Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that when you are feeling grouchy or stressed
Speaker 1: or frustrated, exercise can be a great way to improve
Speaker 1: your mood. It doesn't have to be much, but a
Speaker 1: little sweat can solve a lot. Today's tip comes from
Speaker 1: Deirdre Fitzpatrick, who was a guest on this podcast a
Speaker 1: few months ago. Deirdre is a morning news anchor for
Speaker 1: the NBC affiliate and Sacramento, a job that can involve
Speaker 1: reporting a lot of bad news. Deirdre explained that when
Speaker 1: her work day has been stressful or depressing, she exercises
Speaker 1: to reset her mood for the rest of the day.
Speaker 1: As she puts it, her strategy is to sweat it
Speaker 1: out to get it out. I love this phrase and
Speaker 1: I have certainly noticed this in my own life. If
Speaker 1: I am upset about something, a good run makes me
Speaker 1: feel less upset. Credit the endorphins, but everything in life
Speaker 1: feels more doable after sweating. There's some research finding that
Speaker 1: regular exercise can actually be as effective as antidepressants from
Speaker 1: mild to moderate depression. Now of course, other things can
Speaker 1: help too, like therapy and medication could be a good
Speaker 1: idea in various cases as well, but exercise can help
Speaker 1: a lot, and since there aren't many downsides, it is
Speaker 1: worth a try. You don't have to exercise for a
Speaker 1: long time to reset your mood, and you don't even
Speaker 1: have to go to the gym, but you probably do
Speaker 1: need to exercise fairly intensely to get the emotional reset.
Speaker 1: This might be a power walk or run around your neighborhood,
Speaker 1: or just running up and down the stairs in your
Speaker 1: home or office. If you do decide to go to
Speaker 1: the gym, working out on a cardio machine or going
Speaker 1: for a swim might feel great, or you might benefit
Speaker 1: from a spin or kickboxing class. The point is to
Speaker 1: use your body and clear your head. You can encourage
Speaker 1: your kids to sweat it out to get it out too.
Speaker 1: It is a memorable phrase that younger kids and teens
Speaker 1: can use to remind themselves of a healthy and effective
Speaker 1: way to deal with negative emotions. Bad grade on a test,
Speaker 1: sweat it out to get it out, drama with a friend,
Speaker 1: Sweat it out to get it out. It will all
Speaker 1: feel better after When you have had a hard day
Speaker 1: at work, or when you start the morning with an
Speaker 1: argument with your partner or roommate, or with drama getting
Speaker 1: your kids out the door. It can be tempting to
Speaker 1: conceive the whole day and just hope for a better tomorrow.
Speaker 1: But you don't have to do that. Just a half
Speaker 1: hour of vigorous exercise may help you work out your
Speaker 1: negative emotions and reset for the rest of the day.
Speaker 1: And if you don't have half an hour, well, make
Speaker 1: the most of the time you do have clear your
Speaker 1: mind of whatever is upsetting you and get those helpful
Speaker 1: brain chemicals flowing. It may not have to be a
Speaker 1: bad day after all. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.