The Happiness Boost

We all want to be happy, and some people manage to have this emotion present in
their lives far more than others. They have the right mindset and avoid situations
and even people who "bring down" their happiness.

Those who struggle with emotions and finding reasons to be happy sometimes turn
to stimulants for a short-term burst of happiness. Our bodies already produce
particular hormones that boost happiness, and it is critical to learn how this occurs.

In addition to accessing the natural happiness hormones, there are many other ways
to increase happiness. Many scientific studies have been done on the subject, and
the results show that happiness can be achieved and maintained by doing the right
things for your body and mind.

In this report, we will cover the different ways to boost happiness. In addition, the
report looks at the health benefits of being happy rather than staying stuck in
depression or having high levels of stress. When you practice the ideas discussed,
you can see immediate benefits and enjoy a happy lifestyle.

The Science Behind What Makes Us Happy

Growing up as children, we laughed much more than we do as adults. Happiness

seemed to come naturally to us, but there is science behind how happiness occurs.
That is good news for the adults who find little to smile or laugh about these days.
By understanding how happiness occurs, we can prioritize our lives instead of
allowing sadness to be the main emotion we feel.

There are different areas in the study of happiness and how it occurs. The main
idea is to remember that happiness is not a genetic factor such as eye color. This
means that the wiring for happiness in the brain can be altered.
We should also be aware that our brains produce various chemicals, and some will
increase our happiness while others can lead to a decrease in happiness.

Oxytocin is one such chemical that is produced in the hypothalamus region of the
brain. It can be produced by physical contact such as kissing, hugging, and sexual
relationships. Humans respond to a loving touch, which releases oxytocin and
gives the person a sense of happiness and wellbeing. Some people with an
abundance of oxytocin have been shown to be more compassionate and exhibit a
heightened sense of happiness while being a caregiver to children or the elderly.

When looking at the research it shows that happiness can also be affected by
different factors. These include what a person's personality type is, whether they
have a positive or negative attitude and whether they indulge in exercise and
healthy eating habits. While exercise and healthy eating are obvious choices to
increase happiness, let's look at some other scientifically-proven exercises.

- Mental exercises can help you work through problems and increase your
happiness by reducing stress. One example of a mental exercise is to look at your
problems with a logical approach. When we worry, we often build up stories that
do not come true. Start looking at problems as something that can be solved with
action, rather than non-action. Having extreme debt is a huge problem that will
impact your happiness. Use logic such as finding debt solutions that will help you
lower and eventually eliminate debt.

- Breathing is something that is typically handled by the subconscious mind. We

don't think about breathing, but our subconscious mind coaches us to do so in the
background. When you engage in conscious breathing exercises, you are fully
aware of each breath and its effect on your body. Deep breathing exercises can
dissolve stress and increase happiness. Practicing deep breathing every day is
scientifically proven to increase happiness.

- Writing in a journal helps to organize your thoughts which may be scattered.

When your thoughts are scattered, they are not under control, leading to stress and
depression. Writing out how you feel and why you feel that way allows you to
reflect and come up with ways to improve your overall happiness. When you put
your emotions on paper, you see that the issues are not as bad as you thought, and
there are solutions to every issue.

- Meditation helps to calm the brain. The combination of relaxed breathing and
entering into a neutral state helps to dissolve stress. After a meditation session, you
will come back fully aware and feeling at peace. Meditation and yoga with deep
breathing will bring you into a joyful state and improve your overall physical
health.
As you come up with a plan to increase your happiness, remember the overall
health benefits. This will help to motivate you to stick to a plan of achieving
happiness. It has been shown that happy people are less likely to be hit with severe
diseases and have better immune systems. Happy people tend to live longer and
enjoy life to the fullest, so be sure to get into the happiness frame of mind today.

10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Happy

It has been proven that how you feel is a choice for the most part. Chemical
imbalances are not something you can control without medical assistance, whereas
most cases of stress and depression can be dealt with by exercise and diet. This
means that happiness is a choice for most people, the same as being unhappy is a
choice. The big question is, why would you choose to be unhappy? Here are 10
scientifically proven ways to increase your happiness.

