6 WAYS TO FEEL HAPPIER, BE HEALTHIER

A good mood not only influences how you feel today, it can have a powerful impact on your health for years to come. Scientists urge us to be as attentive to our moods and attitudes as we are to physical health. Two recent studies underscore the importance of that advice. A paper in Current Directions in Psychological Science notes that a positive attitude can protect against poor health later in life and may be a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and illness. Another study, published in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, found that happy people tend to live longer and experience better health than their unhappy peers. Eating well, exercising, not smoking and getting enough sleep help keep you healthy, but how do you develop a positive attitude? Here are six mood boosters to make the world look a rosier. Add them to your life, and odds are you'll feel both happier and healthier. If you rarely walk on the sunny side of the street, now's the time to cross over.

1. ADOPT AN ANIMAL COMPANION

Pets provide more than companion ship and a warm welcome home. They lend a willing and helpful ear. Many pet owners confide in a pet because pets don't judge, condemn or talk back. Studies have found that dog owners are often as emotinally close to their pets as to their closest family members. If you'd like to have a pet in your life but don't want the responsibility of owning a dog or cat, you can volunteer at an animal shelter or zoo, offer to walk a neighbor's dog on a regular basis, set up an aquarium, consider a parakeet or put out bird feeders.

2. TURN UP THE MUSIC

Even before we are born, we can hear music, and it holds us in its power throughout life. Soothing, melodic music blunts stress and provides comfort. Bright, upbeat tunes set toes tapping and boost flagging energy. Relaxing music serves as an easy and safe way to improve sleep. Music helps keep both mind and body healthy and resilient, and it activates specific brain regions involved in emotion and memory.

3. HAVE A GOOD LAUGH

Laughter prompts physical changes that help the immune and endocrine systems function better. Scientists know that stress has a negative effect on the heart and causes blood vessels to narrow. Take yourself a little less seriously, find something that tickles your funny bone, and share this wonderful, free gift of laughter with others.

4.GET BACK TO NATURE

Head for the great outdoors to boost your mood and yor self-esteem. People who participate in outdoor activities are significantly less angry, depressed and tense. Physical exercise and increased stamina associated with being outdoors yield important benefits as people become more sedentary with age. Walking, gardening, fishing, boating and cycling all count.

5. HELP YOURSELF BY HELPING OTHERS

Volunteers who devote time to community organizations or who imformally help out friends, relatives and neighbors report greater happiness and better health than those who don't. Adults over age 70 who volunteered 100 hours of their rime a year reported less of a decline in health and lower levels of depression than non-volunteers.

6. TRY TAI CHI

The gentle movements of tai chi reduce anxiety and depression, improve sleep quality, lower blood pressure and relieve chronic pain. These low-impact, slow-motion exercises encourage you to focus on your breathing and your body and allow you to concentrate fully on the present. Tai Chi contributes to a more positive attitude not only as a result of the exercise but through the support of working in a group. Taking a class is the best way to learn tai chi.

source: http://www.aarp.org/