‘Biceps curls while you cook!’ 101 ways to get healthier and happier – in just five minutes

Open all your windows! Sing a song! Have a hot chocolate! Guardian writers and readers reveal simple ways to lift your mood in 300 seconds or fewer

1. Pay one person who isn’t expecting it a compliment. This will lift your mood as well as theirs. It could be to someone close to you, or a guy you’ve just met, but it has to be considered. It can’t just be “You look nice” (unless they habitually look like crap, and for some reason today they don’t). Try to make it a close observation: for instance, I told a lady on the delicatessen counter in the Ramsgate Waitrose that her eyeball estimation of the weight of things was the best I’d ever seen. That was in 2004. She still says hello to me. Zoe Williams

2. Try alternate nostril breathing. I’m a big fan of yin yoga, which often starts with breathing exercises. This is my favourite – it’s very calming. Hold your right hand over your nose and rest your index and middle fingertips in the space between your eyebrows. Block your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through your left nostril. Block your left nostril with your ring finger, release your thumb and exhale through your right nostril. Inhale through your right nostril. Block your right nostril with your thumb, release your ring finger and exhale through your left nostril. That’s one round: in through your left, out through your right, in through your right, out through your left. Repeat for up to five minutes. Rachel Dixon