The benefits of exercise are seemingly limitless. You already know that exercise is good for you physically. Health and fitness experts and professionals laud the physical benefits of regular exercise, which include improved cardiovascular health, increased energy, strength, and lean muscle mass, weight loss and loss of body fat, reduced risk for developing certain diseases, conditions, and disorders, and just generally getting into shape and looking good.

But exercise does so much more than simply get you into shape and help you to look good; it can make you feel good, too. Regular exercise affects you not only on a physical level but also mentally and emotionally; in other words, exercise affects your mood. Working out on a regular basis has been shown, through a number of studies, to improve your overall sense of well-being, to reduce stress levels while improving your ability to deal with stress and stressful situations, to help you cope with anxiety and depression, to promote relaxation, to increase mental clarity, and even to improve your body language and attention to personal grooming. (And here you thought people only exercised to maintain physical health or lose weight!)

A 1999 U.S. Surgeon General report on Physical Activity and Health confirms this. According to the report, regular physical activity "reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression and fosters improvements in mood and feelings of well-being."

But exactly how does exercise accomplish this? First of all, regular physical activity helps to improve mood by increasing your heart rate and then reducing muscular tension, which in turn relieves overall bodily tension, enabling you to relax and feel good. Further, many experts believe that when you exercise, hormones called endorphins (often referred to as the "feel-good" hormones) are released from the brain into the body, which suppress pain sensations, ease feelings of stress, anxiety, and even depression, and produce a feeling of calm, pleasure, and general well-being.

Levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter within the central nervous system, are also increased during exercise-particularly through engaging in repetitious exercises and movements. Serotonin's function is to regulate mood, in addition to body temperature, sleep, appetite, sexuality, and anger. Therefore, increased levels of serotonin mean an improved mood; conversely, low levels of serotonin are often associated with depression, obsessive-compulsion, and aggression.

Maybe this all sounds a little too scientific. There are other, perhaps simpler and more basic, ways of explaining how physical activity can improve your mood. For example, some people experience getting an emotional boost or "high" directly related to the physical results they see from working out. Basically, they notice their own weight loss or fat loss, their more toned muscles, or a leaner, sleeker shape, and simpler feel better because they know they look better. Others experience an improved mood as a result of taking control of their health by incorporating daily exercise into their lives, and sticking to their fitness plans. These individuals experience a sense of accomplishment in taking charge of their health and fitness, which also increases self-esteem-and the higher your self-esteem, the better your overall mood.

It's important to keep in mind; however, that there's no rule that says the more intense and the more often you work out, the more the exercise will improve your mood. In other words, you don't need to go overboard and completely exhaust yourself, working out hard for an hour a day, every day, in order to reap the mental and emotional benefits that regular exercise can bring. In fact, if you've been fairly sedentary, and exercise to you means walking from the living-room couch to the kitchen or from your car to your office, then it's actually beneficial for you to start slowly, particularly if you're prone to anxiety attacks or panic attacks (intense physical activity will significantly increase your heart rate).

Some types of exercise you may want to try for just starting out that are less intense but will still provide physical, mental, and emotional benefits-such as an improved overall mood-include brisk walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, tai chi, and gentle weight training, among others. Try something you like-you'll have a much better chance of sticking with it in the long run. Avoid the "quick-fix" approach. Start slowly with the exercise(s) you have chosen, and you can gradually increase the pace, intensity, length, and frequency of your workouts to match your physical and mental/emotional ability to handle them.

Exercise is good for you on so many levels. Consider incorporating it into your life so you can improve your health, look good, and feel good, too.