How to Boost Your Mood Today (FOR FREE!)
1. Get A Good Night’s Rest
The way you slept the night before can truly make or break the way you feel the following day. Get a good night’s rest to boost your mood and reduce destructive emotions such as irritability, agitation, and sadness. If struggling to achieve the recommended seven to nine hours of quality of sleep, learn how to create a healthy bedtime routine today.
2. Disconnect from Technology
Start the day by disconnecting from technology and challenging yourself to a digital detox. Use this disconnected time to focus on the present moment and connect with the mind, aiming to reduce negative judgments and cultivate positive thoughts for a more optimistic, healthy outlook on life day-in and day-out.
3. Eat for Your Health
While that donut may grant instant gratification and can be enjoyed on occasion, it is likewise important to eat for health. Preparing and enjoying a well-balanced meal can instantly boost your mood, along with benefiting health in the short and long-run.
4. Dress Up
Rather than slumping in slouchy sweatpants all day, dress to impress! Feeling your best ignites self-esteem, transcending into a more confident and happier you.
5. Hike in Nature
Hiking in nature can instantaneously grant uplifting emotions and feelings of solidarity, as studies have consistently shown great advantages for stepping into the great outdoors even if for a quick five minutes.
6. Take A Walk
But if you do not have time to head to the nearest hiking trail, simply tie up those walking shoes for a quick 15-minute stroll to boost your mood and energy levels, including in the morning, during your lunch break, or after dinner with loved ones.
7. Practice Yoga
Yoga surfaces calm energy and grants mental restoration, along with offering balance, flexibility, and strength to the body. And these yoga moves not only exert energy for the day ahead, but can be completed from the comfort of your own bed!
8. Meditate
The practice of meditation dominoes immediate benefits, including greater feelings of well-being and lower levels of stress and anxiety. Regular meditation can eventually rewire and restructure the brain to lower feelings of sadness and raise levels of happiness. If new meditation, here is your beginner’s guide to get you started today!
9. Just Dance
“Just dance, gonna be okay!” Lady Gaga sure was onto something… Dancing is a fun way to rev up upbeat emotions and energy, so turn on your favorite tunes and get to groovin’!
10. Smile
Turn that frown upside and boost your mood with a smile! In fact, according to a NBC News Report, smiling can trick your brain into happiness. And it takes more muscles to frown, so why not smile?
11. Laugh
Laughter is the best medicine, as it offers immediate happiness to your life and lower feelings of stress and anxiety. Increase humor by smiling more, thinking more positively, unleashing your inner kid, and watching funny YouTube videos or movies.
12. Volunteer
Give back and gain more! Whether you volunteer at a local food pantry or humane society, contributing any selfless, free time enriches the meaning of life any day.
13. Do Something Nice for Others
Aside from volunteering, doing something nice for others can boost mood even if just a simple act of kindness. For instance, hold the door for someone behind you or send a quick and friendly text to a loved one.
14. Write in A Gratitude Journal
Rather than scrolling through social media feeds, start and write in gratitude journal on a daily basis. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, counting blessings can heighten well-being on emotional and interpersonal levels.
15. Call A Friend
Whether to vent or catchup, call a close friend to boost your mood whenever you may need a quick pick-me-up.
16. Take A Nap
If feeling tired and groggy, recharge with a 20-minute afternoon nap. Negative emotions be deterred and energy levels will be heightened for you to carryon with a positive attitude for the rest of the day.
17. Diffuse Essential Oils
Reduce anxiety, stress, and tension by whipping out your essential oil diffuser and infusing the smells of lavender and citrus.
18. Clean or Organize
Feeling stressed? Take about 30 minutes to clean your closet, start a new project, or organize papers at work to release feelings of calmness and productivity.
19. Rearrange
If feeling cornered or in a bind, simply rearrange your living or working environment to feel more refreshed and energized. Unless desiring to do so, you do not have to be drastic and embark on a complete renovation, but rather simply shake things up by moving furniture in the living room or altering your desk at work.
20. Hang Out with Your Pet
Whether playing fetch or cozying up with on the couch, sometimes all you really need to boost your mood is a hangout session with your pet. Don’t have a furry friend? Head to a local Humane Society or pet shop!
