|
|
 |
|
|
|
The One Common Habit
of Unhappy People
|
|
|
|
|
|
Happiness comes in many forms: sleeping until noon on Saturday, finding a twenty in your pocket, biting into a warm cookie.
But here's something that could put you squarely in the unhappy camp: spending too much time with the tube.
Happy-Time Pastimes
Studies confirm it. In analyzing 30 years worth of data collected from a national social-survey database as well as other previous studies, researchers
found that people who considered themselves unhappy tended to watch significantly more TV than those who said they were very happy. Higher-
spirited folks, they found, spent more time on other types of hobbies, including mingling with friends and family members, reading newspapers, and
attending religious services.
Tuning Out Is Healthy
Can't miss your favorite TV shows, even for a day? Hide the remote.
Less time clutching your clicker could mean less risk of type 2 diabetes. Here's how too much TV trashes your blood sugar levels.
Blood Sugar Booster
Seems that watching television affects the glucose in your blood -- and not in a good way. More tube time may mean higher blood glucose levels,
particularly for women. Over time, that could set the stage for type 2 diabetes, where chronically high blood sugar levels can damage your eyes, heart,
kidneys, and other organs.
Got 20 Minutes?
An effective way to control blood sugar? Get yourself off the couch and into the gym. Or stay right at home and take a 20-minute walk in a
beautiful, calm area near your home.
Don't Kill Your TV
Watching a little TV here and there isn't a huge threat to your quality of life, as long as you don’t devote more time and energy to it than to your
personal relationships, hobbies, or other interests.
In addition to turning off the tube now and then, try these other mood-boosting maneuvers:
Make a Happy-Friend Date
This weekend, have lunch with a good-natured pal. It could have far-reaching benefits for your mental health. Research confirms -- and quantifies --
it. Your chances of becoming happy increase by at least 15 percent if someone in your immediate social circle is happy.
Yep, it seems that happy people can spread their feel-good vibes far and wide, the same way a ripple spreads through a pond. Not only do immediate
friends matter, but friends of friends, too -- more so if they happen to live close by.
Of course, the study findings don’t mean you should ditch unhappy friends or family members. Instead, remember that the road to happy is a two-way
street. You may spread happiness to downtrodden pals by feeling upbeat yourself.
Choose the Right Comfort Foods
That bowl of ice cream made you feel better. For about 2 minutes. Now you need a nap. Next time you need a pick-me-up, reach for one of these three
foods instead. Research shows they offer real mood-boosting benefits -- without inducing a food coma.
1. Whole-grain cereal
Yep, another reason to eat your Wheaties. A bowl of whole-grain cereal gives you a boatload of energy-boosting B vitamins, which work to curb
tension, moodiness, irritability, and depression. (Or get a whole string of Bs -- B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, folate, biotin -- by taking a B-complex supplement
or a multivitamin.
2. Something made with saffron
Small-scale studies have found that saffron -- the trademark spice in many yellow-hued Indian, Moroccan, and Asian dishes -- can ease symptoms of
depression with virtually no risk of side effects. Although it’s a somewhat pricey spice, a little bit goes a long way.
Check out our Winter Squash Risotto recipe (link to the winter squash risotto recipe already on the website) for a recipe containing saffron.
3. Dishes containing Omega-3s .
Research shows that people with lower blood levels of EPA and
DHA -- two fatty acids found in flax seed and flax seed oils are more likely to show symptoms of mild to moderate depression. So sprinkle some ground
flaxseed on your cereal, your fried rice, or your soup and enjoy the nutty flavor.
Grab the Mop
Cleaning isn’t on Julie Andrews’s melodic list of favorite things, but maybe it should be. When you feel a little down in the dumps, just 20 minutes of
brisk housework could have you back to your happy, toe-tapping self. Worth a try, right?
Hate mopping and sweeping? Go for a walk instead. As long as it lasted for at least 20 minutes, making the place sparkle or walking at least once a week
reduced depression by up to 20 percent in a study. Why? Because when physical activity goes up, physical stress goes down -- and your mood benefits.
3 More Ways to Beat Blahs
Here are a few more tips for getting to a happier place:
Get your ZZZs. A lack of shut-eye can wipe the smile off of anyone’s face.
Make a budget. Money troubles are one of the most common forms of stress.
Eat true comfort foods. Ice cream? Nope. Avocado? Now that’s the ticket. And berries, and chocolate . . . these foods appear to calm people down.
|
|
|
|
|
