Everyone is in pursuit of happiness – happiness that is not just momentary but every lasting. Health and happiness have been linked with each other for quite a while now and sometimes even spoken of interchangeably. A healthy person is happier and a happy person is healthier. There is clearly a very strong relation between health and happiness and this can be discovered only by experiencing it. No amount of literature can make one understand about this and one has to put in effort to achieve and experience the true essence of health and happiness.
How are health and happiness intertwined?
There are a number of researches and study done that backs this belief that health and happiness are actually connected and that one’s level of happiness can impact the level of the health. You are more positive and centered while you are happy and tend to follow healthy habits such are exercising and eating healthy food.
In turn, these habits – exercise for example produces hormones and neurotransmitters that influence your happiness. On the other hand, being unhappy and having negative emotions like anxiety, stress and depression reduces immunity and weight gain that leads to a number of diseases and conditions.
Temporary stress suppresses your appetite but chronic stress increases your appetite and food craving. If you are not so happy and have a dull mood, you are more likely to skip your workout and indulge yourself in some emotional overeating and might not have a sound sleep. Both of these, overeating and disturbed sleep, leads to weight gain which has a direct impact on your health.
Here are a few tips on being healthy, hence happy!
Get fit!
Exercise in any form is considered as one of the best anti-depressant and stress buster. It could be work out in the gym, jogging, cycling, aerobics, swimming or simply dancing on your favorite song. With physical activity and exercise, the body releases a chemical called Endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain and reduce your perception of pain. Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body.
Regular exercise brings about a physical change making your body more toned and muscles strong which improves your self-esteem and boosts your confidence. Exercise brings a sense of complete wellbeing and plays an important role in bringing about a happy feeling!
Eat the right food
Food not only gives nutrition to be body but also to the mind. Certain types of food like fried, sweet, fatty and packaged food are not just bad for the health by also bad for the mind. Generally termed as junk food, they are known to be extremely bad for the health. Junk food is one of the main reasons for obesity.
Such kind of food also makes you lethargic, dull and cause depression. Make sure to include a lot of whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, fiber and proteins in your diet. These foods are not only good for the body but they also keep the mind fresh and active.
Sleep well
Sleep is one of the sources of energy for your mind and body. But if your sleep is disturbed or you sleep less, this will increase the stress in your system which creates an impact on your health and mind. People who do not sleep enough are more prone to getting depressed and unhappy. Whereas, a minimum of 6-8 hours of sound sleep will make you healthier and happier.
As the saying goes – A healthy mind stays in a healthy body – the measure of your health is simply the measure of your happiness. There is no true health without happiness and fortunately you don’t have to choose between one of these as health and happiness goes hand in hand.