--- title: One Sneaky Way to Boost Your Mood description: New research shows that your strut might have the power to cheer you up or bum you out canonical: https://time.com/3559007/boost-your-mood/ author: Real Simple article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-30T05:18:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:15.585Z og:title: One Sneaky Way to Boost Your Mood og:description: New research shows that your strut might have the power to cheer you up or bum you out og:url: https://time.com/3559007/boost-your-mood/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc57ed21659ede02/69876447a988ca94246aa379/mood-boost.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3744 og:image:height: 2106 og:image:alt: Close up of women sport shoes running outdoors. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: One Sneaky Way to Boost Your Mood twitter:description: New research shows that your strut might have the power to cheer you up or bum you out twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc57ed21659ede02/69876447a988ca94246aa379/mood-boost.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # One Sneaky Way to Boost Your Mood > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=f53d3a1d-8afc-42c0-ad99-e4219b795724&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Nov 30, 2014 5:18 AM UTC  Close up of women sport shoes running outdoors. Close up of women sport shoes running outdoors. RuslanDashinsky—Getty Images by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Nov 30, 2014 5:18 AM UTC _This_ [_article_](http://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/walking-mood-study) _originally appeared on_ [_RealSimple.com_](http://www.realsimple.com/)_._ A person’s walk is a good indicator of how he or she is feeling—a slumped, sluggish gait might indicate sadness or distress, while someone with a bounce in her step is clearly in high spirits. Now a small new study published in the[ _Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry_](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0005791614000809) suggests that the reverse may work, as well. Changing your walk could just change your mood along with it. ([MORE: 30 Secrets Your Body Language Gives Away](http://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/reading-body-language-00000000048262/index.html?xid=time-rs-110414)) Researchers at Queen’s University in Canada primed 39 undergraduate students to mimic the walk of depressed or happy people. Participants were shown a list of positive and negative words, and then walked on a treadmill while scientists measured their gait and posture. ([MORE: 7 Tips to Keep You Calm](http://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/dont-sweat-small-stuff-00100000117122/index.html?xid=time-rs-110414)) Without the subjects’ knowledge, scientists manipulated their walks to be happier or more depressed by asking them to adjust according to a gauge. Certain students were asked to walk so the gauge moved to the right, and others, to the left—and for the scientists, each direction corresponded to a mood. Afterward, participants were asked to recall as many words as they could from the original list. Those who had been manipulated to walk in a more depressed manner remembered more of the negative words. ([MORE: 5 Types of Friends Everyone Should Have](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/inspiration-motivation/types-friends-00100000101648/index.html?xid=time-rs-110414)) While we’ve known that walking as a form of exercise can be a [mood booster and stress reliever](http://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/mental-benefits-exercise), this suggests that even walking to lunch can have an impact on your mind. A depressed walking style (with less arm movement and shoulders rolled forward) might lead to a depressed mood, instead of simply being an indicator. So give it a try: Pull your shoulders back and stand up straight on your next stroll. ([MORE: Why Your Sibling is Good for Your Health (According to Science)](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/family/benefits-of-siblings?xid=time-rs-110414)) “If you can break that self-perpetuating cycle, you might have a strong therapeutic tool to work with depressive patients,” study co-author Nikolaus Troje [said in a statement](http://www.cifar.ca/change-your-walking-style-change-your-mood). ([MORE: How Yoga Helps to Keep Your Brain Healthy](http://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/stretching-yoga/yoga-brain?xid=time-rs-110414)) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3559007/boost-your-mood/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3559007/boost-your-mood/"},"headline":"One Sneaky Way to Boost Your Mood","datePublished":"2014-11-30T05:18:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:15.585Z","description":"New research shows that your strut might have the power to cheer you up or bum you out","url":"https://time.com/3559007/boost-your-mood/","keywords":["Living","health","advice","mood"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc57ed21659ede02/69876447a988ca94246aa379/mood-boost.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Real Simple","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/real-simple/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc57ed21659ede02/69876447a988ca94246aa379/mood-boost.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Close up of women sport shoes running outdoors.","caption":"Close up of women sport shoes running outdoors.","creditText":"RuslanDashinsky—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3559007/boost-your-mood/","name":"One Sneaky Way to Boost Your Mood"}}]}] ```