The holidays can be a time of year that gives us a chance to be happy and cheerful.
It’s the time of year to enjoy family, take time off from work, and engage in traditions that remind us the joys of gift-giving and doing good works/supporting charity.
But can being happy and cheerful also make a difference on how long you can live?
There have been several studies that indicate happiness and longevity indeed go hand-in-hand for a number of reasons.
Understanding this connection more, can help you decide what, if any, changes you wish to make in your life, so that you too can potentially benefit from a longer, happier life.
One of the most interesting studies conducted on happiness and longevity was performed and executed by Dr. Robert Waldinger. His Ted Talks broadcast, His 3 Rules to Happiness, discuss his solutions to live longer and healthier. (see video below).
You probably will not be surprised to know none of the rules involve seeking out fame and fortune.
According to Waldinger, the key is reducing the amount of stress in your life.
As reported by CNN, it was shown in a study that of those who were “unhappy” after five years, seven percent (7%) had died, while only four percent (4%) in the “happy” group died in the same span.
This Initially, this may not appear as a substantial difference but it actually is.
The chances of dying are reduced by 57% in that same span.
Moreover, a change in attitude may be a much easier first step to some, rather than changing major habits involving diet and exercise.
How Does Happiness Effect Lifespan or Our Health?
Since these studies have been conducted, we have seen other corroborating evidence that happiness does affect our lifespan and our general, overall health.
Due to these findings, many scientists are now considering deeper research into this to find out how we can benefit from changing the way we think, how we deal with stress and other factors of our lives.
It has been shown that those who grow up happy since childhood are generally happier as adults.
However, just because your childhood was unhappy, you can still make up for it as you become older.
Those who were able to raise children, or mentor young adults during this time were happier by the time they reached 50 years of age.
It was also shown that the time you spend with others, laughing, talking, and just enjoying their company greatly affects our moods and our longevity.
Spending time with these individuals on a day-to-day basis made people a lot happier overall.
It is thought that the life expectancy advantage of those able to adapt to their surroundings better, to deal with stress in a calmer and more focused way, and to overall enjoying life more, is comparable to that of being a nonsmoker versus a smoker.
According to the research conducted on this particular subject, those who were living happy lives, had a 14% longer lifespan, on average, than those who were generally unhappy.
That’s a significant difference and reminds us that attitude can be a core component to a longer, healthier life.
Unfortunately, this same research showed that those who have a terminal illness and kept a positive outlook did not have a longer lifespan, demonstrating there is a limit to the benefits a positive mood can bring.
How Can We Practice Being Happier?
Here are some tips that can help you change your way of thinking, to use whenever you notice you are feeling unhappy, and you want to do something about it.
The Stress Factor
One of the biggest issues that we face in corporate world today is the increasing amounts of stress we are subjected to, on a 24/7 basis.
Learning how to cope with this stress is undoubtfully one of the best ways to overcome this feeling, live happier and longer.
Moderate exercise, yoga, increased mindfulness and greater spirituality, can all be strategies to cope with stress.
Also, just turning off your smart phone at night, to get better sleep, can make a world of difference.
Confidence
Having increased confidence can have a major impact on your outlook in life. Confidence can help you at both work and the home.
Attack tasks one at a time, until completion, starting with the easiest to handle and fastest to fix.
This will help build your confidence as you tackle larger, tougher issues.
Positive Memories
If your memories are not all positive, or even a majority of them are positive, set about, starting today, creating new ones that are.
If you can’t think of a good way to do this, perform a charitable act, and you will find that this is something you will be able to appreciate in the years ahead.
Take Breaks
Everyone needs a vacation, even if it is for a day or two on the weekend. Remember to slow down from time to time.
We live in a very busy world, and it is important to take breaks when they are necessary.
Better time management skills will help you be productive at work, and afford you the time to step away from work for a couple of days, as well.
Create Balance
Burnouts happen from time to time when a person is running themselves too thin.
Again, with the stress factor above.
When this is the case, you need to create balance in your life and keep it running smoothly.
Having a schedule, staying on task and focusing on one thing at a time is going to help with this.
Mental Health Really Does Matter
Finally, the holidays to some, are actually more stressful times than others and can lead to depression and anxiety.
Mental health is just as important as our physical health.
There are solutions to mental health issues, and when unable to break the cycles of depression and stress, additional therapy, medication, or other treatment is in order.
Don’t be embarrassed or reluctant, to seek out help.
When considering strategies to increasing lifespan, attitude, far more than aptitude, seems to be the key.
This is a reminder that changes we make to our physical well-being, are bolstered by positive changes to our mental well-being.
This holiday season, enjoy living in the moment, making new positive memories with family and friends, and above all, commit to finding avenues for dealing with stress, in the next year to come.
Take the happy and cheerfulness feeling during the holidays and make it a daily practice to feel this way throughout the year.
Living more years is certainly great, but having a high quality of life for those years, will make them all the more worthwhile.
Ted Talk by Robert Waldinger on Longevity for Happiness
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2011/10/31/health/happiness-linked-longer-life/index.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805075614.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4724393/
https://ideas.ted.com/4-lessons-from-the-longest-running-study-on-happiness/
https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5A7EfSWtQVEVTJ3U1dTY29kd2c/view