes in a particular day directly influences his or her satisfaction with life. Specifically, the team found that by exercising just a little more than usual a person can significantly improve his or her satisfaction with life.

Readers, how would you describe your exercise high?

This program aired on October 31, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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