Happiness: Confirmed by Science (#2)

We are hoping you are happier! Sleeping more, exercising, smiling with friends and family. If not, try the following:

Go Outside -A U.K. study from the University of Sussex also found that being outdoors made people happier:
"Being outdoors, near the sea, on a warm, sunny weekend afternoon is the perfect spot for most. In fact, participants were found to be substantially happier outdoors in all natural environments than they were in urban environments."

Help - A study of volunteering in Germany explored how volunteers were affected when their opportunities to help others were taken away:"Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall but before the German reunion, the first wave of data of the GSOEP was collected in East Germany. Volunteering was still widespread. Due to the shock of the reunion, a large portion of the infrastructure of volunteering (e.g., sports clubs associated with firms) collapsed and people randomly lost their opportunities for volunteering. Based on a comparison of the change in subjective well-being of these people and of people from the control group who had no change in their volunteer status, the hypothesis is supported that volunteering is rewarding in terms of higher life satisfaction."

Plan a trip - "One study found that people who just thought about watching their favorite movie actually raised their endorphin levels by 27 percent."

If you can't take the time for a vacation right now, or even a night out with friends, put something on the calendar--even if it's a month or a year down the road.

Then, whenever you need a boost of happiness, remind yourself about it.

Meditate - "In one study, a research team from Massachusetts General Hospital looked at the brain scans of 16 people before and after they participated in an eight-week course in mindfulness meditation. The study, published in the January issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, concluded that after completing the course, parts of the participants' brains associated with compassion and self-awareness grew, and parts associated with stress shrank."

                                                                                From "Want to be Happier?...", Jeff Haden 6/16/16