If you’re looking for a quick way to boost your happiness level right away, try taking a short 10-minute walk. This is not too good to be true, but it is a phenomenon supported by scientific research. In this article, we’ll first review the research evidence supporting this, why people still don’t exercise more despite the known benefits. At the end, we’ll also discuss ways to overcome it so you can be on your way to more movement and greater happiness.

Professor Robert Thayer is a professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach. He wrote the book Calm Energy: How People Regulate Mood with Food and Exercise, a work that has received rave reviews and his work has been cited in other essays and professional journals. As Professor Thayer explains, “calm energy” is a state of high energy and low stress, and it aligns closely with happiness. In research he conducted with his team, they asked people to walk on certain days for three weeks and compared these people’s energy levels on days they walked to days they didn’t. On the days they walked, the test subjects experienced higher energy levels.

According to Professor Thayer, walking around the body’s activity level. When you’re not moving, your body is in a sedentary mode and various body systems are not active. Once you start walking, these systems kick in. For example, you will experience increased metabolism and cardiovascular activity. The adrenaline starts to flow and your body stimulates more neurotransmitters and neuromodulators like dopamine and norepinephrine. All of these work together to raise your energy level in a positive way, bringing you more happiness.

It doesn’t have to be a long walk either. Depressed women in a research study had more energy on days they walked just 15 minutes compared to days they didn’t. You don’t need to spend an hour working hard in the gym. If you can’t do 15 minutes, start with the first 3 minutes. Professor Thayer wrote that just by getting up and taking the first 50 steps, you could start to feel differently.

However, according to such research and established tests, many people still do not take action for various reasons. One of the often cited reasons is “lack of time.” People often feel stressed and tired after a hectic day at work, and with weekends filled with kids’ activities and catching up on errands, it’s very hard to find the energy to start walking. This could be a negative downward spiral, as the more tired and low energy you feel, the less you want to get up and go for a walk, and the less happy you’ll end up, and then the more tired you’ll feel and so on.

One really needs to step back and look at the big picture. I once heard from a successful businessman that there is nothing known as “lack of time”, it is really a lack of priorities. For example, even if a person is busy and tired, they still get up to go to work every day or take time to do the shopping each week. Think about what it means that if you have more energy to face your daily activities and happiness, how much more will your quality of life increase? Is it worth taking a 10-minute walk around the block a few times a week?