By Tanya Sen
Life is certainly stressful. As such, it is quite common to feel sad, exhausted and generally tired. Your mood can become less than ideal after an exhausting day at work or realizing that there is a lot more that you need to do. Situations like these end up increasing the stress and make you feel worse than before. However, there are ways by which you can perk yourself up and start feeling better.
The good thing is that you don’t have to do a lot in order to boost your mood. It can be as simple as consuming the right kinds of food. Here are the top 5 choices that you can try.
Salmon and Oily Fishes
Oily fishes are an excellent source of several essential nutrients and some of them have an effect on your mood. A lack of omega 3 fatty acids may make your more susceptible to low moods and even depression. This is due to the fact that the fatty acids are integral to brain tissue function.
One of the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids is salmon. Consuming salmon or other similar oily fishes such as mackerel can help you regain your energy, improve blood circulation in the brain and enhance brain activity. All of these contribute to the overall improvement of your mood.
Bananas
Consuming one or two bananas can do wonders for your mood and even health. After all, bananas are packed with an amazing array of nutrients. Among them, tryptophan, carbs and vitamin B6 play a role in improving your mood. The carbs help the brain in absorbing tryptophan which is then converted into serotonin with the help of vitamin B6. Serotonin is a hormone that boosts your mood and also helps you sleep better.
Tea
If you want to improve your mood, tea is a much better choice than coffee. Coffee will end up increasing your heart rate and is unsuitable a drink at night since it delays sleep. On the other hand, tea is capable of calming your nerves. For the best results, consume tea which has been infused with ginger. Apart from the nutrients offered by the tea, you will also gain the benefits of the antioxidants from ginger.
Lentils
Lentils are rich in complex carbs which make them capable of boosting the production of serotonin like bananas. That will certainly improve your mood. At the same time, lentils can stabilize blood sugar levels, decreasing the possibility of erratic mood swings. Additionally, the folate content can help you avoid depression.
Dark Chocolate
The fact is that people tend to reach for a bar of chocolate whenever their mood is low. There is a reason for that. Chocolate is capable of releasing endorphin levels and improving serotonin levels. As a result, your anxiety levels decrease and your mood improves considerably. Dark chocolate is the most effective at this. However, make sure that you are consuming dark chocolate with a concentration of at least 70% cocoa.
There are several other foods which you can consume for enhancing your mood, but the ones mentioned above are among the most effective.