365 Ways to Live Happy (10 page)

Get active and you will feel better. If you prefer team sports to those you do solo, join a softball or bowling team or organize one that includes people from your circle of friends or business colleagues. Softball teams and bowling leagues play other players, so even as you are having fun with friends on your team you are also potentially making new friends with players from other teams. Psychologists say those who live isolated lives or without strong social networks are not as happy as those who have strong bonds, social connections, and ongoing support from friends and family.

Find a way to quit smoking if you want to feel healthier, breathe easier, and reduce the possibility of becoming ill, or are pregnant and want a healthy baby. Saving money is another reason to quit. If you give up a three-packs-a-day habit, you'll save hundreds of dollars each year. Nicotine addiction can wreak havoc on your health, and that will cost you more than a pack of smokes. But quitting will help you heal faster. If you want to quit but haven't been successful, don't give up. Many smokers have had to quit several times before they were successful. You have many options including nicotine nasal sprays and inhalers, several oral drugs, patches, and numerous programs and support groups and services. Talk with your doctor, and learn more at
www.surgeongeneral.gov/tobacco
.

If you like stretching, walking, or running, do it in nature. Consider joining a group of people who congregate in a nearby park on Saturday morning to practice tai chi, chi gong, or yoga. Doctors say the best kind of exercise is the kind that you enjoy enough to keep doing consistently. If you like to socialize while working out, get out of the house and meet some friends at the high school football field, on a jogging trail, or at a local park. Breathe some fresh air, take in the lovely sights and sounds of nature, and work out while enjoying the camaraderie of others.

Even though omega-3 fatty acids are necessary for survival and are especially good for heart and brain health, your body doesn't produce them. You get them in the foods you eat. Consumption of a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids is good for your heart health, reducing blood pressure and decreasing the risk of clots. Doctors recommend eating two or more servings each week of fish such as halibut, herring, salmon, sardines, snapper, swordfish, and tuna. Also, flaxseeds and walnuts, wheat germ, pumpkin, and spinach are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Medical research has shown that eating walnuts, in particular, can significantly lower the levels of cholesterol in your blood. So, if you want a healthy heart and food for your brain, eat your fish and enjoy snacks of walnuts or almonds. However, snack on nuts in moderation since they are high in calories.

Daydreaming can stimulate your mind in creative ways, reduce stress, elevate your mood, organize your thinking, stimulate ideas for solutions to problems, and help you gain new perspectives on troubling issues. Assuming that you are not using daydreams to escape from being fully engaged in your life or retreating from your responsibilities, then a regular period of daydreaming is not only healthy but helpful in solving problems and fostering creativity. Set a timer. Let your thoughts take flight to a Greek island, a trekking path high in the Himalayas, a manicured estate in England, a beach in Barbados, or somewhere else; indulge yourself. Let your thoughts take flight.

If you want to wake up happy with a hopeful, positive outlook, get adequate sleep. Your body needs it. Without sufficient sleep, sleep researchers say, your mental function becomes impaired. Certain regulatory systems and important organs continue their vital work while you sleep. Researchers have been able to pinpoint parts of the brain that actually increase their activities when subjects are asleep. Inadequate sleep has serious consequences. For example, it can negatively impact your daytime performance, causing lower levels of energy and duller thinking. Adequate sleep, however, enables you to wake up refreshed, energized, and in a good mood.

Keep your brain fit as you age by stimulating it with memory exercises and problem-solving games. Doing daily crossword or number puzzles means your brain gets a sustained cognitive workout every day. Experts say that such mental aerobics can stave off neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's. In one study, leisure activities associated with reduced risk of dementia also included reading or playing a musical instrument. A study published in the
New England Journal of Medicine
noted that stimulating and challenging mental activities can build up cognitive reserve. That means as brain cells are lost due to aging, there will be new cells to replace them.

When you feel like life has become a treadmill and you just need to step off for a respite, treat yourself to a day at the spa. Get a manicure, pedicure, or skin rejuvenation facial. Or, if you'd like to try something a tad more radical, get a colon cleansing, take a mud bath, or slip into a sensory-deprivation tank. For a healthy state of mind and body, try some treatments at an upscale medspa center that integrates innovative, cutting-edge therapies and holistic healing modalities with ancient practices of other cultures.

Take your vacations; they're good for you. One study found that the risk of suffering a fatal heart attack decreased in middleage men who regularly took an annual vacation. Even so, roughly a third of Americans who have accrued vacation time don't take all of the time they are allotted. Vacations can restore balance between work and the other areas of your life by providing relief from the relentless pressures of work commitments, schedules, and deadlines. A vacation can provide much-needed rest, recovery, and renewal, but vacations can also create stress. Make sure to factor in some vacation days just to hang out, sleep, and rejuvenate yourself if you want to return to work feeling happy and recharged.