When people get up and move, even a little, they tend to be happier than when they are still, according to an interesting new study that used cellphone data to track activities and moods. In general, the researchers found, people who move are more content than people who sit.
There already is considerable evidence that phisical activity is linked to psychological health. Epidemiological studies have found, for example, that people who exercise or otherwise are active tupically are less prone to depression and anxiety than sedentary people. The researchers also found that people who moved more frequently tended to report greater life satisfaction over all than those who reported spending most of their time in a chair.
In other words, moving and happiness were closely linked, both in the short term and longer term.Of course, this type os study does not establish causation. It cannot tell us whether being more active actually causes us to become happier or, conversely, whether being happy causes us to move more. It only shows that more activity goes hand-in-hand with greater happiness.


The New York Times, Tuesday, January 31, 2017