1. Be mindful of what you want in life. Many people go through life

seeking money as a way to happiness. When you look at the rich and
famous and see how many of them become addicted or have severe
depression, you come to understand that money is not the answer. Spend
time thinking about how you can help others, which will help you and
also bring you happiness.
2. Focus on the areas where you are strong and try to improve them. When
you focus on your weak areas, you weaken your mind's ability to work
productively. It can lead to bouts of sadness or depression.
3. We frequently hear that exercise can help with many issues. Daily
exercise helps your body fuel itself with oxygen and allows it to release
hormones that create happiness.
4. Be fully aware of the thoughts that run through your mind daily. You
need to think on favorable terms and when something doesn't work out,
decide what you can learn from it. You will then have moments of
excitement because you solved an issue instead of sitting back and
criticizing your so-called initial failure.
5. Previously we mentioned that money does not bring happiness. Seek out
different ways to help people and make your community a better place to
live. When you volunteer to help children with sports or school, it will
give you a lot of pleasure. Many people are struggling, and when you
step in and help them out just by investing your time and your
 compassion, you will feel an incredible sense of joy. Volunteering at
your local hospital is a great place to start.
6. There are many things in life to be grateful for. However, most people do
not spend time thinking about gratitude. This means they are missing out
on "seeing all the joy they have in their life." Take the focus off what you
do not have and put it on what is unique about your life, from the basics
of life down to the relationships you have. Practicing gratitude has
become one of the best ways to improve the overall quality of life. Many
people use a gratitude journal to capture their feelings and feel happy
about the life they are blessed to live.
7. You don’t have to be a hoarder, to have an issue with possessions. Many
people talk about their sports cars, boats, expensive phones, and such.
But is that really what enriches your life? The answer is a resounding no,
and you need to focus on the experiences you have in life. When you are
older, that car will be in the junkyard, but the memories you have of
spending three days camping in the wilderness will stay with you forever.
8. Along with gratitude, you can practice being mindful. This means you
live in the present and do not spend your time daydreaming and wishing
for bigger and better things. You are mindful of the chance to get out on
your bike for the day and feel the sun on your skin. You are mindful of
the love your significant other gave you today and are thinking of how to
reciprocate.
9. Figure out your optimum sleep time and use it to make yourself feel
great. You may need 6 hours of solid sleep while your significant other
has to get at least 8 hours. Make going to bed a joyful thing, by playing
relaxing music, burn a particular incense, or recite what was great about
your day. This will help you drift off to a peaceful and deep sleep.
Remember how grumpy you feel if you do not sleep properly and work
towards a great sleep every night.
10. We talked about thinking about how great your day was just before you
sleep. Do not wait until nighttime to start thinking positively. Instead,
work on eliminating negative thinking throughout the day. If this is a big
issue for you, write down when you start to think negative thoughts and
what brought it on. Once you do that, it allows you to find ways to
eliminate things in your life that affect how you think. This may be the
time to rid yourself of the toxin work environment or even certain people
in your social circle.
8 Habits to Help You Live a Happier Life

Of course, you want to be happy. Sometimes life gets difficult, and your emotions
start to control you instead of you being in charge. You need specific daily routines
and great habits to increase your happiness bank. Here are 8 habits you need to
make sure are part of your life today.

