Living a healthy life is more than just eating right, exercising, and staying away from disease. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that seeking and creating happiness in your life benefits your overall health.
The study found that happiness effectively lowers levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol not only blows up worry, negativity, and stress; it is also linked to health problems such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and autoimmune diseases.
Realistically, happiness is not an everyday state and feeling for most or even all people. Still, Gabrielle Bernstein of New York Times believes that personal happiness, which she personally calls "miracles", is achievable through meditation. Bernstein is the author of the best-selling book, May Cause Miracles.
"Meditation provides time to reflect, bring inner peace, and make a true assessment of where you are in your life and where you can go," Bernstein writes in her newest New York Times best-seller.
Bernstein is right, as confirmed by a study from JAMA Internal Medicine which shows that meditation can help ease stress and relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Bernstein agrees that meditating daily ultimately improves state of one's health and quality of life. She recommends a strong commitment to one's meditation practice, as it gives you the "time to reflect, bring inner peace, and make a true assessment of where you can go." This is supported by a study published in JAMA Medicine, showing that meditation can help reduce stress and alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, both related to the development of health problems.
How does one develop happiness every day? Bernstein advises looking in the mirror every morning and being mindful of all the things you want to change, never forgetting that everything is a matter of choice. "Make a commitment to think differently about yourself and make happiness the first thing of the day", she adds.
