Research shows that happy people are healthier, more successful, and more creative. And with the right tools, being happy is well within our control. So go ahead and try this strategy for bringing more joy into your life:
Feelings follow actions. You need to act the way you want to feel. It’s crazy how effective it is. Simply going through the act of smiling actually makes you happier. People who were instructed to smile while watching cartoons rated them to be funnier than other subjects who were told to furrow their eyebrows.
But why is it so effective? When you feel depressed, your brain sends signals to your facial muscles, telling them that you’re sad; the face responds by adopting an unhappy expression, in turn signaling the brain that you’re in a miserable mood. Consciously choosing to change your facial expression so it doesn’t reflect your negative emotions is one way to change the message to the brain, which will then respond by changing your mood.
Another sure-fire way to boost your mood is to laugh out loud—whether you find something funny or not. Laughing releases endorphins, oxygenates the blood stream, and strengthens abdominal muscles. If you don’t want to laugh alone, you can even attend laughter yoga classes, where people get together and do laughing exercises. Practiced in 53 countries around the world, laughter yoga is now a growing trend in the U.S. as well.
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