It’s a strange time. We are in the middle of something we have never experienced before. But studies show, if you can find a way to be happy, it can improve your health.
Here’s five films that might make you happy:
Princess Bride
The Help
Driving Miss Daisy
Forrest Gump
Frozen
Here’s five books that might make you happy:
The Art Of Happiness By The Dalai Lama XIV
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Keeper Of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan
Here’s five places that might make you happy:
The sea, the beach, or the ocean.
A walk in the woods.
Fishing in a quiet stream.
Hiking a beautiful mountain.
Strolling through an outdoor garden near you.
Try one that’s near you, see if it makes you happy.
Happiness is an important ingredient in a healthy life. Many studies indicate that happiness plays a major role in your health, whether it’s living a healthy lifestyle or reducing the amount of chronic pain – happiness is the solution to many health woes.
Encourages Healthy Living
According to studies, happier people are almost twice as likely to eat more fresh vegetables than people who state that they are not happy. Eating more produce will automatically improve your health over eating a diet high in processed food.
Provides Energy
When you tend to eat better, you tend to end up with more energy. It’s hard to imagine it but being negative or sad can literally drain your energy out of your body while being happy can give you more energy.
Boosts Immunity
Eating better, moving more, and feeling happy will also increase your ability to fight off illness and disease because it improves your immunity. A study showed that people who report happiness tend to fight off illness faster than people who report sadness. They literally gave people the cold virus and the happy people were three times less likely to get the cold.
Lessens Stress
If you’re happy, you’ll have a lot less to keep you up at night, to worry about, and therefore you’ll end up with less stress. However, it goes farther than that because happy people tend to report less stress even when they are facing stressful things. Due to the strength that happiness gives you, you’ll experience less stress.
Protects Cardiovascular Health
Because you’re eating better and moving more due to your happiness, you are also protecting your cardiovascular health. You’re less likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke, or other issues related to heart health and the cardiovascular system.
Increases Longevity
Because you’re eating right, exercising more, and you’re feeling great about life, you will likely live longer. According to one long-term study that tracked the lives of 32,000 people to find out who lived longer, the people who report happiness, or the people who report being less happy. It's not surprising that happy people tend to live 14 percent longer.
Diminishes Pain
People who have chronic pain have a right to be mad about it or feel sad about it. However, the fact is people who report being happy tend to deal with their chronic pain (and other illness) better than those who were not happy to start with.
When you are happy, you’re more likely to eat right, drink enough water, and move. It’s mostly because you have more energy to do active things. If you are having difficulty maintaining your happiness, learn how easy it is to change your mindset. Happiness has nothing to do with your circumstances but everything to do with how you choose to react to them.
So go out and: watch something happy, read something happy or go somewhere that makes you happy.
