Happiness, whatever it means for you, is within your reach. One effective way to do this is by adopting healthy habits and making these daily habits. Daily routines are extremely powerful. They take some time to learn, but they become hard to break once they’re ingrained and have compounding effects. Here are 19 habits that can help you lead a happier life.
1. Eat Healthily
A nutritional diet nourishes your brain. It also prevents and treats poor mental health. Some nutrition experts recommend that good mental health include drinking water, vegetables, fruits, lean, unprocessed proteins, and whole grains. Additionally, minimize your sugar intake, trans fats and refined or processed foods.
2. Sleep Well
Getting enough sleep is essential to brain function, a healthy body and emotional well-being. As an adult, you need 7—9 hours of sleep. Brain fog or daytime sleepiness can show that you didn’t fall asleep the night before. You can avoid this by developing a healthy sleep routine and sticking to it. Another healthy habit is to wake up early; this helps you fall asleep at night, as you’ll be tired.
3. Exercise Daily
Exercising causes your body to release mood-boosting chemicals, such as serotonin endorphins and dopamine neurotransmitters, related to emotions like depression and pain. At the same time, it suppresses hormones associated with anxiety and stress. These include cortisol and adrenaline. Exercise can also help with weight loss, contributing to a better mood, living a happier life, and having an overall healthier body.
4. Meditate
Of all mental practices, meditation has the highest potential for making your life happier by rewiring your brain and resetting your happiness set point. Meditation practice enhances your ability to cope with stressful events and difficult, uncomfortable situations. It can help you learn how to calm yourself down and muster a sense of serenity. Learn how to build this habit by reading our article on mindfulness.
5. Maintain a Journal
Besides helping you make plans, journaling lets you process your feelings and organize your thoughts. You don’t even need to be a masterful writer to get these benefits. Just jot down a few ideas into your paper or digital journal every day. Consider a gratitude journal, a practice where you record a list of things you are grateful for. Many studies indicate that practicing gratitude is another way to feel good.
6. Do Stretching Exercises
Stretching your muscles feels excellent because it increases blood circulation and activates your parasympathetic nervous system. This can cheer you up and clear your mind. Stretching exercises may also trigger the release of endorphins, which boost your mood and reduce pain. Some people include stretching in their morning routines, which is a great way to start the day.
7. Take a Walk
Going for a walk benefits your body, thoughts and feelings. It brightens your outlook and allows you to take time out and reflect. Taking a walk also triggers several other processes, including relieving muscle tension and releasing mood-uplifting hormones.
8. Do Breathing Exercises
Deep breathing exercises can help reduce anxiety and stress. Whenever you are tight, tense or on edge, find a private space to do a breathing exercise. Close your eyes and take several deep, slow breaths. It helps to envision a beautiful place from your memory or imagination.
9. Limit Screen Time
Excessive screen time can be harmful to mental health. Learning how to use digital technology and social media positively and adopting healthy digital habits can help avert these adverse effects of prolonged screen time. For example, screen time limits in your smartphone settings.
10. Read
Like meditation, reading helps you step into a mental state marked by a great sense of well-being. Your health may benefit the same way it would when you practice deep relaxation when you read. The long-term positive effects boost your esteem, reduce your stress, improve your sleep and help prevent depression.
11. Practice a Hobby
You can improve your emotional well-being and mental health by setting aside time every day to do something you take pleasure in. Regularly engaging in your hobby helps mitigate the ill effects of stressful and depressive moods. Hobbies are even more beneficial when you do them as part of a community. Find time to do something you love every day, even if it’s just ten minutes.
12. Be grateful
Practicing gratitude has many benefits, among them boosting your mood. Acknowledge at least one thing you’re thankful for at the beginning of each day. Likewise, try and find something to be grateful for during the day, such as the presence of a loved one or great weather.
13. Smile
A sense of happiness often makes you smile. The reserve is also valid. Smiling causes dopamine release in the brain, and this process can contribute to your overall sense of well-being. Find opportunities to smile as you go about your day.
14. Compliment Someone
Giving someone a sincere compliment brightens up their day and boosts your own mood. Pay attention and find something admirable about them so that you mean it. Say it with a smile and respectfully when you compliment physical appearance.
15. Take on stress
Stress is an inevitable part of daily life. Rather than always trying to avoid it, learn when to approach it head-on with a healthy, positive attitude. This might mean intentionally stepping into uncomfortable situations, such as doing extra work or having a difficult but necessary conversation.
16. Laugh
Laughter causes the release of endorphins, which help promote a strong sense of well-being and provide temporary pain relief. At the same time, it lowers the production of stress hormones. As you go about your day, allow yourself to laugh every time you encounter something funny or amusing.
17. Be Kind
Showing kindness to others makes you happy because it satisfies the need to have meaningful social connections with other people. It works even when you’re kind to strangers. Find opportunities to do something nice for other people.
18. Practice Self-Compassion
Compassionately relating to yourself makes you happier because it promotes emotional resilience and a meaningful connection with others. Practicing self-compassion helps to soothe negative emotions and to increase positive emotions. One way to do this is by adopting positive self-talk.
19. Aspire
Adopting an optimistic outlook, developing a sense of purpose and being hopeful create meaning in your life and make you happier. It also makes you more satisfied with your life.
Live Happier
Keep in mind that you can’t just learn 19 habits at once. The best way to harness the power of good habits is to discover them one by one to improve your chances of success and accumulates their benefits to your well-being. Visit The Mad Dev to learn more about happiness, home, career and more.