10 tips to feeling happier now

Are you happy? It’s such an important question that British Prime Minister David Cameron recently created a national happiness index to check on how Brits feel. Even Facebook is measuring the Gross National Happiness of its members.

We’re asking because happiness has a huge impact on your health, from your arteries to your heart, from the glow in your skin to the pep in your step.

Happy feelings influence your brain and body chemistry in ways that make you better able to cope with pain and stress, and to fend off colds, flu, heart disease, even cancer. The effects of happiness on your health can be even bigger than the effect of quitting smoking. If you’re happy, you’ll likely live longer and definitely live younger!

And here’s the thing: Being happy isn’t just luck. You can make yourself happier, day in, day out. Here are 10 ways to get started:

1. Listen to music. Whether you love Bach or the Beastie Boys, music that makes you feel good increases your heart and breathing rates, and makes your brain release dopamine, a lovely feel-good neurotransmitter.

2. Hang out with upbeat friends. Your chances of happiness increase by 15 per cent if someone in your immediate social circle is happy.

3. Take a joy break. Don’t worry if you’re among the 80 per cent who say their job doesn’t thrill them. Even a few minutes of doing something you love (singing, hiking, watching a sunset) can reduce anxiety and improve your mood.

4. Talk nice to yourself. Is your inner voice quick to snap out things like: “How could you forget that, you idiot?” Trade put-downs for encouraging words; you can do this. They set you up for success.

5. Connect. Talk, really talk, to people you care about; connecting is good for you both. Get physical, too: Hugs stimulate oxytocin, the “cuddle hormone,” giving you a feel-good boost. Lovemaking does, too, in steady relationships (those couples report the highest happiness levels).

6. Keep a gratitude journal. Simply writing down what you’re thankful for makes you healthier and more optimistic.

7. Don’t sit around. Physical activity is a significant happiness booster. Get moving for 30 minutes a day.

8. Meditate. We do. It eases stress, improves sleep, strengthens immunity and measurably increases happiness (in one study, by 20 points on a scale of 100).

9. Help others. Volunteer at a soup kitchen, hospital or shelter. Giving back adds more meaning, which is essential to happiness in your life.

10. Go outside. Spending time with Mother Nature makes you feel alert, enthusiastic, full of energy and, simply, happy.

Source http://www.thestar.com/article/976681--10-tips-to-feeling-happier-now

Faster Weight Loss Through Speeding Up Your Metabolism?

Tips on How to Increase your Metabolism for Better Weight Loss The internet abounds in resources on how to lose weight. Sleeping has nothing to do with weight loss. Staying awake at night is the last thing you should do if you’re trying to lose weight. Just because you’re not moving when you’re asleep, it doesn’t mean that you’re putting on weight. However, studies have shown that making sure you get a good night’s sleep every night weighed about five pounds less than those who did not. This is because staying up late at night every night or even most nights can actually slow down your metabolism. This gets in the way of your body being able to use your food for energy, so it ends up getting stored as fat.

High levels of stress can affect your thyroid gland that keeps your hormone levels where they should be.

With a slow metabolism you can gain weight and even be depressed. By relaxing and doing activities you enjoy, you will keep your weight at a healthy level. So many of us are in such a rush in the morning, that we forget to eat breakfast and many of us think that it is only extra calories anyway. A healthy breakfast will speed up your body’s system of processing food and it will also boost your much-needed energy for the day. Some people find breakfast foods unappetizing, or they’re in a hurry and skip breakfast altogether; this could be okay. An hour after waking up and not later, eat something healthy, though. This will help you to have better weight loss results and be happier as well. In your workplace, try to move around a lot if it’s possible; shake a leg, too, instead of sitting at your desk the whole day.

This will not only help you shed off some pounds, keep fresh blood pumping to your heart, but keep you in good health as well. A good practice is to take a walk on your lunch break and get up from your desk every hour or so, and stretch a few times as you take deep breaths. We feel pressured and harassed in the modern world we live in that we don’t seem to have time for taking care of ourselves. Here I have presented you with some simple tips on habits that can increase your metabolism rate in order to lose weight. These are no-sweat tips not only on how to shed off unwanted pounds but also promote a happier and healthier lifestyle for you. Always bear in mind that your weight has a lot to do with your general health.

Weight loss can be as simple as increasing your metabolism rate.

Source http://www.inewsconnect.com/weight-loss-guides-review/faster-weight-loss-through-speeding-up-your-metabolism/12756/

Why Is Quitting Smoking So Hard?

There are a variety of reasons why quitting smoking is so hard. These reasons can be broken into medical reasons, psychological reasons and practical reasons. In one way or the other these reasons may overlap. However in order to understand a variety of reasons why people fail to stop smoking it is worthwhile to categorize them in this manner.
Due to these reasons many people spend almost their whole life attempting to quit smoking but still finding it extremely hard. A simple grasp of some of these reasons may in itself change the entire game plan turning failures into surprising successes.


Medical Reasons
Medical reasons that explain the difficulty of quitting smoking are embedded in the biological work of nicotine in tobacco. by way of background what causes tobacco to be addictive is the interaction between nicotine and a smoker's brain. Nicotine alters the brain receptors leading to total dependency. Any attempt to stop smoking will lead to severe withdrawal symptoms a form of protest from the brain using your body. Nicotine addiction is therefore the strongest and most important reason why quitting tobacco smoking is so hard. The backlash can be so severe that many people become so gripped with fear to ever try again condemning themselves to a life of cigarettes.

Psychological Reasons
There is yet another side of the story to the difficult associated with stopping cigarettes. Some people are gripped with the fear of the unknown. This makes it difficult to quit. Often this is also fed by the general knowledge that quitting is hard making a lot of people failures whilst they still have cigarettes on their mouths. This means the battle has to be worn in the brain if one is to quit for good.

Doctors often advise that quitting smoking is also a matter of the willingness to do so. Just deciding to quit without the needed accompanying will-power will go so far. The individual making a decision to quit will need to be fully mentally prepared for what follows. This is why counseling and quit smoking programs produce better results in patients than those who go alone.

Practical Reasons
Practical reasons why stopping smoking is hard are found in the practical steps one needs in order to succeed. For example, most people decide to quit smoking yet they continue hanging out with people who smoke. They expose themselves to what are known as triggers. they easily find themselves triggered into smoking relapse.

Other practical reasons include the methods people choose to help them stop smoking. people who quit cold turkey almost always fail compared to people who use medications such as nicotine replacement products. All these are a matter of choice. What is it that you choose as your way to stop smoking. Of all the three reasons the most difficult to deal with is the medical reasons followed by the psychological reasons.