1. Can you guess the first one? Of course, the answer is to laugh more.
Laughter engages your facial muscles and allows your brain to release
hormones that make you happy. Write out a list of things that make you
laugh. Your list may include watching nothing but comedies, hanging
with happy people, or spending more time with your pets. Get as many
items written down and practice doing them. Your social circle of friends
who love to laugh should be increased and maintained.
2. Sitting indoors and watching comedy shows is great, but you lack fresh
air and sunshine. Get outside as much as possible, even when the weather
is not sunny. Walking in the rain is good for you. Kick up your heels and
splash in the puddles like a little kid. If you get snow in your part of the
world, there are so many physical activities you could be doing that
would make you smile. Build a snowman or go snowshoeing and enjoy
nature.
3. Be grateful. Get into the habit of being grateful for what you do and
expressing it on paper and vocally. Your happiness will increase if you
go to the local coffee shop and smile when you get your order. Taste that
coffee and tell the server how great it tastes, and wish them a happy day.
Write a gratitude journal and put down every little thing that you are
grateful for. Show your appreciation for the little things that people do
for you. If your significant other cuts up an orange and hands you a plate,
take a bite and tell them how much you appreciate their love and support.
4. Your brain will respond if you communicate with it. Rewire your brain
from negativity to happiness by mentally saying, "I am so happy today. I
woke up; I have a brand new day ahead of me to show the world some
kindness." When you communicate this to your brain, it looks for ways to
increase your happiness. If instead, you say, "why do I have to get up?
This day is going to be horrible," your brain fixes its attention to the word
"horrible" and will look for ways to decrease your happiness.
5. Treat yourself well. That means when you don't do the things you should,
stop beating yourself up. Instead, tell yourself that you are human and not
perfect but more than willing to try. Be compassionate with yourself as
 you would with others. Telling yourself that you love yourself and are
worthy of love is self-care, which leads to happiness.
6. Do you exercise every day? Let's be realistic about exercise. You should
not be doing hardcore exercise every day as your body need recovery
time. However, you should move your body every day in some form. On
your off days, consider dancing as a form of exercise. Move your body
for 10-15 minutes to the beat you love. This will pump you up and
increase your happiness. On your true exercise days, do something that
gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat. This will take care of any
stress, and you will feel great afterward.
7. Do you believe in a higher power? Studies have shown that giving
gratitude to a higher power releases feelings of stress and depression.
There is a sense of belonging and family when you pray or just
acknowledge the universe for life and the gifts that it brings. Everyone
has a choice; it can be an organized religion that brings you peace or even
a connection to Mother Earth.
8. There is organized religion which also has a community to it. Many
religions involve themselves in charities that people can help with and
show compassion to others. Outside of the religious community, look for
organized groups with a common goal. You may want to join a nature
group and go on hikes with like-minded individuals. Or you may
consider joining groups that do community work, such as cleaning up the
town or feeding the homeless. Getting with people who share the same
beliefs and values as you do will help to increase your happiness as you
work towards the same goals.

Happy Hormones and How to Boost Them Naturally

Humans have experimented with various mood-altering chemicals for centuries.

Sometimes chemical usage is for curiosity, and for others, it may be a way to
change how someone feels about themselves. Many of the chemicals, such meth or
cocaine are, of course dangerous.

Knowledge is key to understanding not only the world but our bodies. We
naturally produce hormones that can alter our minds but in a very positive way
without harm. Even the way we breathe can alter our brains and how we feel.
We produce four main hormones, and we do it without having to think about it. By
focusing on hormones and how to release more into our bodies, we can alter our
moods drastically for the better.

We naturally produce:

1. Serotonin helps us to sleep deeper and feel more relaxed. It improves our
appetite, so we get enough food to help the body work, and it also helps
to digest what we eat. When you eat well and eliminate regularly, you
feel happy rather than moody.
2. Oxytocin production is essential for our relationships. Without proper
levels, it is difficult to express loving feelings, trust and empathize with
significant others. Mothers require good oxytocin levels for childbirth,
breastfeeding, and the maternal bonding needed for a wonderful
mother/child relationship.
3. Dopamine is an interesting hormone. It gets released when we do things
that give us pleasure like sexual relationships, exercise, and doing things
outdoors in the fresh air. What makes it interesting is that it is also
associated with learning and memorizing things that are important to us.
4. Endorphins are our natural pain medicine. It is highly recommended that
when we feel stress, instead of reaching for cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol,
we get out and exercise as hard as possible. This releases endorphins that
reduce stress levels. When we are in pain, we should seek to do
something like exercise or listen to music that energizes us. This will
help to release endorphins that lower the pain we feel. Endorphins also
get released by doing pleasurable things like eating good food or
engaging in sexual activity with someone we love.

Happy hormones can be increased by being thoughtful about what you are doing.
Ask yourself the right questions starting today. For starters, how often do you
laugh per day? If the answer is not at all or not enough, then you need to think
about your activities seriously.

