For Improved Health

To improve your well-being, consider the following the 8 steps or conditions found in the October 2, 2017 edition of Time. For example: 1. Explore life without social media. It suggested that more frequent Facebook use has been linked to more or poor physical and mental health; including diminished life satisfaction. Another study suggested that the more time people spent on social media per day, the more likely they were to have symptoms of anxiety. It was recommended that taking a break from Facebook resulted in higher life satisfaction, and positive emotions. Can’t argue with that one. 2. Order delivery and send your laundry out. It is been found that people who spend money on saving time, such as hiring a gardener, or paying extra for grocery delivery reported greater life satisfaction. People from across the income spectrum benefited from buying time. This would especially work, if you’re buying time from doing something that you don’t want to do. It helps to have the money to do it. 3. Embrace your offbeat emotions. In one study, people who felt the widest range of positive emotions, had the lowest levels of inflammatory markers in their blood. Lower levels of inflammation may translate to reduce the risk of illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. Next time you experience positive emotions like enthusiasm, interest or inspiration, that’s good for you. 4. Let go of grudges. Data from 148 people, found that people who had been more stressed in their lives had worse mental and physical health. They discovered that if people were quick to forgive themselves and others, that characteristic alone virtually eliminated the connection between stress and mental illness. 5. Take a perfectly imperfect vacation time away from work is good and can assist with minimizing stress. This means minimizing travel stress, or being in a situation where you felt unsafe. Planning seems to be a key here. Having alone time, or taking a break are important as individuals have different stress levels. Who likes to go to the airport and fly on a plane? I don’t. 6. Visit your local tiny green space. Getting outside, being in nature with a more active lifestyle is helpful for your mental health. More research suggests that any kind of green space, such as back yards, neighborhood parks, or dog walks can improve your well-being. Additionally, it’s important that these spaces are functional, easy to get to, clean and well lit. It’s also provides an opportunity to meet and chat with people as well. For me, being in nature is my compulsion for repetition. 7. Keep your friends as close as family. It has been found that friends become more important to health, during the aging process-per research conducted in nearly 100 countries. In fact, having supportive friendships, while aging, was found to be a better predictor of well-being than having a strong family connection. As we all know, we can choose our friends. 8. Deploy random acts of kindness or doing a favor boosts emotional well-being, even if you’re good deed isn’t recognized. One researcher stated “humans are wired to give. We are a cooperative species and there are mechanisms in us that promotes social behavior.” But remember, the goal is to benefit that person as opposed to trying to impress them with generosity or even expect something in return. These eight strategies are not at all an exhaustive list. Further, there is also no guarantee for well-being. Natural dangers, hereditary and our society and culture provide many barriers and challenges beyond control. This doesn’t mean that we have to be victims. However, just today I was reminded that we have been at war in Afghanistan for 16 years. Now that’s crazy.