I don't always feel like exercising when I'm down in the dumps. But I know it's good for me and whenever I force myself into physical activity, I always cheer up. I usually turn to running when I want to banish my blues. But according to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, mopping my floor may be enough to boost my mood.

As little as 20 minutes a week of any sort of physical activity can help alleviate psychological distress, say researchers from University College London. While vigorous activity has the most effect, you can still enjoy an emotional lift with minimal effort. Clean the house, work in the garden, or walk around the block, and you could enjoy a 41% lower risk of feeling blah.

Personally, I subscribe to a pretty active fitness routine for overall health and happiness, but it's good to know I can bust out of my bad mood with a little light housecleaning.

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A solid workout can do wonders in helping you put a stressful day behind you. Apart from the natural "high" people receive from the release of endorphins, new research also points to exercise as a means of protecting the heart from the physical impairment that can be brought on by stress.

In a study conducted at University College London, researchers measured stress levels in middle-age adults. They found that when you are stressed, your body responds by creating inflammatory chemicals that can lead to severe physical damage, including the clogging of your arterial walls. However, the researchers also found that among these middle-age adults, those what were the fittest had one-fifth the amount of chemicals in their blood as those who were fairly inactive.

The key is to find an exercise program that works for you. Magazines and books are great sources for a variety of exercise programs from which to choose, but it sometimes takes a little personal trial and error before you find the right one for you and your schedule.

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