Decrease or eliminate the activities that cause you to get angry, frustrated, sad, or
even depressed. For example, stop watching television programming that hits one
or all those points. Increase the amount of comedy shows you watch or get together
with friends or family and engage in activities that make you laugh.
You should increase the amount of time you spend outdoors. This means looking
for any chance to go bike riding, running, or hitting the beach. While doing these
activities, engage in snacks and beverages that are healthy and enjoyable to eat.

This will increase your hormone production. For example, if you go to the beach,
take a cooler with watermelon and bring your homemade booster juice to sip on
while you sit in the sun or come back from playing with a beach ball.

It is a no-brainer to get your exercise in. The benefits are huge, from weight loss,
great flexibility, and of course, happy hormone production. There are so many
ways to exercise, and again, if you can double it up, then go for it. For example, if
you have never played ping pong, then get involved in that game. Playing ping
pong for fun and exercise will get you laughing and even sweating a bit. You get a
workout for your muscles, and your frown gets turned upside into a smile.

We mentioned stress, and exercise is the best way to combat it. When you work
out hard, you will feel a bit sore; however, if you take notice, there will be an
amazing feeling of pleasure running through your body. This is your happy
hormones at work.

20 Affirmations For Happiness

Saying or writing out affirmations can make a huge difference in your life. When
we spend time worrying about various parts of our life, we engage in negative self-
talk. This can spiral into depression if we do not work on what we think and say.

To help you gain happiness, here are 20 affirmations you can start repeating daily.
Try to do these affirmations when you wake up and just before you go to bed. You
will not only feel happier, but you will sleep very soundly, and that is very healing.
Writing the affirmations down will help to install them into your subconscious
mind. It is always a great idea to purchase a notebook or journal that has images
that inspire you.

As you open your note, you may see an image of a butterfly on a flower which is
covered with morning dew. This will give you a sense of happiness and allow you
to work with joy while writing out the following affirmations.

1. “I have everything I need in life to be happy right now.”

 2. “I choose to be happy and grateful every day.”
3. "I let go of my past, and I am happy with a new positive frame of mind."
4. "Happiness is a choice, and I choose to be happy."
5. "I choose to think positive thoughts, and these thoughts are radiant bursts
of happiness."
6. “I give the gift of happiness to myself and everyone I meet by smiling.”
7. “Negative self-talk is banished from my mind. I choose to be happy and
think happy thoughts.”
8. "I am happy, healthy, and full of joy."
9. “Even the smallest things in life, such as a bee on a flower, brings me
happiness.”
10. "Happiness is my birthright, and I am worthy of all the good things in
life."
11. “No matter what life throws at me, I will use my happiness as a shield.”
12. "I choose to pursue peace, happiness, and harmony each and every day."
13. "I project happiness, and the universe seeks ways to increase my joy."
14. "I am blessed with success, money, happiness, and an abundance of
gratitude."
15. "I work daily on my energy, motivation, and happiness."
16. "Happiness is mine to claim, and I choose happiness right now."
17. “Whenever my happiness starts to wane, I remember that I am alive and
able to do anything I choose.”
18. "I am a happy and loving person, even when those around me choose not
to be."
19. "I give myself permission to thrive, and happiness flows through me."
20. “I am easily creating the happy life I crave.”

Now that you have 20 affirmations to start with, you need to choose how to use
them—we are talking about writing them down. You can also say them out loud or
combine that with writing them out. When you choose to say the affirmations out
loud, you must believe in them.

Saying affirmations in a weak voice takes away the power of the affirmation.

Many people choose to say the affirmation in front of a mirror and make powerful
gestures. Try doing a straightforward version of this to see just how it affects not
only your mind but your body. As you say, the affirmation, "I am happy," put a lot
of power into the word "am." You should feel a chill running through your body,
and it responds to the affirmation.
When you say the affirmations before you sleep, take some deep calming breathes
first. As you say the affirmation with your eyes closed, see yourself in a positive
light. For example, with the basic affirmation “I am happy,” picture yourself
glowing with a warm healing light.

As you get very comfortable saying the 20 happiness affirmations, consider writing
a few that are specific to you and your situation. Your happiness will become a
permanent part of your daily life.