Are you Aiming too High? Wishing your life away?? Think about it💭
If you could wish for just one thing, would it be happiness or a long life? Given what researchers tell us, one is likely to produce the other. Science has been exploring the connection between happiness and longevity for some time.
A 2011 analysis of nearly 4,000 Brits found those who said they felt content, happy or excited on a typical day were up to 35% less likely to die prematurely. In a 2016 study, a positive outlook was associated with longer life for nearly 4,000 older French men and women studied over 22 years.
Researchers followed more than 2,000 Mexican-Americans in 2015 and found those who were more positive in their world view were half as likely to die. And a 2011 study followed around 200 women and men from San Francisco over 13 years and found those who reported more positive than negative experiences also lived longer.
Science proves that you do have the power to change your outlook on life. And it isn't hard, either: Most of the tips that follow are as simple as cracking a smile once in a while (yes, that's one of the tips). Here's to a happier you!
• Exercise
• Flow through some yoga
• Load up on leafy greens
• Try cognitive behavioral therapy
• Buy flowers for yourself
• Smile
• Turn on a light box • Open the shades
• Go outside
• Try meditation
• Smell the oranges
• Add turmeric to your meal • Listen to music...
• ...And sing along
• Make a human connection
• Eat chocolate (yes!)
• Sip on some green tea
🌟Practice Kindness🌟
• Helping others, whether you do it directly like feeding the homeless, or anonymously, actually makes the you happier. {Remember the saying it’s better to give than receive? This goes hand in hand with that same philosophy. The gratification of helping and serving those in need fills those who are able to help in a way that is often indescribable, but so rewarding.}
Happiness is proven to align with better overall health in people. People generally perform better at work, have better relationships, a stronger immune system, fewer sleep problems, lower levels of burnout, better physical health and -- research shows, if you are “Happy” you live longer!
“Great!” How do you achieve true happiness?
That's the tough question, especially since the meaning of the word isn't even scientifically agreed upon.
"Happiness comes in different sizes and flavors," said cardiologist Dr. Alan Rozanski, a professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who studies optimism.
"There is the transient type, fed by such things as a walk in a park, spending time with a friend, or eating that ice cream you love," he continued. "But these feelings of happiness come and go."
What creates a sustained feeling of happiness, say experts, is a mixture of traits like optimism and resilience, fed by behaviors such as expressing gratitude, forgiveness and being kind to others, all held together by a strong sense of purpose.
Add to that mix one master ingredient: a sense of community characterized by warm, supportive, satisfying relationships with others.
Now that we have something of a working recipe for happiness, let's find the ingredients.
Satisfying social connections
"People who are more socially connected to family, to friends, to community, are happier, they're physically healthier, and they live longer than people who are less well connected," said Harvard psychiatrist Robert Waldinger in his popular TEDx talk. "And the experience of loneliness turns out to be toxic."Waldinger is the fourth director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which followed the lives of 724 Boston men for more than 75 years and then began following more than 2,000 of their offspring and their wives.
Among the original recruits in the study were President John F. Kennedy and longtime Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee.
The unprecedented study has allowed researchers to get closer to determining the main characteristics of a happy life.
"The lessons aren't about wealth or fame or working harder and harder," Waldinger said. "The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period."
You don't have to have dozens of friends or even be in a committed relationship, he stresses. "It's the quality of your close relationships that matters," Waldinger said. "High-conflict marriages, for example, without much affection, turn out to be very bad for our health, perhaps worse than getting divorced. And living in the midst of good, warm relationships is protective."
Looking on the bright side
Optimism and pessimism are the yin and yang of happiness. Optimists are people who expect good things to happen to them, while pessimists expect bad things to happen. It turns out that looking on the bright side of life is really good for your health. Research has found a direct link between optimism and a stronger immune system, better lung function, and cardiac health.
A recent meta-analysis of studies found that compared to pessimists, an optimist had about a 35% lower risk of major heart complications, such as a cardiac death, stroke or a heart attack.
"In fact, the more positive the person, the greater the protection from heart attacks, stroke and any cause of death," said Mt. Sinai's Rozanski, who was the lead author on the study.
There are a lot of reasons why a positive outlook might improve your physical health and help you live longer. It reduces the stress hormone cortisol, which controls inflammation, blood sugar and blood pressure levels, all key factors in disease development.
Optimists also have better health habits. They are more likely to exercise and have better diets and are less likely to smoke.
"Optimists also tend to have better coping skills and are better problem-solvers," Rozanski said. "They are better at what we call proactive coping, or anticipating problems and then proactively taking steps to fix them."
Whatever the reasons, a 2019 study of nearly 6,000 people from Harvard's Health and Retirement study found optimists had a 24% increased likelihood of maintaining healthy aging. 🤷♀️
Meaning and purpose
A sense of purpose and meaning in your life is a big part of living a longer and happier life. Define your why. Live for tomorrow but realize it starts with TODAY!
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