July is Social Wellness Month, so DoctorsCare wants you to focus on nurturing yourself and your relationships. Here are some scientifically proven ways to boost your happiness and overall contentment
Social wellness means nurturing yourself and relationships as well as giving and receiving social support. Social support ensures that you have friends and family that you can turn to in times of need to help give you a positive self-image and broader focus. Social wellness is important because healthy relationships are an essential part of your overall health. Health risks from being alone or isolated are comparable to those associated with smoking, blood pressure, and obesity.
So what are some scientifically proven ways you can boost your happiness?
Get more sleep
- Lack of sleep can weaken your immune system, make maintaining a healthy weight difficult, interfere with learning and memory, and contribute to high blood pressure.
- Sleeping more helps our bodies recover from the day.
- More sleep helps us focus, which leads to being more productive.
- It’s also proven to affect our sensitivity to negative emotions.
Exercise
- Exercise helps you relax and increases brainpower.
- Even if your appearance doesn’t change, a study in the Journal of Health Psychology found that people who exercised felt better about their bodies.
- Exercise is a quick ticket to be happy, as you only need a short workout to feel better.
Get outside
- A study found that spending 20 minutes outside in good weather boosted positive mood and improved working memory.
- Use the outdoors to do double duty and include exercise in your time spent outdoors. For example, go for a walk, hike, or do a quick workout outside during your lunch break.
Unplug often
- While technology makes life easier, it doesn’t increase happiness.
- Activities related to smartphones, such as scrolling on social media, have been linked to decreased happiness.
- Those who unplug often tend to be happier, so take a break, especially before bed and consider reading or meditating instead.
These all seem simple enough, so why not challenge yourself to take more time to boost your happiness during social wellness month. You’ll be happy you did it!
Visit one of our two conveniently located offices in Clarksville. We accept walk-in patients of all ages during all hours of operation. No appointment is necessary! Walk-in, feel better!