Five Factors That Can Affect Your Mood: Take a look at your mood right now. While it’s an important investigation, the bigger question is why is this your mood? Science says that your mood can be influenced by five factors.
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, your mood can be influenced by health factors, biological, and other related circumstances.
#1 Factor: Health
Psychologists agree that if you struggle with physical health problems, including toothache to chronic diseases, it can affect your mental health and mood.
Some physical health problems directly affect your mood. Endocrine disorders directly affect hormones that regulate mood.
Other health problems that can affect your mood include:
- Exercise
- Diet (the food you eat)
- Sleep (the quality of your sleep)
- Smoking
You don’t have to exercise for sixty minutes to influence your mood. The key, the researchers said, was to continue moving as much as possible.
Take a break during the day such as taking a walk around the block instead of sitting in front of the TV, or dancing your way across the kitchen when you make dinner.
Some studies show that exercise can improve mood better than taking prescription drugs.
You may feel tired, slow, or grouchy after eating junk food full of salt and sugar. Doctors recommend eating omega-3 and healthy Omega-6 fats, such as fish and avocados, to feel better and improve your mood.
Sleep and mood work together as well. If you don’t sleep well or do not get enough sleep it can damage your mood the next day.
Also, your bad mood can make it more difficult to sleep well at night.
Smoking cigarettes allow poisons to enter your body. Some researchers believe that these poisons can contribute to your mood.
Researchers in Psychology Today magazine show that almost half of those diagnosed with mental illness, including mood disorders, are people who smoke.
#2 Factor: Your Genetics
According to a study by the Frontiers of Endocrinology, science has connected gene variants to the way people respond to changes in the seasons of the year and their biological clock.
In fact, seasonal and time changes can influence specific genes that can affect your mood. This study found that seasonal and time changes are recognized to affect a person’s mood.
MRI results have verified these effects.
#3 Factor: Abuse
Doctors and psychologists have found that any form of abuse, physical, sexual or psychological, can lead to poor mental health that affects mood.
Ongoing abuses can also result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since abuse is a framework for poor moods and mental health disorders, it is essential to get help if you encounter a form of abuse.
#4 Factor: Your Social Life
Relationships, whether romantic or platonic, and other social connections can affect your mood.
If you are in a romantic relationship, you probably know that the bad mood of your partner can affect your mood as well.
Having friends to talk with and share good and bad situations can make a difference in the way you feel.
Feeling alone and isolated can often make a bad mood feels even worse.
Sharing your frustrations and problems with a trusted friend can help improve your mood.
The researchers at the School of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin have reported that happiness grows through as much as three degrees of separation among social relationships.
If you are happy, most likely friends of your friends will also be happy. If you say something nice to the cashier at the grocery store because you are in a good mood, you improve their mood.
They may then go home and say something nice to their partner or children. Your social life and how you spend time with various people can affect your mood.
#5 Factor: Attitude
How you see the challenges of life also affects your mood. Being optimistic, conscious, and knowing how to relax plays a crucial role in the way you will feel.
There are many techniques to help you improve your attitude and mood, including:
- Daily Meditation
- Yoga Exercises
- Breathing Exercises
- Writing in a Gratitude Journal Daily
Many people report improved mood when they learn to handle stress with meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises. Creating a gratitude journal helps you focus on positive things and improves your mood.
If you are in a bad mood, consider what factors may be affecting how you feel. Taking measures to stay healthy, connected, and positive can affect your mood.
Take a Look at Your Health
Bad moods and inconsistent emotional health can be bad for your physical health.
If you are stressed out or cranky you are more likely to get sick. This is more important than ever in the last year or so.
The longer you are struggling with this the more your health can suffer and lead to a compromised immune system. It is kind of like the “chicken or the egg” analogy. Which came first?
A weak immune system or a bad mood? Either way you look at it, having imbalances in your emotions is bad for you.
Remember that you are 100% in control of your emotions. It may not be easy sometimes. Moods can be challenging.
Just remember that this is a part of your life that you can affect and change. You are in control. Make a choice to be healthy.
Practice small changes daily. Implement anxiety-reducing habits. Seek out a life of balance and good health.
Just remember, these changes are something you have to practice daily and intentionally. Doing so over and over helps you build healthy habits.
The Quality of Your Sleep
Does sleep more deeply improve your mood? Are there some techniques that would offer a better night’s sleep and thereby raise your mood?
For our overall health and well-being, it is important not only to have enough sleep but the quality of your sleep is important.
When you sleep, the body works to improve healthy brain activity and preserve physical health.
And for children and young adults, sleep is the way their bodies and minds grow. Whenever you do not sleep enough, you can feel drained.
You may have trouble managing your life and recalling simple things and you also may tend to be ill-tempered.
Sleep deprivation can also influence your overall coordination and inhibit your judgment.
When you don’t get enough sleep there is an effect on how you feel, think, work, learn and get along with people.
If you have trouble sleeping or falling asleep, or if you often feel tired during the day, you might need to change your habits in order to get the sleep you need.
Tips For a Good Night’s Sleep
- Set a bedtime routine and don’t deviate from it even for a day.
- Don’t drink anything caffeinated in the evening. Have some chamomile tea or warm milk before bed.
- Leave your cell phone and other devices out of the bedroom. Having them in the room means that your brain will be stimulated and chances are you will wake up and use them.
- It is a good idea to only use your bedroom for sleeping. Don’t have a desk or work area there as this is visually stimulating and interferes with sleep.
- Make your bed as comfortable as possible. Some people swear by a weighted blanket.
- If you want to read before falling asleep it is better to read a book rather than your device. The light from the device will only stimulate your brain.
- Have a warm bath before bed but don’t take a shower. Showers tend to stimulate our bodies and you want to be relaxed before getting into bed.
10 Effective Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep Video:
By training your body and mind slowly to reach a state of tranquility before going to sleep, not only will you benefit physically but more importantly mentally. The result will be that you create the best life for yourself but just getting enough sleep.
As a result, you will wake up in a good mood!
