Beat depression
Give to charity
Money can’t buy you happiness, but giving it away will lift your mood. Harvard Business School found that spending as little as £3 on others instantly makes you happier. A 2008 study published in the journal Science found that people were more content if they felt their money was having a positive impact on others, and not just themselves. Leave a bigger tip at lunch, or put a little something into that Christian Aid envelope.
Lovebomb your partner
Make your first text message or tweet of the day a slushy one. For this simple karmic act, known to pop philosophers as “paying it forward”, you can expect a good vibe in return. For ideas of what to write in your message, dip into Tweetie Pie: 140 Ways To Say I Love You (Orion, £6.99), a new pocket-book full of epithets such as “We didn’t speak much last night. We didn’t need to. I like that. xxx”.
Get singing
You don’t have to audition for Simon Cowell to feel the benefit: singing to yourself in the shower is an easy way to boost your levels of oxytocin, a feel-good hormone that scientists believe also acts as a natural painkiller. A report by the University of Sydney revealed that belting out a song has a palliative effect. “It lifts the mood, removes stress, and makes people feel better and happier,” says Sue Philips of the Alzheimer’s Society in Wales, which has set up singing groups for people with dementia. Reports suggest that singing can also improve cognitive function, reduce depression and boost the immune system.
Get the teas in
Psychologists at Yale University found that workers were more kindly disposed towards their colleagues, seeing them as more generous and caring if they had just held a warm drink in their hands.
“Physical warmth can make us see others as warmer people, but also cause us to be warmer – more generous and trusting – as well,” said the report’s co-author, Professor John A Bargh. So who will get in the next tea round, then?
Sit up straight
It can be difficult to summon up the enthusiasm to exercise at this time of year, but performing gentle exercises while sitting will help lift your mood. Wendy Oliver, a trainer who runs the Touch Studios in Bristol, says: “The answer is to engage in exercises that focus on enhancing posture. Our moods have a big influence on our posture and stance, creating tension in our bodies.”
Eat yourself happy
There is no end of advice at this time of year on what to eat to live healthier and get thinner. However, some foods will also help lift your mood. Ian Marber, from the Food Doctor nutrition consultants, recommends eating raw green beans, which are rich in magnesium, a nutrient that reduces emotional irritability and belligerence; the Institute of Psychiatry found magnesium deficiencies in patients who suffered from depression.
Low levels of vitamin B12 are also associated with mood swings; one serving of red snapper has three times your recommended daily intake. Something of an acquired taste, liquorice contains isoflavene, which helps control reactions to stress. Break out the Allsorts.
Go dancing
This is not recommended just for Strictly Come Dancing addicts going cold turkey. A quick foxtrot around the living room will release enough endorphins, the feel-good hormone, to take your mind off the bleakness of the weather. Former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips says: “Dancing isn’t just about the physical benefit – it makes you feel good, too. Watch people walking down the street: if they’re listening to music there’s a spring in their step.”
Go barefoot
Walking around the office in bare feet will give you a quick physical lift. Dr Liz Miller, in her new book Moodmapping (Rodale, £8.99), says: “Tired feet make you feel tired. By giving them new sensations, and allowing your toes to move, you wake up a part of the body normally enclosed and give yourself a reflexology session. Once your feet feel better, the rest of you will, too.”
Get flirty
If any excuse were needed, it is good to practise your chat-up lines. “Part of your brain’s hypothalamus responds to flirtatious encounters by producing the hormone dopamine,” says Dr Michael Green, a neurologist at Aston University. “Brain cells that store it are then primed to fire the feel-good chemical into your synapses.” And if your other half finds out, you have the perfect explanation.
Say it with flowers
A study by Harvard Medical School has shown that floral-scented candles can put a smile on your face. Researchers found that a votive or two can reduce anxiety, make you feel more enthusiastic and give your spirits a lift. A behavioural study also suggested that “morning people” felt far happier and more energetic after waking to a vase of fresh-cut flowers. That’s petal power for you.
Listen to the birds
Birdsong can help you through the gloom of shorter winter days, says the National Trust, which has launched an online audio guide to Britain’s best-loved birds. Trust ecologist Peter Brash says that listeners will feel better for hearing it. “Taking the time out to listen to five minutes of birdsong every day could be beneficial to our wellbeing – although there is no real substitute for listening to birds singing in the outdoors, and we’re never far away from birdsong wherever we are.”
A study of the mood-altering effect of sounds by Goldsmiths College, University of London, found that even a short burst of birdsong – or other “happy” sounds such as crashing waves and crackling fires – affects perceptions, creating the illusion that you are content in your surroundings and making the day seem more bearable.
To coincide with the Big Garden Birdwatch, the Telegraph has teamed up with RSPB to compile The Essential Guide to British Garden Birds, free inside The Daily Telegraph on January 29. Meanwhile, inside The Sunday Telegraph (January 30th) you will find a free CD of uplifting birdsong, The Dawn Chorus. For more details, visit telegraph.co.uk/promotions
Write a journal
Today is the day you need to focus on the good things in your life. Before bedtime, write down all the things you have to be grateful for, as well as all the things that went well over the course of the day. Effective journal-writing captures the essence of your thoughts, provides reflection, allows for creativity, sharper memories, self-examination, and spiritual direction for a more complete person. Doing this also helps you wind down, ensuring a better night’s sleep.
Professor James Pennebaker, from the University of Texas, who has carried out numerous experiments on the health benefits of expressing your thoughts and feelings in writing, found that journal-keepers produce less cortisol, a stress hormone, and demonstrate a more vigorous antibody response to bacteria and viruses. “Writing a diary is a chance to stop, stand back and look at your life,” he says. “Use the quiet time to make life-force corrections.”
