How to be Happy
Happiness and Endorphins

Do YOU:

1. Walk, run, swim, jog or play sport regularly.
   
   Never
   occasionally
   every day


2. Wear red, yellow or orange clothes
   
   Never
   occasionally
   every day


3. Eat chocolate
   
   Never
   occasionally
   every day


4. Enjoy spicy foods especially chilli
   never
   occasionally
   every day


5. Have a regular massage or acupuncture
   Never
   occasionally
   every day


6. Practice meditation or Yoga
   Never
   occasionally
   every day


7. Listen to Classical music
   Never
   occasionally
   every day


8. Smile at others (or to yourself)
   Never
   occasionally
   every day


9. Enjoy a good belly laugh
   Never
   occasionally
   every day


10. Feel moved by beauty - art, music, drama
    Never
    occasionally
    every day


11. Enjoy the sun / the thought of it
    Never
    occasionally
    every day


12. Like to go fast. Enjoy roller coasters, extreme sports, scary movies
    Never
    occasionally
    every day


13. Have sex, make Love
    Never
    occasionally
    every day


14. Have a pet or pets
    No
    Yes

How did you do?
Score 1 for NEVER, 3 for OCCASIONALLY, 5 for EVERY DAY
Score 1 for NO PETS and 5 for PETS

Scoring is easy. The higher your score the more happiness activities you are already doing and the more endorphins you should already be producing.

The Science behind feeling Happy. What are Endorphins?

If your score is low, then check back on the list and see what else you're attracted to as part of your daily routine.

When you uncover your secret of How to be Happy, don't keep it to yourself - TELL EVERYONE!

Want to fine-tune your score, then check out the endorphin rating below for each activity. The higher the number, the higher the rating.

Activity	Rating	Comment
Chocolate	1	You only need a nibble
Spicy food/chili	1-3	Here it's the hotter the better - the higher rating
Sun, sunshine	2	The power of thought works here too. So visualise and feel it warming you all over
Laughing, giggling	2-3	Known to boost your immune sytem too. Hence the expression, laughter is the best medicine
Exercise	2-4	Depends on what you do and how long you do it.
Acupuncture/massage	3	Add creams or oils for a more sensual experience
Thrill-seeking/Going fast	3-5	It's personal - depends on your fear threshold
Sex, Making love, orgasm	5	Less time and effort than all that exercise

MORE Tips on How to be Happy

• Listen to classical music, especially baroque
  Classical music from the baroque period causes the heart beat and pulse rate to relax to the beat of the music
ABSTRACT:
Objective: To determine the effect of ambient baroque music on the behaviour of patients with dementia in a nursing home.

Method: An observational study involving 14 dementia patients in a nursing home for six weeks.
We measured adverse patient behaviours such as episodes of calling out, wandering, aggression, talking to self, verbal abuse and signs of agitation, as well as need for night sedation.

Results: Adverse behaviours decreased by over 40% during the intervention period.

Conclusions: A strong positive result was obtained in this pilot study. Potential benefits of the intervention are considerable as it is non-invasive, cost-effective and pleasant for patients and staff alike. Larger, randomised controlled studies are warranted.

Taken from Australian Journal for Ageing

• Take up meditation or yoga. They strengthen your body and mind providing mental peace and physical power, help you fight disease and live longer and healthier.


• Wear Blue for relaxation and tranquility. Wearing ocean hues of blue is especially calming. Indigo or darker blues can offer more of a comfort zone feeling,


• Wear pink to soothe Wearing pink conveys compassion and an open heart.

• Wear Red for confidence, empowerment and passion


• Wear Orange it is a high energy and fun color and can make you feel quite playful.

• Wear Green to refresh, normalize and balance your bodyGreen represents the Spring season and new growth - wear this color whenever you are embarking on something new or wish to turn over a new leaf.

Do it. Be Happy!