PULSE Magazine | February 2019 Issue

Whether you view the glass as half empty or half full may help determine your risk for heart disease. Just as negative emotions such as depression, anger, and hostility are risk factors for heart at- tack and stroke, happiness seems to protect the heart. Researchers followed 1,739 healthy adults for 10 years to determine whether attitudes affected their health. At the start of the study, trained profes- sionals assessed the participants' degree of expression of negative emotions like depression, hostility, and anxiety and positive emotions such as joy, happiness, and excitement. A Happy Heart is a Healthy Heart

Happiness and the Heart After accounting for known heart disease risk factors, the researchers found that the happiest people were 22% less likely to develop heart disease over the 10 years of follow-up than people who fell in the middle of the negative-positive emotion scale.

People with the most negative emotions had the highest risk for heart disease and people who scored highest for happiness had the lowest risk.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy When it comes to keeping your heart healthy, sometimes laughter is the best medicine. Not only is it free of charge, research shows that laughing can actually strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, alleviate pain and protect you from the damaging effects of stress.

So, How can something as simple as humor help your heart and health?

 Laughter relaxes the whole body . A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.  Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases im- mune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.  Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endor- phins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.  Laughter protects the heart . Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems With so much power to heal, the benefits of laughter don’t stop there. Be at peace . Control of mind can be more difficult to achieve than control of the body, but it is well worth the effort. Train yourself to accept things you cannot change and you will have more energy to change the things you can control. Breathe easy . Slow, deep breathing is relaxing and helps slow and smooth out body motion. Avoid taking short, jerky breaths or holding the breath when using the arms or when in a hurry. Slow, deep breathing uses more of your lungs and gets more oxygen into your blood. Simplify work . When tackling individual tasks, break down the operation into steps and figure out the most efficient way of accomplishing the task. Do them in the same way each time as repetition will make you more proficient and save time and energy. When you work more efficiently, you reduce the strain on your heart and cardiovascular system. Plus, you’ll minimize fatigue, shortness of breath and back pain, prevent injury and increase your energy level. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy.

additional strategies that could help people become happier, including:

 Express gratitude on a regular basis.  Practice being optimistic.  Engage in frequent acts of kindness.  Visualize one's best self.  Savor joyful events.  Practice forgiveness.

Data from Harris Regional, Piedmont , NIH Health News

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