Boost Your Mood Right Now!

Science-backed ways to lift your spirits when you need it most

- By Stacey Colino

We've all been there: Things are just fine, and then suddenly your mood hits the skids, seemingly out of nowhere. What's going on?! Well, your mood is a balance of your thoughts, environmental influences (such as where you are and who is around), life events (a stressful meeting or a tiff with a friend), and your physiological state (maybe you're cold or hangry or you just need a nap). Often when one of these factors changes, you can find yourself on an unscheduled and unpleasant emotional ride and in an unsettled state of mind. The next time your mindset takes a turn, try these tricks to move you from a sour mood to a happier headspace.

THE SITUATION

YOUR FRIEND VENTED TO YOU, AND NOW YOU FEEL BUMMED.

This is a case of emotional contagion, an incredibly basic (even primitive) phenomenon. During conversations, humans naturally tend to mimic their companions' facial expressions, posture, body language, and speech rhythms without being consciously aware of it, says Elaine Hatfield, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii and coauthor of the book Emotional Contagion. The incremental muscle movements involved in this mimicry (say, furrowing your brow or frowning after a friend does) trigger the actual feeling in your brain by causing the same neurons to fire that would if you were experiencing the emotion. While this contagion effect has a purpose-to make us feel empathy, which bonds usabsorbing your friends' emotions isn't going to help them or you, says Judith Orloff, M.D., a psychiatrist at UCLA and author of The Empath's Survival Guide.

MOOD BOOSTER