 |
 |
|
Happiness and Health are Clearly Linked
Sausalito, CA
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Put the New Research on Happiness to Work
in Your Work Life
Global Health Media
415) 785-7987
SAN FRANCISCO)---A subjective sense of well-being and perceived happiness have been the subject of several research studies in the past few years. Some initial findings by psychologist Martin Seligman on learned optimism have mushroomed into a positive psychology movement with new reports that life satisfaction and happiness should top the list as desirable health promotion and disease prevention strategies.
In fact, happiness is now largely regarded as a choice. That is the research conclusion from Ken Sheldon and Sonja Lyubomirsky, who were given a million dollar grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to explore strategies for increasing happiness. The "happiness interventions" aimed to discover which happiness-boosting strategies were most effective and why.
Dr. Lyubomirsky is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. She received her B.A. from Harvard and her PhD in social psychology from Stanford University. Her research has been the recipient of many honors, including the 2002 Templeton Positive Psychology Prize, and was summarized in her new book The How of Happiness.
How responsible are you for choosing happiness? She broke it down as follows:
-40% is determined by intentional activity – choosing to be happy;
-10% of your happiness is determined by circumstances and life events; and
-50% is determined by a default position, sort of "set point" of happiness that is natural for you.
Strategies for reinforcing happiness include keeping a gratitude journal, practicing forgiveness regularly, making sure you express appreciation to those your family, friends and co-workers, and developing positive ways for managing stress, hardship and trauma.
Bringing these happiness strategies into your work life requires a little more creative thought. You might have to poll your employees or co-workers about their own life satisfaction indicators.
What keeps your member and employees happy? Do they have sufficient personal time? Do employees have freedom to take personal days off as needed or time to take care of families? Are they appreciated and given opportunities to address role limitations, work concerns and problems with procedures or co-workers? Just asking the simple question, "During the past four weeks, have you been a happy person?" is what the researchers did in a new study that found subjective happiness and health are firmly linked. (1)
We already know that positive mood affects cardiac health after a heart attack, (2) and the Nun Study showed a link between positive emotions and longevity (3). With more research in the works, it's obvious that the best strategy for physical health is finding a clear path to experience peace, joy and positive relationships with others.
REFERENCES
1. Siahpush, M, Spittal, J, Singh, G. Happiness and life satisfaction prospectively predict self-rated health, physical health, and the presence of limiting, long-term health condition. Am J Health Promotion 2008 Sep-Oct; 23(1): 18-26.
2. Fredrickson BL, Levenson BW. Positive emotions speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negaive emotions. Cogn Emot. 1998:12:191-220.
3. Danner DD, Snowdon DA, Friesen WV. Positive emotions in early life and longevity: findings from the nun study. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2001;80:804-8113.
# # #
Dr. Meg Jordan is a clinical medical anthropologist and Professor of Integrative Health Studies at California Institute of Integral Studies. She can be reached at mjordan@ciis.edu.
in Your Work Life
Global Health Media
415) 785-7987
SAN FRANCISCO)---A subjective sense of well-being and perceived happiness have been the subject of several research studies in the past few years. Some initial findings by psychologist Martin Seligman on learned optimism have mushroomed into a positive psychology movement with new reports that life satisfaction and happiness should top the list as desirable health promotion and disease prevention strategies.
In fact, happiness is now largely regarded as a choice. That is the research conclusion from Ken Sheldon and Sonja Lyubomirsky, who were given a million dollar grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to explore strategies for increasing happiness. The "happiness interventions" aimed to discover which happiness-boosting strategies were most effective and why.
Dr. Lyubomirsky is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside. She received her B.A. from Harvard and her PhD in social psychology from Stanford University. Her research has been the recipient of many honors, including the 2002 Templeton Positive Psychology Prize, and was summarized in her new book The How of Happiness.
How responsible are you for choosing happiness? She broke it down as follows:
-40% is determined by intentional activity – choosing to be happy;
-10% of your happiness is determined by circumstances and life events; and
-50% is determined by a default position, sort of "set point" of happiness that is natural for you.
Strategies for reinforcing happiness include keeping a gratitude journal, practicing forgiveness regularly, making sure you express appreciation to those your family, friends and co-workers, and developing positive ways for managing stress, hardship and trauma.
Bringing these happiness strategies into your work life requires a little more creative thought. You might have to poll your employees or co-workers about their own life satisfaction indicators.
What keeps your member and employees happy? Do they have sufficient personal time? Do employees have freedom to take personal days off as needed or time to take care of families? Are they appreciated and given opportunities to address role limitations, work concerns and problems with procedures or co-workers? Just asking the simple question, "During the past four weeks, have you been a happy person?" is what the researchers did in a new study that found subjective happiness and health are firmly linked. (1)
We already know that positive mood affects cardiac health after a heart attack, (2) and the Nun Study showed a link between positive emotions and longevity (3). With more research in the works, it's obvious that the best strategy for physical health is finding a clear path to experience peace, joy and positive relationships with others.
REFERENCES
1. Siahpush, M, Spittal, J, Singh, G. Happiness and life satisfaction prospectively predict self-rated health, physical health, and the presence of limiting, long-term health condition. Am J Health Promotion 2008 Sep-Oct; 23(1): 18-26.
2. Fredrickson BL, Levenson BW. Positive emotions speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negaive emotions. Cogn Emot. 1998:12:191-220.
3. Danner DD, Snowdon DA, Friesen WV. Positive emotions in early life and longevity: findings from the nun study. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2001;80:804-8113.
# # #
Dr. Meg Jordan is a clinical medical anthropologist and Professor of Integrative Health Studies at California Institute of Integral Studies. She can be reached at mjordan@ciis.edu.
Meg Jordan, PhD., RN
Sausalito, CA
415-785-7987
