In celebration of the launch of our Glow range of tea, we wanted to put a list together to help you glow with happiness!
Have you ever had those days when you do not want to get out of bed and face the world? Yep. We all have. Adulting is hard stuff. However, most of us do not usually have the luxury to stay in bed. We have to put on a brave face and get on with it. Here is an idea, why not put on a smile instead? Here is how.
1 | PUT ON A SMILE
According to Psychology Today, people seem to think that happiness comes from inside out. However, the opposite is also true, also known as facial feedback hypothesis. By making yourself smile, you are promoting the release of happiness-inducing chemicals. It has been found that smiling while also thinking positive thoughts, is even more effective! Warning: this only works as long as you practice “real smiles” - this is when you use your eye sockets. If you are finding this hard to understand, just look in the mirror. Try one fake smile and one real smile. You can feel and see the difference. Go on, say cheese.
2 | GO FOR A RUN
Researchers at Chicago State University and the University of Minnesota found that aerobic exercise has a consistently positive effect on mood. Exercise is even used now as a way to treat some forms of depression. As they say, mens sana in corpore sano, or in English: a healthy mind in a healthy body. Exercise can help you relax, increase your brain power and improve your body image (without losing weight). We think it is time to hit the gym.
3 | HAVE A GOOD SLEEP SESH
We are all aware that the body uses sleep in order to recover and repair. Another important thing to note is that different parts of the brain process different stimuli, as such:
Amygdala - Negative Stimuli
Hippocampus - Neutral & Positive Stimuli
A lack of sleep has an impact on the hippocampus (which as you have seen, processes neutral and positive stimuli). This means that if you are sleep deprived, you find it harder to recall pleasant memories but are easily able to recall bad ones. The mood in which you start off the day, usually sets the scene for the rest of the day. To have happier days, it is important to get a good quantity and quality of sleep, so your positive mood can persist! Maybe tonight you aim for 7 hours?
4 | GET SOME AIR
All you need is 20 minutes to boost your mood. In fact, temperatures have an even larger effect on your mood. It has been found that the optimum temperature for happiness maximisation is at 13.9°C. It could be a nice idea to eat your lunch outside tomorrow?
5 | CHILL OUT WITH THE FAM OR YOUR FRIENDS
Whether it's shooting a quick text, going for a quick walk or facetiming them, all of these social interactions will have a positive result on happiness and health; it increases your energy and cultivates motivation. As Expert Daniel Gilbert from Harvard University would say “we are happy when we have family, we are happy when we have friends and almost all the other things we think make us happy are actually just ways of getting more family and friends”. *Cue facetime connecting sound.*
6 | PUT ON YOUR YOGA PANTS
Meditation is one of the best ways to rewire your brain and help yourself feel happy. A study published in an issue of Psychiatry Research uses Neuroimaging to see how the brain changes after meditating. The parts of the brain associated with compassion and self-awareness had grown and the parts associated with stress had shrunk. *Goes straight to Sweaty Betty website for yoga clothing inspo*.
7 | DON’T HATE, APPRECIATE
Sometimes you need to refocus your perspective. It’s easy to go down the rabbit hole and focus on what you do not have or what others do, rather than appreciating what you do have. This will trigger feelings of gratitude. The longer and more often you think about these things and let yourself feel grateful, the easier it is to embed positive experience in your brain and make you feel happier. The next time you start to get jealous about something or start to feel sad about something you do not have, flip it right around. I may not have x, but I have y, and I am proud of myself for that. Just like Bing Crosby said, Ac-Cen-Tchu-Ate the Positive. What is more, you can E-Lim-I-Nate the negative by thinking about how lucky you are for not having something. There are many unfortunate things that could happen, so allow yourself to feel lucky.
8 | IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS
Have you ever had those days where you are experiencing the worst day at work, but suddenly you remember a really good joke your friend cracked on the weekend and you feel way better? People are always expecting life-changing events to come along and make them happy, what they do not realise is that happiness is the amalgamation of all those small moments, which power your motivation and help you achieve bigger things. You should try to focus on those things that make you feel good, it may even be as small as finally finishing that article you started reading on your way to work.
9 | PUMP UP THE VOLUME
Did you know that when you listen to music, your brain releases dopamine, the neurochemical involved in experiencing pleasure and reward? In other words, listening to music makes you feel good. A great way to lighten the mood when you are feeling down is to make a playlist of your favourite songs. They do not have to be feel-good songs, it can be any type of music that you enjoy.
A fun thing to do is put a good song on, then imagine it is the soundtrack to your life while you go about your daily routine. /
A fun question you can ask yourself is what would be the soundtrack to your life if you could pick any song? Then listen to that song. We are jamming to Giant (with Rag’n’Bone Man) by Calvin Harris right now.
10 | TREAT YOURSELF, BUT TREAT OTHERS TOO
Humans are naturally drawn to being in groups due to our animalistic instincts or survival. However, what is even more fascinating is that this goes a step further: helping others actually makes people feel happier. The optimal quantity of time you should spend helping other people in one year is 100 hours. This was discovered through a study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, where participants compared recalling how they felt after making a purchase for someone else to how they felt after making one for themselves. It is not about how much you spend, but it’s the whole “it’s the thought that counts”. Putting your time and effort towards someone else makes you feel better. Next time you feel like you really want to get some Offblak Glow tea, maybe you should get some for the whole family? Sharing is caring, and caring is apparently happiness.
Sources:
https://www.happier.com/blog/25-ways-to-feel-happier-in-the-next-5-minutes/
https://www.happify.com/hd/make-yourself-happier-in-5-minutes/
https://open.buffer.com/be-happy-today/
https://unsplash.com/photos/jNihjegerkk