Give to charity
Money can’t buy you happiness, but giving it away will lift your mood. Harvard Business School found that spending as little as £3 on others instantly makes you happier. A 2008 study published in the journal Science found that people were more content if they felt their money was having a positive impact on others, and not just themselves. Leave a bigger tip at lunch, or put a little something into that Christian Aid envelope.
Lovebomb your partner
Make your first text message or tweet of the day a slushy one. For this simple karmic act, known to pop philosophers as “paying it forward”, you can expect a good vibe in return. For ideas of what to write in your message, dip into Tweetie Pie: 140 Ways To Say I Love You (Orion, £6.99), a new pocket-book full of epithets such as “We didn’t speak much last night. We didn’t need to. I like that. xxx”.
Get singing
You don’t have to audition for Simon Cowell to feel the benefit: singing to yourself in the shower is an easy way to boost your levels of oxytocin, a feel-good hormone that scientists believe also acts as a natural painkiller. A report by the University of Sydney revealed that belting out a song has a palliative effect. “It lifts the mood, removes stress, and makes people feel better and happier,” says Sue Philips of the Alzheimer’s Society in Wales, which has set up singing groups for people with dementia. Reports suggest that singing can also improve cognitive function, reduce depression and boost the immune system.
Get the teas in
Psychologists at Yale University found that workers were more kindly disposed towards their colleagues, seeing them as more generous and caring if they had just held a warm drink in their hands.
“Physical warmth can make us see others as warmer people, but also cause us to be warmer – more generous and trusting – as well,” said the report’s co-author, Professor John A Bargh. So who will get in the next tea round, then?
Sit up straight
It can be difficult to summon up the enthusiasm to exercise at this time of year, but performing gentle exercises while sitting will help lift your mood. Wendy Oliver, a trainer who runs the Touch Studios in Bristol, says: “The answer is to engage in exercises that focus on enhancing posture. Our moods have a big influence on our posture and stance, creating tension in our bodies.”
Eat yourself happy
There is no end of advice at this time of year on what to eat to live healthier and get thinner. However, some foods will also help lift your mood. Ian Marber, from the Food Doctor nutrition consultants, recommends eating raw green beans, which are rich in magnesium, a nutrient that reduces emotional irritability and belligerence; the Institute of Psychiatry found magnesium deficiencies in patients who suffered from depression.
Low levels of vitamin B12 are also associated with mood swings; one serving of red snapper has three times your recommended daily intake. Something of an acquired taste, liquorice contains isoflavene, which helps control reactions to stress. Break out the Allsorts.
Go dancing
This is not recommended just for Strictly Come Dancing addicts going cold turkey. A quick foxtrot around the living room will release enough endorphins, the feel-good hormone, to take your mind off the bleakness of the weather. Former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips says: “Dancing isn’t just about the physical benefit – it makes you feel good, too. Watch people walking down the street: if they’re listening to music there’s a spring in their step.”
Go barefoot
Walking around the office in bare feet will give you a quick physical lift. Dr Liz Miller, in her new book Moodmapping (Rodale, £8.99), says: “Tired feet make you feel tired. By giving them new sensations, and allowing your toes to move, you wake up a part of the body normally enclosed and give yourself a reflexology session. Once your feet feel better, the rest of you will, too.”
Get flirty
If any excuse were needed, it is good to practise your chat-up lines. “Part of your brain’s hypothalamus responds to flirtatious encounters by producing the hormone dopamine,” says Dr Michael Green, a neurologist at Aston University. “Brain cells that store it are then primed to fire the feel-good chemical into your synapses.” And if your other half finds out, you have the perfect explanation.
Say it with flowers
A study by Harvard Medical School has shown that floral-scented candles can put a smile on your face. Researchers found that a votive or two can reduce anxiety, make you feel more enthusiastic and give your spirits a lift. A behavioural study also suggested that “morning people” felt far happier and more energetic after waking to a vase of fresh-cut flowers. That’s petal power for you.
Listen to the birds
Birdsong can help you through the gloom of shorter winter days, says the National Trust, which has launched an online audio guide to Britain’s best-loved birds. Trust ecologist Peter Brash says that listeners will feel better for hearing it. “Taking the time out to listen to five minutes of birdsong every day could be beneficial to our wellbeing – although there is no real substitute for listening to birds singing in the outdoors, and we’re never far away from birdsong wherever we are.”
A study of the mood-altering effect of sounds by Goldsmiths College, University of London, found that even a short burst of birdsong – or other “happy” sounds such as crashing waves and crackling fires – affects perceptions, creating the illusion that you are content in your surroundings and making the day seem more bearable.
To coincide with the Big Garden Birdwatch, the Telegraph has teamed up with RSPB to compile The Essential Guide to British Garden Birds, free inside The Daily Telegraph on January 29. Meanwhile, inside The Sunday Telegraph (January 30th) you will find a free CD of uplifting birdsong, The Dawn Chorus. For more details, visit telegraph.co.uk/promotions
Write a journal
Today is the day you need to focus on the good things in your life. Before bedtime, write down all the things you have to be grateful for, as well as all the things that went well over the course of the day. Effective journal-writing captures the essence of your thoughts, provides reflection, allows for creativity, sharper memories, self-examination, and spiritual direction for a more complete person. Doing this also helps you wind down, ensuring a better night’s sleep.
Professor James Pennebaker, from the University of Texas, who has carried out numerous experiments on the health benefits of expressing your thoughts and feelings in writing, found that journal-keepers produce less cortisol, a stress hormone, and demonstrate a more vigorous antibody response to bacteria and viruses. “Writing a diary is a chance to stop, stand back and look at your life,” he says. “Use the quiet time to make life-force corrections.”
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