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March 20, 2025 By GOQii 9 Comments

Does Happiness Affect Our Health? 10 Benefits Of Being Happy

Happiness and HealthHappiness is a wonderful feeling! Whether you associate it with optimism, joy, wellbeing, or personal achievement – or perhaps all of these – it naturally goes hand-in-hand with healthier habits. People who are in good spirits tend to eat better, move more, and sleep more soundly than those who are not. In turn, these healthy habits activate the hormones and neurotransmitters that influence our happiness.

When our mood is low, we’re more likely to skip exercise, indulge in emotional eating, and struggle with sleep.

This International Day of Happiness 2025, we embrace the theme “Caring and Sharing” – a powerful reminder that spreading joy, kindness, and connection not only uplifts others, but also has a profound impact on our own health and wellbeing.

Let’s explore the fascinating ways that happiness can boost your health – and why sharing a smile could make all the difference.

10 Health Benefits Of Being Happy

 1. Smile, Even If You Don’t Feel Like It
Science suggests that when we smile, whether we’re feeling happy or not, our mood improves. Smiling stretches the muscles in our face, triggering the brain to release “happy hormones” that make us feel good and reduce stress. Your smile not only brightens someone else’s day – it lifts your own spirits too.

2. Laughter is Truly the Best Medicine
Laughter helps you exhale more air and inhale more oxygen, purifying the blood and leaving you refreshed and relaxed. It boosts circulation, relieves tension, and even reduces pain. No wonder laughter clubs exist in parks all over the world – people are choosing joy for their health!

3. The Power of Happy Hormones

Our thoughts and emotions translate into chemicals in the body – either promoting healing or contributing to ill health. Let’s meet the “happy hormones”:

  • Endorphins: Natural painkillers – they allow us to push through challenges.
  • Serotonin: Enhances mood, social connection, and emotional stability.
  • Dopamine: Keeps us motivated, focused, and rewarded.
  • Oxytocin: The “love hormone,” strengthening bonds and trust.
  • Estrogen & Progesterone: Help regulate mood, anxiety, and sleep.

4. Stronger Immune System

There’s a link between happiness and stronger immunity. Studies show that happier people respond better to vaccines and have more robust immune responses, protecting them from infections. Chronic stress, on the other hand, weakens our immune defences.

5. A Happier Heart

Happiness is linked to lower heart rate and blood pressure, as well as better heart rate variability (a marker of heart health). Happy people are less prone to coronary heart disease – it’s that simple.

6. Healthier Blood

Happy individuals have lower levels of fibrinogen, a blood protein that causes clotting. High fibrinogen levels increase the risk of heart attacks – keeping stress low and mood high helps maintain healthy circulation.

7. Reduced Aches and Pains

Happiness seems to ease physical discomfort. When we’re in a good mood, our bodies release endorphins that naturally block pain. Chronic conditions like arthritis or muscle tension often feel less severe when we’re happy.

8. Lower Stress Levels

Happiness can help temper the harmful effects of stress. Happier people recover faster from stressful events and have lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone linked to high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

9. Even Our Genes Respond to Joy

Remarkably, happiness can influence gene expression. People who report greater wellbeing show lower levels of inflammatory gene activity and stronger antiviral responses. Love and happiness activate “growth genes”, promoting healing and resilience.

10. Live Longer, Live Better

Happiness is linked to longevity. Happier people are less likely to experience frailty, mobility issues, or early death. Staying upbeat can keep inflammation in check and help fend off disease.

Mother Teresa, who spent decades caring for the sick and dying, lived until the age of 87 – a testament to how compassion, purpose, and happiness can support lasting health.

Happiness is more than a fleeting emotion – it’s a state of being that nourishes your body, mind, and spirit. And the best part? It grows stronger the more you share it.

This International Day of Happiness, let’s make a conscious effort to care for ourselves and others – through kind words, acts of compassion, and positive connection. When we choose happiness, we create ripples of wellness that touch everyone around us.

💬 How do you practise happiness and share it with others? Let us know in the comments!

#BeTheForce

February 25, 2024 By Parwage Alam 9 Comments

Avoid Stress: Lead a healthy and happy life!

Stress

Do you forever feel your shoulders are burdened with too many responsibilities? Do you feel endless demands towing at you from all directions? Do you feel your life is spinning out of control? It’s easy to feel stressed. But, regardless of your circumstances, only you can bring about a balance from within you and not form your surroundings?     

Given the fast-paced lifestyle that all of us lead, we get hassled and irritated by the most inconsequential incidents that automatically lead the stress levels to go up. Come to think of it, there is no dearth for reasons for our stress levels to go up. But, does anyone really know how harmful stress is to our health?

Before understanding how harmful it is let’s first understand what is stress?

Stress is a normal part of life. It’s related to many events that happen to you and around you — and many things that you do yourself — put stress on your body. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. It is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses.

The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert and overwhelmed. And, stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds.

High levels of stress can cause biological imbalances in our body. Cortisol Hormone is the hormone that puts the body under stress. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands when an individual is under stress and affects one’s health in a negative manner. The most crucial effect is of one’s immune system and weight.

