5-Minute Mood Boosters

Need to shake yourself out of a funk? Sometimes one of these 5-minute mood boosters is all you need to right the ship!

Whether we want to admit it or not, we all find ourselves in bad moods occasionally (some of us more than occasionally). It’s part of life as a human being. But most of us don’t want to get stuck in a bad mood. We would much rather it be a fleeting moment that we have to endure before getting back to regularly scheduled programming.

Guess who is in charge of how long your bad mood lasts? That’s right – you are! (I know you knew that!) If you’re anything like me, though, you can forget in the throes of your bad mood that you are the master of your own mood and you have tools to reclaim your good vibes. These tools are 5-minute mood boosters that can reset your frame of mind as soon as you start feeling the UGH creep in. None of these mood boosters are hard or expensive to do and they’re all quick (hence the name 5-minute mood boosters). Ready to boost your mood? Let’s remind ourselves how!

Go outside

The fastest way to boost my mood is usually to have a change of scenery. Because I spend so much of my days inside sitting at my computer, this usually means going outside is a great mood booster. And I want to make it clear that going outside belongs on your list of 5-minute mood boosters regardless of the weather. Is it 5°F? Heading outside works. Is it a torrential downpour? Throw on your rain jacket and 5 minutes outside will definitely help. Something about fresh air is just magic for your mood.

Exercise

Another fool-proof way to change your mood is to move your body. Even 5 minutes works wonders! The best quick and easy exercises that work as 5-minute mood boosters for me are a quick, brisk walk around the block, some jumping jacks, a full-body stretch, and vigorous dancing! Get your body moving and those endorphins pumping!

Be productive

I often find that a bad mood descends on my psyche when I’m not feeling productive. Blame the Protestant work ethic that runs through my veins. When I suspect that my long to-do list sitting there taunting me might be the reason for my foul mood, I take 5 minutes and accomplish something productive. I clean out my junk drawer, make an appointment that I’ve been needing to make, or throw together tomorrow’s school lunches. Anything that makes me feel like I’m being productive and accomplished can help tremendously!

Smile

One of the most effective 5-minute mood boosters when I can’t figure out why I’m feeling blue is simply to fake it ‘til I make it. How to do this? Why, smile, of course! Yes, you smile more when you’re feeling good, but it works the opposite way too. If you smile more, you’ll feel better!

Or laugh!

Sometimes it works if I just smile like a dummy at my computer screen for a few minutes, but sometimes I need something a little more authentic. At those times, I find something to make me laugh. Conan O’Brien usually works. His YouTube channel is full of silly ridiculousness that’s impossible not to make you laugh!

Music

We all have those songs that instantly put us into a good mood. Now is the time to bust them out! It’s actually amazing how much just listening to a song to which you have attached good feelings can improve your mood in the present moment. Pipe it in while you’re working or cooking dinner and just watch your mood lift. If you really want maximum impact out of your 5-minute mood booster, fully take a song break. Get up, blare the music, belt it out, and dance like no one is watching!

Drink

I am a water girl. It’s basically the only beverage I drink throughout the day after I consume my single cup of boring coffee in the morning. Because I’m so used to the monotony of water all day, every day, it really puts a pep in my step when I change up my beverage. And I’m not talking about alcohol or even soda. The beverages that tend to work as 5-minute mood boosters for me are flavored sparkling water, an electrolyte drink, or a cup of decaffeinated tea (Twining’s Winter Spice works any time of the year). You too might be amazed by how much a simple beverage swap can lighten your mood!

Snack

Look, 99% of the time I think I’m in a bad mood, I’m just hungry. A healthy, balanced snack can fix that fast. I like a handful of Ranch seasoned cashews (some of my Trader Joe’s favorites!) and some berries or an apple with peanut butter, personally, but anything that gives you a mix of protein, fat, and carbohydrates should do the trick.

Gratitude list

It’s also fairly common for my bad mood to be caused by feeling put-upon. This is especially true when I’m feeling like my kids are ungrateful or my husband has been working odd hours. The best fix I’ve found for these bad moods is to make a gratitude list. I just sit down for 5 minutes and write out all of the things I’m grateful for in life. Literally anything goes on this list. I include everything from the big things like health and kids to the small things like the Netflix show I’m watching or a good book I’m reading. It doesn’t really matter what you write down on your gratitude list. The magic in this practice is the mindset shift you get when you realize you’ve got a lot more to be grateful for than to be upset about.

Connect

Other times, my bad mood can be directly linked to being lonely or feeling lonely anyway. The cure for this brand of bad mood is to reach out and connect to someone. The gold standard here is to make a plan to see a real-life human being, but I’ve also experienced major mood boosting effects from something as simple as a call or text. Heck, write someone an old-fashioned letter! Any sort of connection can be a 5-minute mood booster!

Journal

If you can’t connect with anyone right away but you want to banish your bad mood to the curb, I’ve found that journaling about what’s bothering can help immensely. Sometimes you just need to get something off your chest. Talking through those things is great, but writing them down on a piece of paper can be just as cathartic.

Breathe

Do you ever forget to breathe sometimes? I’m not talking about holding your breath for dangerously long period of time, just forgetting to take slow, even inhales and exhales. When you forget how to breathe correctly, you can inadvertently put yourself in a risk response situation, which can quickly lead to souring your mood. When this happens, just go back to the literal basics of breathing. Focus on taking air into your lungs and expelling carbon dioxide out of them for a few minutes. This is one of the simplest, easiest, and most effective 5-minute mood boosters you have available to you, so try this first!

Shop

I saved shopping for last on my list of 5-minute mood boosters because it might be a bit controversial. It’s important for me to first state that I’m not advocating for traditional retail therapy here. Don’t waste your money on junk just to get yourself into a better frame of mind. That’s stupid. Retail therapy works because of the dopamine hit you get from selecting the item, so there isn’t really any need to follow through with the purchase, especially in the time of online shopping in which we find ourselves. I like to take 5 minutes to poke around for something I’d like to buy and then add it to my cart. Then, I walk away. Dopamine acquired and bank account intact. It’s worth a try!

5-Minute Mood Boosters