The Energy Challenge: A 3-Minute Exercise to Refresh Your Mind

This is Day 2 of the 6-Day Energy Challenge. To start at the beginning, click here.

When you’re wiped out, getting up and moving might sound like a real drag. But the less active we are during the day, the more fatigued we feel.

Today’s challenge is a playful, slightly silly three-minute exercise.

Why is this a crucial part of an energy challenge? Because short bursts of movement can help reduce fatigue, relieve stress and improve your mood.

As soon as you start, your heart rate goes up, increasing the supply of oxygen to your muscles and brain, said Margaret Rice, a professor of neurosurgery, neuroscience and physiology at the N.Y.U. Grossman School of Medicine. This rush, she said, might “help you feel more alert for at least a little while afterward.”

She also said that dopamine — a hormone involved in pleasure, alertness and motivation — likely increases within those three minutes of movement. Which might explain why you may feel more focused and fired up when you’re finished.

A little movement can provide health benefits beyond the energy boost, too. In a 2022 study of over 25,000 British adults, researchers found that those who did a total of three minutes of vigorous movement each day had lower mortality and risk for cardiovascular disease than those who didn’t.

Ready to start moving? You won’t need much more than your imagination.

Move like a pro.

Over the course of three minutes, you’ll imitate a boxer, a ballerina, a tennis player, a basketball player, a runner, and, to cool down, a yoga practitioner.

For over two decades, Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist, lecturer at Stanford University and author of “The Joy of Movement,” has also been an exercise instructor — and this activity, she said, is a crowd-pleaser. It’s fun, it can be adapted for all abilities and you can wear your regular clothes.

Dr. McGonigal suggested doing this exercise first thing, to get your day off to an energetic start. But really you can do it anytime you have three minutes and need a lift.

Set the stage.

First, find a place where you can move around comfortably. Then run through each of the following for 30 seconds — for three minutes in total. (You can use the animated timer below: It will show you the next movement when it’s time to switch.)

Act like an athlete.

When you’re ready, start doing the following activities.

“Don’t overthink it, just do it,” Dr. McGonigal said. “You can’t do this wrong.”

Here are a few suggested moves to get you started:

Boxing. Throw some jabs, pretend you’re hitting a heavy bag, or alternate between fast and slow punches.

Ballet. Raise your arms above your head to form a circle. Stretch each leg forward and point your toes. Stand on tiptoe and come back down. Do a pirouette or a leap.

Tennis. Try a backhand and forehand swing. Bounce on your heels and return a volley. Throw a “ball” into the air and crush a serve.

Basketball. Dribble the “ball,” take a shot or jump into the air and block an imaginary opponent.

Running. Jog in place, pumping and swinging your arms, or throw your hands in the air and sail through the finish line (victory dance optional).

Yoga. Assume any pose or posture that makes you feel grounded, such as standing in “mountain” pose with your hands on your heart.

At the end of the three minutes, notice how you feel. Is your heart rate up? Are you breathing more deeply? Do you have more energy? Did your mood lift a little?

I field-tested this with three generations of people, including my neighbor who is in kindergarten, my teenage nephew and my 81-year-old father. My dad balked at first, but when we began “boxing,” he couldn’t resist joining in and demonstrating an uppercut punch. During the basketball segment, my nephew crowed that he was blocking my “jump shot.” By the end, they were all laughing — and energized.