Six ways to feel instantly happier for a healthy heart

The fact that having a positive outlook on life is more likely to keep your heart in good health should come as no real surprise.

Anxiety, stress and depression are renowned for releasing an excess of the unhealthy hormone cortisol, which is linked to higher cardiac troponin T levels. This means that people who are suffering from mental stress and unhappiness are more likely to develop heart disease. If you are currently reading this, chances are that finding out your current mind-set is also making you ill isn’t going to help matters so to pick things back up, here are six ways to feel happier:

Drink a glass of milk

Here’s hoping you’re not lactose intolerant because dairy contains an essential amino acid called tryptophan which is needed to boost serotonin levels, the hormone that makes you happy! You can also find tryptophan in oats, dried dates, red meat and pumpkin seeds but there’s something soothing about a cool glass of milk.

Smile like you mean it

Something that’s surprisingly difficult to do is smile when you’re unhappy. However, you’ve got to fake it until you make it because smiling can help elevate your mood almost instantly. The muscles we use on our face to smile draw on happy memories and before you know it you’ll be laughing your way into the next week.

Get into nature

Just 15 minutes of nature can make us happier, according to Time magazine and just about anyone else who’s tried it. You don’t have to find a secluded spot in a deep forest, even carrying a pine cone with you can be enough to keep you in touch with nature. However, for best results, lose yourself every now and then in a park somewhere.

Phone a friend

Sometimes, distracting your unhappiness with other people’s news is the best way to get yourself out of the dumps. Call up a friend, member of the family or even someone you don’t know that well and ask them how they are, what they’ve been up to and how they’re feeling. Taking the focus away from your own problems can help you to see things in perspective and make you happier in the long run, plus, you’re being a great friend!

Get more sleep

We all love a good eight-hour sleep, so why do we starve ourselves of this vital horizontal healing phenomenon? In a study of more than 5,600 sleep-deprived individuals (people who slept fewer than six hours a night) the results showed that they were more likely to suffer a stroke than their well-rested counterparts due to the stress that a lack of sleep put on their body. You probably already knew this, so use it as another sign you need to go to bed earlier.

Have some veg

Unhappy? Well, when did you last have a really healthy meal? Eating the right food will turn you from hangry to happy in minutes, get yourself to the shop (or restaurant if you’re really sad)!