Health and Happiness健康与幸福.docx

Health and Happiness健康与幸福.docx

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HealthandHappiness健康与幸福

It'seasytogetcaughtupinthehustleandbustleofeverydaylifeandlosesightofwhatmakesyouhappy.Reallyhappy.Butmakingsureyourhappinessmeterisgivingoptimalreadingscanprovidemanyhealthbenefits.

Happypeoplehaveyoungerhearts,youngerarteries,andayoungerRealAge.Happypeoplerecovermorequicklyfromsurgery,copebetterwithpain,havelowerbloodpressure,andhavelongerlifeexpectancythanunhappypeople.

Studiesalsosuggestthathappypeoplemayhavestrongerimmunesystems--they'relesslikelytogetcoldsandfluviruses.Andwhentheydo,theirsymptomstendtobemild.

Notsurprisingly,happypeoplearebetteratlookingaftertheirhealth,too.Whenpeople'shappinesslevelsimprove,sodotheirhealthbehaviors.Theyexercisemore,wearsunscreen,andgoforregularcheckups.

HowtoGetThere

Everyonewantstobehappy,andthebenefitsareclearlyplentiful.Butthefactisthatpeoplearen'talwaysgreatatpredictingwhatwillmakethemhappy.Ifit'slong-termhappinessyou'reafter,youmayneedtolearnafewnewtricks.

WhatIsHappiness?

Weallknowwhenwe'rehappyandwhenwe'renot.Butaskaroomfulofpeoplewhatmakesthemhappyandyou'relikelytogetawiderangeofresponses,from"watchingthesunset"or"spendingtimewithgoodfriends"to"findingagreatshoesale"or"winningtheofficefootballpool."

Defininghappinessisnosimplefeat.

Inanefforttonarrowthedefinition,researchershavedevisedaseriesofquestionnairestomeasurelifesatisfaction,positivemood,andsubjectivewell-being.Somescientistsareevenbeginningtousebrainimagingtobetterunderstandthephysiologyofhappiness.Andeconomistshavejumpedonthehappinessbandwagon,too,hopingtocalculatethevalueofhappinesswithinasociopoliticalcontext.

Sowhathavetheydiscovered?

Whatmakesforahappylife?

It'sPartlyYourGenes

Yourlevelofhappinessisnotentirelypredeterminedbyyourgenes,butgenesdoplayapart,justastheyplayapartinyourgeneralhealth.Someresearchersestimatethatasmuchas40%to50%ofaperson'scapacityforhappinessmaybegeneticallypredetermined.Andalthoughthatmeanssomeluckypeoplemaystartoffwithagreaterpropensityforhappiness,it'snoguaranteethey'llleadacharmedlife.Fortunately,evidencesuggeststhateventhegloomiestofuscanlearntobehappier.

Andlearnwemust.Lefttoourowndevices,wetendtofocusourenergiesonthingsthatwillgiveusthegreatestinstantpleasure.Evenwhenweknowbetter.

TestYourHappinessKnow-How

Thinkyouknowthesecrettohappiness?

Checkthehappinessaccuracyofsomeofthesecommonanswers.Youmightbesurprised.

∙AMassageandPamperDayattheSpa


Aahhh,yes.Adayatthespaisnotonlypleasurable,it'salsoagreatde-stressor.Andkeepingyourstresslevelsundercontrolwillhaveapositiveeffectonyourphysicalandemotionalwell-being.

∙WinningaMillionDollars

Winningamillionbuckswillmakeyouinstantlywealthy,that'sforsure.Buthappy?

Notsomuch.Readontofindoutwhymoneywon'tbuyyoubliss.

∙RentingaBeachHouseforaWeekwithYourClosestFriends


Spendingqualitytimewithgoodfriendsisoneofthekeycomponentsofahappylife.Andtakingtimeofftorelaxwillalsokeepyourstresslevelslow.Butdon'twaitforrareopportunitieslikethistogettogetherwithyourfriends.

∙Losing10Pounds


It'simportanttoyourhealthandhappinesstomaintainahealthyweight.Butyo-yodietingandlose-weight-quickscamsarelikelytostarveyouofthehappinessyou'reafter.

∙WorldPeace


Anobleaspiration,butyoumightwanttostartsmall—settingunrealisticgoalsmaybeahappinessdeterrent.Doyourpartforpeacebygettinginvolvedwithanorganizationthatpromotesnonviolentconflictresolutionoranotherpeace-promotingissueyoufeelstronglyabout.Helpingothersandfeelingasenseofpurposeinlifeislinkedtogreaterhappiness.

∙FinallyGettingtheGarageOrganized

Itmaynotbeglamorousbutitcertainlyisgratifying.Cleaningouttheclutterandcreatingausablespacewillgiveyouasenseofachievementthat'sguaranteedtoboostyourwell-being.

∙HavingSuperheroPowers


Superheropowerswouldbesupercool,withoutadoubt.Buttheymightcausemorestressthanhappiness.Plus,it'snevergoingtohappen.Byfocusingonmoreattainablegoals,you'llbemorelikelytomakethemcometrueandthatwillmakeyouhappy.

∙ALongWalk（orRun）inthePark


Physicalactivityisagreatwaytoinstantlyincreaseyoursenseofwell-being.Andbyincorporatingexerciseintoyourdailyroutineyou'llbebothhealthierandhappierinthelongrun.

