Here’s the second installment in this five-part series: Enjoy!
Part Two: Get Active
There’s something sexy to me about substantive, expansive research that can be condensed and communicated into pure and simple terms. My experience is that people are searching for proof and personal truth, asking themselves “What works and how can it apply to my life?” Some of the most compelling research on human well-being was gathered and reported in a recent project in Great Britain for the “Foresight Programme” [http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight]. The evidence collects under five headings for “Here’s How to Activate Happiness” in your life: Connect, Get Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give.
Happiness depends on your willingness to Get Active. Across all age groups, people who are physically active are happier, are more confident and have less age-related cognitive decline than people who aren’t. So, you read that last bit, and it’s beginning to sink in, right? If you’re approaching or over 50, you can get out of your chair right now, and with less strenuous exercise than you may dread while you’re sitting there, you can feel better and delay age-related cognitive decline.
Research confirms that, while you might not dramatically shift depression symptoms into the cure column, you can improve your mood and general state of consciousness with as little as “single bouts of exercise of less than 10 minutes” (Acevedo 2006). Go for a walk, step outside, ride your bike, or work in your garden. There’s clear evidence that you can create more happiness each day and more of a sense of deep fulfillment in your life by moving your body on a regular basis and improving your physical fitness.
Discover physical activities that you enjoy and mobilize. It’s true that researchers have yet to determine whether exercising improves human well-being or that humans who are happy people get regular exercise. Does it matter? Without question, there’s a direct correlation between happiness and physical exertion, so stop reading this, get up and Get Active!
Much Happiness,
Doctor Mell
_________
Acevedo EO, E. P. (2006). Psycho-biology of physical activity. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Stay Tuned: Next Blog is Part Three: Take Notice