Stress also leads to excessive mood swings which can be categorized as Worry, Tension, Tiredness, Fright, Happiness, Depression, Anxiety and Anger all of which takes a toll on one’s health.

When stress overpowers, the body is flooded with chemicals that prepare to “fight or flight.” The Stress responses could be lifesaving at the time of emergency situation where our body needs to act quickly; it wears your body down when constantly activated by the stress of everyday life. Relaxation or meditation puts a break on this heightened state of readiness and brings your body and mind back into a calmer state.

Stress management can be a powerful tool for wellness and healthy living. Here are a few tips to de-stress yourself

1. Meditation

2. Deep Breathing

3. Be Alert

4. Relaxation

5. Laugh Out Loud

6. Listening to soft music

7. Strolling in the park

8. Chasing your hobbies

Apart from above options, try keeping a diary over a few weeks and list the time, places, and people that aggravate your stress levels. Once you are aware of your typical or regular stressors, you can always work on avoiding those.

Follow these options and life will automatically turn beautiful!

December 16, 2023 By Divya Thampi 1 Comment

Setting Myself Free from Grudges

image 1- divya

 

Having arrived half an hour ahead of time, I settled in with my laptop, a bottle of drinking water and adjusted the client’s chair carefully at the right angle. With 5 more minutes to go for the first client to arrive, I made a call to the account manager of the company which had hired my services for this project. The arrangement was that I would visit this client’s premises once every fortnight for a few hours. As I had been travelling for the last few weeks, I was resuming service after a month’s interval, and saying “hello” to the account manager seemed like a good idea. With a smile on my face and a tune on my lips, I dialled his number and waited for the response. After about five rings, I heard his voice say “Hello”. With a widening smile, I asked about his health and went on to update him about my arrival at the client site.

Anger

There was a pause on the other side of the line. Wondering if I had lost him, I checked “are you there?” He confirmed that he was. Then sounding sheepish he told me that there had been an oversight on his part and he had forgotten to update me about a change of schedule. Essentially, he was telling me that I wasn’t supposed to be there that day. My smile faltered and eyebrows knitted together, while my mind tried to make sense of what he said. I could hear him carry on saying that my travel expenses would be reimbursed and that he really was sorry about the mix-up. As the full implication of what he was saying dawned on me, I sensed the blood rush to my face. But, before my protests could leave my lips, he repeated his apology and bid a hurried goodbye.

In a matter of seconds, my breath had quickened, my jaws had clenched and I could feel anger bubbling up within my chest. Thoughts about how unprofessional he had been, how his company was taking me for granted and how his apology didn’t sound sincere, added fuel to the already burning fire.

The thing about being a practicing Emotional Wellness coach is that while you can choose to not practice some of the things you preach about regulating emotions, awareness of the feelings rising and falling within the self, is not something you can completely ignore, even if you wish to. It was almost as if there were two of me. One experiencing the anger and frustration and the other observing the first, calmly. This ‘calm me’ gently pointed out to the ‘upset me’ that just a few weeks back I had promised myself that I would let go of chaotic thoughts and feelings, that had the tendency to drag me down and drain me of vitality. I tried hard to ignore that quieter voice. But it persisted.

image 2- divya blog

Parallelly, my mind had been busy plotting revenge by considering demanding pay for my lost time, writing detailed emails about unprofessional behaviour of the manager to the top boss and eliciting a sincerer apology from him. Suddenly, the quieter voice in my head took control and drew attention to the ridiculousness of all these plans (a sincerer apology? Really). It occurred to me that the situation couldn’t be reversed. No matter how much I seethed, the schedule was not going to change. Recognizing the futility of holding on to anger towards the manager, helped me consider the choices I had at this moment. I could either go on being upset, telling myself stories about how unfair others had been to me and how I deserved more respect, OR then I could spend this spare time on something more rewarding.

“Every ego confuses opinions and viewpoints with facts. Furthermore, it cannot tell the difference between an event and its reaction to that event. Every ego is a master of selective perception and distorted interpretation. Only through awareness – not through thinking – can you differentiate between fact and opinion. Only through awareness are you able to see: There is the situation and here is the anger I feel about it, and then realize there are other ways of approaching the situation, other ways of seeing and dealing with it. Only through awareness can you see the totality of the situation or person instead of adopting one limited perspective.”–Eckhart Tolle

nature-2531761 copy

As I calmed myself down by slowing down my breathing, an option to view the situation from a different perspective, presented itself – Maybe there had been a genuine and unintended oversight and maybe the manager was truly sorry? I thought about all my past interactions with him and it was evident that he was indeed a sincere person who took his work and responsibilities seriously. I reflected further and was convinced that the oversight couldn’t have been deliberate. ‘He is only human and we all make errors’, I reflected, ‘I have been there too. How would I feel if I made an unintended error and someone tried to rub my nose in it?’ Turning my attention back to me, I studied my own waning anger with more compassion and recognized my emotional patterns that tended to play out on automatic mode whenever my awareness was low. As my empathy towards myself increased, so did my compassion towards the manager. Taking deep breaths, I allowed these calming thoughts to wash over me.

sunflower-1679504 copy (1)

“As I look back on my life, I realise that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.” – Steve Maraboli

As the moments passed I could feel the smile returning to my lips and with a sudden sense of adventure I mentally ran through the many exciting options I had for spending this newfound time, in what had been an especially packed week. I eventually decided to meet a longtime family friend who stayed close by. A quick call confirmed that they would be more than happy to have me over for lunch and with a spring in my step I set out to explore the day!