∙ASharpRiseintheValueofYourInvestments

It'swisetoinvestinyourfuturebutnotsowisetolinkyourhappinesstothestockmarket.Contributeemotionalcapitaltoyourrelationshipsandpersonalgrowthandyoumayseeasteadyriseinyourhappinesslevels.

Readontofindoutmoreaboutwhatmakespeoplehappy,whatdoesn't,andwhatyoucandotoliveafullandhappylife.

HealthandHappiness

Studiesshowthataperson'shealthisoneofthestrongestpredictorsofhappiness.Butthelinkbetweenhealthandhappinessiscomplex.Researchshowslittlecorrelationbetweenaperson'sobjectivehealth--asdefinedbymedicalassessment--andhappiness.It'soursubjectivehealth--howweviewourhealth--thataffectsourwell-being.Soishappinessallinyourhead?

Notnecessarily.Forexample,adversechangesinhealthdohaveanegativeimpactonhappinesslevels,atleasttemporarily.Poorhealthhasthepotentialtosignificantlyaffectalmosteveryaspectofyourlife:

yourindependence,yourself-image,yourpersonalrelationships,yourabilitytoworkandcarryoutbasicdailyactivities.Soit'snosurprisethatwhenyourhealthtakesahit,yourhappinessdoesaswell.

Butpeopleareresilient.Webecomeaccustomedtonewlifecircumstances,goodorbad.Weadapt.Withinamonthortwoofanadversehealthevent,mostpeoplehavegravitatedbacktowardthelevelofhappinesstheyenjoyedbeforetheirhealthtookaturnfortheworse.

Whenthechangeinhealthstatusissevere,however--forexample,involvingchronicpainormultipledisabilities--theimpactonhappinesscanbelonglasting.

Andbothphysicalhealthandemotionalhealthinfluencehappiness.Mooddisordersdiminishqualityoflifeevenmorethanchronicphysicalailments,suchasarthritis,heartdisease,anddiabetes.

WhatYouCanDo

Doallthatyoucantomaintainahealthylifestyleandyou'llbewellonyourwaytoalongliferichinhappiness.

Beyourhealthiestandhappiestbyeatingabalanceddietwithlotsoffruitandveggies,keepingstresslevelstoaminimum,gettingregularcheckups,wearingsunscreen,laughingoften,moderatingalcoholintake,gettingplentyofexercise,andnotsmoking.YourRealAgePlanwillprovidemorepersonalizeddetailonthis.

Exercisenotonlyhelpskeepyouhealthybutalsokeepsyouhappy.Ingeneral,increasingtheamountofphysicalactivityinyourlifeincreaseswell-being,whetherit'syoga,weighttraining,ordailywalksaroundtheneighborhood.Onestudyofnearly7,000menandwomenrevealedthatwalking,jogging,orrunningbetween11and19milesperweekwasoptimalforimprovingemotionalwell-being.

Butdon'toverdoitorunderdoit.Moderateexerciseoffersthebiggestboostinhappiness.

Andifyouthinkyoumaybelivingwithamooddisorder,getittreated.Appropriatetreatmentcanhelpreduceyoursymptoms,increaseyoursenseofwell-being,andgetyoubackontracktoahappylife.

SocialSideUp

Developingyoursocialsideiscrucialforwell-being.Studiesshowthatpeoplewhoaresociallyactive,whoarecompassionate,andwhoareemotionallygeneroushavehigherlevelsofhappinessandlivelongerthanpeoplewholeadamoresolitarylife.

Researchalsoshowsthatpeoplewhohavestronginterpersonalskillsrankinthehighestlevelsofhappiness,andthosewhoaresociallyisolatedhavesubstantiallylowerlevelsofwell-being.

Socialskillsarejustonepartofthishappinessfactor,though.Peoplewhomaintaingoodpersonalrelationshipsalsofarebetterthanpeoplewhoaresociallyinactive.Open,trusting,intimaterelationshipsareessentialbuildingblocksforahappylife.

Anditisn'tonlyreceivingsupportthatmakesushappy;it'sbeingabletogivesupporttoothersaswell.

PerfectPairs

Ofcourse,manyseemarriageasoneoftheultimatesocialrelationships.Butstudiesonmarriageandhappinessaresomewhatconflicting,andthecausalrelationshipbetweenthetwoisunclear.Onaverage,peoplewhoaremarriedtendtoreporthigherlevelsofhappinessthanpeoplewhoarenotmarried.Unmarriedpeopleincommittedrelationshipsalsotendtobehappierthanpeopleincasualrelationships.

Butit'snotclearifthisisbecausepeoplewhoarepredisposedtobeinghappyaremorelikelytomarry,orbecausemarriageitselfmakespeoplehappier,orifthereisstillsomeotheryet-to-be-discovereddynamicatplaybetweenmarriageandhappiness.Althoughobservationalstudiesclearlyshowanassociationbetweenwell-beingandrelationships,thereisnoevidencetoprovethatonecausestheother.

Onetheoryforthecorrelationbetweenhappinessandmarriageisthat,comparedwithmarriedpeople,peoplewhoaren'tmarriedtendtoexperiencelowerlevelsofsocialapprovalaswellasfewerfinancialandsocialbenefits.Thesefactorsmayplayaroleinthelowerlevelsofpersonalwell-beingreportedbypeoplewhoarenotmarried.

WhatYouCanDo

Whenimportantpersonalrelationshipscometoanend,itcanhavealastingnegativeimpactonhappiness.Souseyourenergiestonurturetherelationshipsthatm