The Origin of Everyday Moods

"Why do we sometimes feel unstoppable, while other times we can barely function?" This book explores the origin of moods and how we can manage them effectively.

1. The Science of Moods: Energy and Tension

Moods are built from two fundamental components: energy and tension. Your physiological state, including heart rate, metabolism, and muscle tightness, directly shapes your mood. For instance, high energy paired with low tension creates calm-energy, an ideal state where you feel lively, focused, and relaxed. Conversely, low energy with high tension results in tense-tiredness, which often accompanies stress and negative thoughts.

Psychologists David Watson and Auke Tellegen categorized moods into positive and negative affects. Robert E. Thayer further refined this to include the interaction of energy and tension, defining four primary moods: calm-energy, calm-tiredness, tense-energy, and tense-tiredness. Each mood arises from a unique combination of energy and tension levels. For example, working under a deadline might produce tense-energy, while a relaxing afternoon leads to calm-tiredness.

Understanding your current mood category helps you identify whether your body’s resources are sufficient. For instance, tense-tiredness signals low energy and high tension – a state that significantly diminishes productivity and positivity.

Examples

• High-energy and low-tension days often lead to descriptions of feeling "peppy" or "confident."
• Tense-energy might emerge during high-pressure meetings with tight deadlines.
• Calm-tiredness is often experienced while unwinding with a book after a long day.

2. Moods Are Not Just About Life Events

Contrary to popular belief, your mood isn’t solely dependent on external circumstances. While life events contribute, your interpretation of them, combined with internal factors like time of day, nutrition, and neurochemicals, plays a greater role. You might assume bad news caused your mood dip, but the timing of that news matters more.

Our biological clock governs energy peaks and troughs, influencing how we process events. For most people, energy is highest in the late morning and dips around 4 p.m., making afternoons a prime time for feeling out of sorts. Neurochemicals like norepinephrine further impact mood by boosting energy during exercise or stressful scenarios – but imbalances in these chemicals can contribute to mood disorders.

Recognizing rhythms in your day can better prepare you to tackle tasks at optimal times, preventing unnecessary emotional dives.

Examples

• Most people feel low around 4 p.m. due to a natural decline in energy.
• Bad news received late in the afternoon is more likely to lead to poor moods than the same news delivered in the morning.
• Exercise triggers norepinephrine release, lifting mood and boosting energy.

3. Evolution and the Purpose of Moods

Moods serve evolutionary purposes by helping humans navigate survival scenarios. For instance, a tense-energy state would have prepared early humans to fight or flee danger. Today, these responses carry over into environments like offices, where deadlines trigger tension even though no physical threat exists.

When threats dissipate, calm-energy motivates continued effort, while calm-tiredness allows for restorative downtime. By integrating these evolutionary remnants into modern life, you can work with nature rather than against it. Recognizing that tense-tiredness signals a depleted system, for instance, helps you prioritize rest over forcing productivity.

Our moods still align with basic survival needs, making it easier to understand and respect them.

Examples

• A tense-energy response might occur when rushing to finish a project under pressure.
• Hunter-gatherers needed calm-energy to keep running from predators without hesitation.
• Tense-tiredness often arises after prolonged stress, dramatically reducing output.

4. The Link Between Tension and Energy

Tension and energy interact in an inverse relationship that shapes how we function. When tension increases moderately, energy rises too – creating tense-energy, which helps you tackle demanding tasks. However, excessive tension depletes energy, pushing you into tense-tiredness and limiting effectiveness.

Your mind also amplifies moods. Psychological stress, such as a looming deadline, can elevate tension and drain energy even if your physical reserves are fine. Similarly, unmet emotional needs intensify these responses.

By tracking how tension and energy fluctuate, you can better navigate your daily demands and adjust your behavior to suit your current state.

Examples

• Under moderate stress, you may feel energized to work through challenges.
• High levels of tension, like panic before an impossible deadline, deplete energy reserves.
• Tension falls when you meditate, replenishing calm-energy over time.