After a wonderful time with friends and some additional time to catch my breath at home, I felt revitalized for my next assignment that evening. When the day turned to night, I received a text message from the account manager expressing his sincerest apologies and acknowledgement for the frustration I must have experienced during the day. I hastened to let him know that I had been upset for all of 2 minutes. I went on to elaborate that I trusted his sincerity and that I was not upset in the least. Saying this, flooded me with a sense of gratitude and realized that this experience had been a gift; an opportunity to practice letting go.

“One thing we do know: Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know that this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at this moment.” – Eckhart Tolle

It doesn’t come this easy every time. Each time I start to bask in the assumption that I have mastered the art of calming down, yet another episode pops up to remind me of my fallibility. But it is in those very humbling experiences, where I have been beaten by my own resentment and upset feelings that I have learnt the most valuable lessons on setting myself free from my own grudges!

For more on Mental Health, check out Healthy Reads or tune in to Emotional Wellness Expert Divya Thampi’s classes on GOQii Play.

#BeTheForce

October 2, 2023 By Shilpa Govindan 1 Comment

Cue to happiness

Happiness is a very subjective matter and differs from person to person and ultimately all our efforts and desires lead us to one underlying fact of attaining happiness in life.  Don’t we all live to be happy?

Many thought processes exist within us. These ‘thoughts’ create our belief systems, these beliefs urge us to have ‘emotions’, these emotions seep into our ‘energy body’ or the ‘aura’ and then finally settle down in our ‘physical body’ or ‘physical world’.

To elaborate, the brain sends out electromagnetic waves to the body for any action or reaction and basic functions of the body, including breathing, heartbeat, hormone secretion etc. are controlled by the mind whether we are awake, asleep or in a state of trance.

So, if the Mind can do all this, it would be natural for us to assume that the mind is also capable of restricting the blood flow, heart rate and movement. It can even restrict the functioning of the digestive and liver thereby decreasing metabolism and adding weight, causing BP, Cholesterol etc. At the end of the day, we may call this Disease and one of the most important factors of its cause is dependent largely on our thought process or rather how we think.

Disease originates from our mind-activity and it has been researched subjectively that worry affects your spleen, fear affects the kidney, and grief targets your heart and so on. The impact of our thinking mind has a resultant effect on our physical body, good and bad.

Therefore, when it comes to healing yourself, you have to also sort it out at the thought level and soon you will realize that it will have a positive and long-lasting effect on your physical body. The same goes with your physical world and surrounding. It is the inner workings that have the most result.

All this energy and thought process also reflects our real-life circumstances. You may have experienced that if you feel upset one morning, there is a chance that your entire day would be bad. Repeated negative thinking, once ingrained into the mind can create repeated negative experiences outside control. The good news is that it is not permanent and can be changed!

Here’s why and how,

Happiness in itself is a HABIT- a conditioning or association the Mind has received from a very early age through REPETITIVE thinking. All habits are created through repetition. So, learning to be thankful and having gratitude for simple things, even the very oxygen we breathe, is essential, so as to understand how not react to troubled situations but instead respond with ease, peace and compassion.

With our awareness and understanding and wisdom to respond positively to a situation, we find that the issues in life that used to upset us miraculously feel minuscule and sometimes even disintegrate. Our energy body changes in frequency and vibration thereby attracting more positive opportunities and experiences to us.

How we cultivate this habit of happiness, can vary widely, we can choose to;

1) Meditate regularly teaching the body and mind to regularly let go of stress and create an environment of peace and calm

2) Use a hobby as a trigger for happiness

3) Use a technique called ‘Affirmations’; where we use a statement that is completely opposite to our current limiting belief, and repeat the sentence as many times with feeling. It is to pass a command from the conscious mind to the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind has the ability, to accept anything as true, to do whatever it takes to turn it into reality, creating a new neuro-pathways in the brain. For eg; Limiting belief – It’s hard to lose weight. New belief you want to cultivate – Losing weight is easy for me

4) Express gratitude or keep a journal of thankfulness

5) Not to identify with suffering, loss, or illness as being who you are. Being kind to yourself and others is a skill and developed with practice and mindfulness, which leads to happiness.

Lastly and most importantly, is to keep consistent because we are all human. Emotions and experiences are a part of growth and learning and wisdom of a wonderful life, meanwhile, we can always train our minds to ‘let go’ of things that affect us adversely.

Learn Happiness!

We hope this article helps you become your health detective. If you found this information valuable, share your thoughts in the comments below. You can find more articles to help you manage stress here. For further guidance on managing stress and lifestyle, speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce  

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