Three scientifically proven ways to improve your happiness…

Finding peace and happiness has been extremely challenging for so many people in all sorts of different circumstances lately.  You could be dealing with boredom, frustration, financial difficulties, the loss of your job, or even the loss of a loved one.  Whatever it is that is contributing to your unhappiness right now, I am sharing these three tried and tested, yet very simple, techniques that could help get you feel happier.  I have personally used these techniques after the loss of my brother four years ago, so I know they work, and they could help you too.   

The techniques I talk about in this article were first carried out by Dr Robert Holden on the BBC Science Documentary ‘How to be happy’, in 1996.  You can find out more about the study conducted online, but to simplify it, I have broken it down into three parts.  These three parts could be broken down into days to help you introduce the techniques slowly, or you can dive straight in. 

Step One: Smile and Laugh 

It may sound simple, but when you’re not feeling your best, this can be tricky! 

It is scientifically proven that smiling and laughing triggers your body release serotonin and endorphins, which research suggests can help clear your body of toxins, boost your immune system and more importantly, the serotonin signals your brain to tell you something is good.  Dr Robert suggests that you should smile or laugh for at least 20 minutes a day, and says that you don’t even have to genuinely laugh at something for this technique to help improve your happiness over time, he suggests you can literally fake laugh and it will still have the same effect!  

The more you practise this, the more your body will automatically expect good feelings, and you will eventually create a new neuropathway in your brain which will help you think happier thoughts.  You will need to practise this for 28 days in a row, so it might be worth setting an alarm or a reminder, or start doing it at the same time every day, like in the morning when you wake up, for example.   You could even plan a 28 day comedy film / TV show marathon to help keep it up. 

Step 2: Exercise  

I speak a lot about the benefits of physical exercise in my blogs, so it’s no surprise that Dr Robert suggests that 20 minutes of exercise daily will have a massive impact on your happiness!  Trust me when I say, I know how hard it can be to motivate yourself when you are not feeling your best.  However, pushing on through the uncomfortableness of it, and making that effort to get moving, will soon result in it becoming easier and easier to do – in fact, you might end up enjoying it! 

Exercise has huge benefits to your wellbeing.  It helps clear stress, boosts your energy, can help keep you looking trim and promotes healthy sleep.   Moreover, exercise has been proven to be the single most effective treatment for depression!  

You don’t have to spend hours in the gym or time pounding the pavement on a half marathon mission to feel the benefits.  A 20 minute brisk walk daily is all you need to help you feel happier!  Whatever your level of fitness, you can start small and build your way up.  It just needs to get your heart beating faster and warm you up for it to be making a difference to your mind and body. 

In addition, recent studies suggest that doing your exercise outdoors has an increased effect on your mood.  So why not get outdoors and give the benefits of your 20 minute exercise and extra boost?!  Add this into your daily routine for 28 days and feel the difference! 

Step 3: Spot the difference

Place coloured dots around your home to remind you to think a positive thought.  

This may sound a little crazy, especially if you live with other people who might not understand your reasoning, but this technique is probably the most powerful that I have used. 

Dr Robert suggests that you place coloured dots around your home in different areas to remind you to think of a positive thought.   As humans, we create habits by repetition.  Think of it like this, when you’re learning to drive a car, you have to remember so many things, and consciously have to make the effort to think about all the moving parts, such as gear changes etc.  However, after a while you don’t even think about it anymore, you unconsciously change the gear when needed.  Have you ever driven somewhere familiar and not consciously thought about the route to get there, you just drive and somehow manage to make it there?  That is your unconscious mind working!  This is because you have created a habit, and your unconscious mind goes about its business without you having to consciously think about it.   

We actually spend the majority of our lives doing or thinking things unconsciously, because over the years we have created habits by repeatedly doing, or thinking, something every day.  This is exactly the same with positive and negative thought patterns.   

So, whilst placing coloured dots around your home may seem like a silly idea, once you’ve done this for 28 days you will have reprogrammed your mind to think random positive thoughts, and in turn, you should start to feel much happier!  It might seem hard to find positive thoughts when you first start to do this, this is because you have not been in a great place and have created a habit of thinking sad or negative thoughts, but even the smallest positive though can grow into bigger things over time.  For example, when I lost my brother, I really had to dig deep on what I could find positive around me that I could focus on, so I started small.  

Why 28 days?

It is thought that a new habit can take anything between 21 and 28 days to form, although this is not an exact science.  I would recommend 28 days to give you a better chance at creating long term affects.  Do not become disheartened if you miss a day, or if you have a bad day in-between.  Just start the next day fresh and keep going. 

Of course, these techniques are just a starting point for anyone wanting to try to feel a little better in themselves, and are actually really easy to incorporate into your daily routine.  You should give all three steps a go every day for at least 28 days.   These techniques have helped inspire many self-help authors to include them in their work because they are proven to give great results when used properly, and for sustained amount of time.   We have all been through a lot recently, and perhaps these will help you, or someone you care about, to feel better in themselves.  

*If you are suffering with severe depression or anxiety, you should always seek the help from a medical professional.