We all know that the key to being happy is adopting a positive mind-set and learning to be content, yet it can be really easy to focus on the negative, or worry about issues that may never arise. If you’re only focusing on that one negative thing, everything else becomes blurred, sometimes making you blind to the positives around you.
Three simple tips that are said to teach your brain to enable you to look for positives in situations more easily are; giving compliments, keeping a gratitude diary and performing one act of kindness daily.
Sounds easy doesn’t it? So why not give it a go as happiness brings many benefits with it. Your immune system becomes stronger and your general health improves! A study which rated happiness levels over 30 times a day concluded that the happiest participants had “23% lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol than the least happy”. Happiness is also proven to uplift the moods of those around you, and if that is not enough, it also said to increase productivity.
“Every day may not be good, but there is something good in everyday”
Humans are able to feel 48 different emotions, so it’s impossible to be happy ALL the time. However, remembering how to be happy and regularly practicing a few techniques can improve your overall happiness. Here are some scientifically proven tips that are said to make you happier:
- Digging out your personal photographs from that cupboard! Researchers at the Open University concluded that if you look at your old pictures every now and then, you will feel 11% better.
- Flowers: Smelling flowers or wearing a floral perfume has been proven to make you happier. Jeannette Haviland-Jones, discovered that when asking people to write about three life events, those that were in a florally scented room used three times as many happiness-related words!
- Hugging: Did you know you should hug a minimum of eight times a day! Not only hugging, but even a pat on the back or a handshake can increase happiness. “They can have a powerful impact on the human psyche, making us feel happiness and joy,” -Shekar Raman.
- Happiness can be contagious! Laughter has been proven to be contagious, Richard Davidson, established that “intentionally producing smiles and laughter moves brain activity towards spontaneous happiness” laughing has been proven to boost your mood, reduce pain and protect you from the impact of stress.
- Porridge is a must: Eating porridge for breakfast has been thought to increase your happiness levels by 20-30 percent!
References
*http://topyaps.com/top-10-benefits-of-being-happy
*https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_ways_happiness_is_good_for_your_health
*https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3585705
*https://www.stedavies.com/the-happiness-myth-why-chasing-constant-happiness-is-bullshit/
