I cherish the time I have to exercise. It’s the time of the day where I can get my body away from the desk, and my head away from life’s stresses. As much as I enjoy exercising, though, it’s not always something I’m dying to go out and do. But without fail, by the time I get back, I always feel really better than before I left. In fact, other than the fact that I know it’s good for me and my cardiovascular fitness, I think the feeling I get afterward is what keeps me exercising. On those occasions where work piles up and I’m unable to exercise as much as I’d like, I feel it in my mood. Perhaps you can relate to this. Is this feeling of sadness just us or is there really something to it? Well, according to new research, our blue feelings aren’t entirely off base.

British researchers presented their findings related to mood and exercise at a recent conference held by the British Nutrition Foundation. Researchers like Nannette Mutrie of the University of Strathclyde and others from the University of Bristol presented their findings (conducted independently but with similar results) which Mutrie says are relatively new to the scientific world in how exercise and mood coincide with one another. According to Mutrie and her findings, exercise is an important part of everyday life as it serves as a natural mood and self-esteem enhancer, not to mention a great sleep inducer.

The researchers from the University of Bristol expressed similar sentiments with respect to exercise’s beneficial effects on the brain, especially in the way of warding off brain diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The Connecticut-based team of researchers reviewed 17 studies that analyzed the link between sedentary lifestyles vs. active lifestyles and what effect they had on the brain over time. What they found was that among people whose lifestyles involved some form of regular exercise activity, they were 40 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease compared to those whose lifestyles were inactive or sedentary. The findings were the same among both men and women.

Of course, findings like these provide just that much more reason to get off the sofa, rocking chair or Barcalounger and to start moving – and that recommendation applies to all ages, no matter how young or how old (well, except infants, who have a legitimate excuse J).

The question, of course, is how long should you exercise? Ideally, you should be exercising moderately, every day, for about an hour. Unfortunately, an hour’s worth of exercise isn’t always feasible and among those who aren’t exercising at all, exercising for an hour might seem overwhelming. This often causes them to forgo exercising entirely (classic “all or nothing” thinking). Every little bit counts, so if all you can do is 10 minutes of walking, get up and do it. The key is consistency and increasing your energy output little by little as you progress and get stronger. Eventually – believe it or not – you will get to the point where a day without exercise will feel like leaving the house with only one shoe on – you’re able to function fine without the shoe, but there’s something missing that leaves you feeling “out of step” all day long.

For the sake of your body, for your mind, and as we are becoming more and more educated about, for the sake of your mood, get out and exercise, whether its on the court, on the field, on the bike or on the treadmill. I guarantee you won’t regret it. In fact, in time, you’ll wonder how you ever did without it.