Friday, April 29, 2011

Keeping with the Happy Theme; Scents, Colors, Foods, Sounds and Activities that Make Us Happy.

(Photo: freewebs.com)
 
Let's Forget Our Money Woes and Feel Good.

How can this picture not make you smile?!  While fiddling around online today, I saw this picture and it immediately put a huge smile on my face.  I wondered, "What sort of things, sensory wise, can make people happy?"  After all, who doesn't like to be happy?  Now, of course, having healthy relationships and fulfilling lives really should be what affect happiness.  But if other little things can make us even happier and help to forget our money troubles, then we should have at 'em!  So take a look at what I found out and remember to smile.

Happy Scents.  Different scents affect everyone differently.  There seems to be a strong connection between scents and memories.  A scent may remind you of a time when you were really happy and can change your mood whenever you smell it.  That same scent may have no affect on others.  I know that whenever I smell apple and cinnamon, it reminds me of the holidays and apple pie, leading to an immediate feeling of happiness. 

Color Me Happy.  Similar to the relationship between memory and scents affecting happiness, colors will also change your mood according to memories.  Yellow appears to be the most common happy color.  Most likely because of the general association with the sun.  
(Photo: prekinderdeer.blogspot.com)

Eat What Makes You Happy.  Some studies show that lack of certain nutrients and vitamins may actually make you feel depressed, so increasing certain nutrients can have the opposite effect.  Now I know why I love pasta so much; carbohydrates can increase serotonin which may help elevate your mood.  Folate rich foods can also help make you feel happy, such as peanuts, broccoli, spinach and strawberries.

Bring on the Music.  I think we all have certain songs that make us feel good or remind us of someone or a certain time in our life when we were especially happy.  So obviously there is a link between sounds and memories, which can affect your mood.  But music does more than just bring back memories.  It also can cause your brain to release dopamine which can give you a feeling of enjoyment and even motivate you.   

Exercise to be Both Happy and Healthy.  Studies have shown that exercising not only physically makes you feel good, but can affect you mentally as well.  Exercising releases "feel good" endorphins and may even make you feel better about yourself.

So let's see, we should work out while listening to music in a yellow room that smells like apple cinnamon (if you're me) and then eat a big bowl of pasta.  Now we have the answer to happiness.  You're welcome. 


References: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6741635/Men-prefer-smell-of-bacon-to-babies.html, http://www.blurtit.com/q941190.html, http://2leep.com/bar.php?s=54456, http://news.discovery.com/human/music-dopamine-happiness-brain-110110.html, http://www.alternet.org/health/111138?page=entire



 

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