5. Not All Mood-Regulation Behaviors Are Equal

People employ various strategies to manage moods, but not all approaches are equally effective. The book’s research identified six categories of behaviors, with Active Mood Management emerging as the most successful. Techniques like exercise, mindfulness, and relaxation efficiently improve energy and reduce tension, making them great mood lifters.

On the other hand, ineffective strategies such as Direct Tension Reduction – which includes drinking, smoking, or overeating – offer short-term relief at the expense of long-term well-being. Distinguishing between constructive and destructive patterns is key.

Opt for active measures that address the root causes of mood issues and provide lasting benefits.

Examples

• Exercise provides an immediate energy boost and long-term stress reduction.
• Popular distractions like binge-watching TV often leave people feeling worse afterward.
• Alcohol increases tension once its effects wear off, making it an ineffective choice.

6. Gender and Mood Regulation: Differences in Coping

Men and women tend to manage moods differently, leading to potential misunderstandings. Generally, men lean toward hobbies or Direct Tension Reduction behaviors like drinking, while women often turn to social interactions or food to cope with bad moods.

Recognizing these tendencies facilitates better understanding and communication within relationships. For example, a wife may interpret her husband retreating to a hobby as avoidance, but he may simply be regulating his mood in a way that suits him.

Awareness of these patterns helps replace unhealthy habits with healthier, tailored approaches.

Examples

• Men are four times more likely than women to develop alcohol dependency.
• Women often eat more sweets under stress, whereas men typically eat less.
• Socializing helps women lower tension but doesn’t always address energy deficits.

7. Why Exercise and Meditation Are Mood Game-Changers

Two of the best ways to combat tense-tiredness are exercise and meditation. A five-minute brisk walk increases energy immediately and reduces tension over time. Longer, moderate workouts yield even better results, with tension dipping substantially and energy returning after recovery.

Meditation reduces anxiety, promotes rhythmic breathing, and relaxes muscles, making it an effective stress reliever. Both methods improve mood without the negative side effects linked to unhealthier coping strategies.

Regular exercise and mindfulness practices create a stable emotional foundation.

Examples

• A 10-minute walk provides mood boosts lasting up to two hours.
• Yoga lowers muscle tension and improves blood flow, reducing stress.
• Meditating before meals promotes healthier eating habits by reducing stress cravings.

8. The Power of Observing Yourself

Self-observation is a crucial tool in improving mood regulation. By documenting your energy and tension levels through the day, you’ll identify patterns that dictate your ups and downs. For example, keeping a snack diary reveals whether sugar truly helps boost your energy or leads to crashes.

This method enables you to pinpoint unhelpful habits and replace them with more effective options. A visual graph of your moods helps spot opportunities for better scheduling and decision-making.

Tracking and analyzing mood behaviors leads to lasting improvements in overall well-being.

Examples

• Charts provide clarity by illustrating energy peaks, like mid-morning, and troughs, like late afternoon.
• Recognizing that sugary snacks result in later crashes can motivate healthier snack choices.
• Observing pre-bedtime habits helps you reduce tension for better sleep.

9. Plan with Moods in Mind

Moods heavily influence decision-making. For instance, people make ambitious commitments when in high-energy states, only to regret them later during low-energy periods. Conversely, low-energy states foster unnecessary pessimism.

Align plans with your known energy levels to make more realistic decisions. Anticipate and prepare for mood fluctuations by reserving taxing tasks for peak hours and downtime for recharge moments.

Planning alongside your mood cycle creates a more productive, balanced schedule.

Examples

• Avoid making evening commitments if you know energy typically wanes after dinner.
• Tackle high-stakes meetings in the calm-energy of late morning.
• Delay big decisions if currently feeling tense-tired to avoid biased judgments.

Takeaways

1. Start tracking your energy and tension levels hourly for three days to understand how your mood fluctuates.
2. Make exercise and meditation staples of your daily routine to improve energy and control tension.
3. Before making plans, ask yourself how your current energy and tension might affect your judgment.