Taking a stroll during your lunch hour will lift your mood and help you handle a stressful afternoon, says a new study. Although it's old news that walking is good for your health, the "new" news is that emotional improvement doesn't take weeks to kick in — the effects are immediate.
 

The new study, according to the New York Times, examined sedentary office workers. The volunteers were told they would need to walk for 30 minutes three times a week during their lunch hour.
 

The workers were divided into two groups. One group began an easy 10-week walking program immediately, while the other served as a control. At the end of 10 weeks, the groups switched, with the first group becoming sedentary and the second participating in the walking program while the first group acted as a control. The moods of volunteers were tested throughout the program by a specialized phone app, allowing them to respond in real time.
 

When the responses were compared at the end of the study, the researchers discovered that when people walked, they were more enthusiastic, less tense, and better able to handle stress than on days when they didn't walk.
 

Although their productivity at work wasn't evaluated, "There is now quite strong research evidence that feeling more positive and enthusiastic at work is very important to productivity," said researcher Dr. Cecilie Thogersen-Ntoumani. "So we would expect that people who walked at lunchtime would be more productive."
 

To read the entire New York Times article, go here.