By now, we would have seen, felt, or noticed that happiness has its connection with physical wellbeing. A wise king once said, “A merry heart doeth good like medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones,” which means that happiness promotes healing and overall wellbeing.
In light of this, the remaining habits we will be considering for physical wellbeing this week are practising kindness,
journaling daily gratitude, and meditation.
Read also: Promoting physical well-being with new habits
Random act of kindness: RAK is a slight twist to DAK (Deliberate Act of Kindness). The main difference between the two forms of kindness is the spontaneity that adds a layer of effect to any planned charitable move. These spontaneous gestures corroborate the inconsequentiality of the amount spent; as it’s often said, “It’s the thought that counts.” Kindness has a profound impact on our physical health. It not only shifts attention from oneself to another person but also triggers something on the inside that spurs mood elevation. For instance, holding the door for someone, giving a compliment, or helping a colleague with their work are all simple acts of kindness that can be practised daily.
In a prosocial spending versus personal spending study carried out by Dr Elizabeth Dunn et al. in 2008, some intriguing facts came out to prove the interconnectedness between happiness and spending in the least expected form. In the research, five to twenty dollars were given to all participants, who were split into two groups. The first group of spenders had to spend the money on someone else as a gift, treat, or donation, while the second group spent it on themselves. The outcome revealed that those who spent on others were happier than those who spent on themselves. Subsequent research further showed that prosocial spending activates reward centres in the brain with long-term wellbeing effects. It releases the feel-good hormone known as dopamine into the giver’s body. This neutral response can have physical benefits, such as reduced stress. The study revealed one of the few ways money can buy happiness, as prosocial spending profoundly defies culture and individual preferences.
Meditation: Meditation is a powerful habit everyone must cultivate for numerous reasons. However, there is no talking of meditation without mentioning mindfulness, even though mindfulness should not necessarily be staying still or being in a quiet place alone. Mindfulness means being aware of oneself and the environment by paying attention to yourself (body, mind, and soul) and what goes on around you. Observing, weighing words before speaking them out, and checking in on loved ones, friends, and colleagues are all acts of mindfulness. Taking deep breaths, an exercise associated with meditation and mindfulness, promotes brain health. For example, a study published in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging found that meditation increases the density of the brain’s grey matter, especially in areas linked to self-awareness and attention. This grey matter density helps people perform better academically than those who don’t meditate. Some studies proved this by comparing the overall performance of two groups of GMAT test takers. The outcome revealed that the meditators did better than their counterparts due to daily meditation. Moreover, taking deep breaths—a calm routine exercise—also powerfully clears the head from fogginess and lingering headaches. This is so because the exercise enhances oxygen flow into the brain for clarity, proper brain function, and smooth flow of blood within its vessels.
Journaling: Journaling is wonderful. I recall my first experience at the university during my master’s program. Our people management professor had made daily journaling mandatory and to be submitted at the end of the semester for assessment. His feedback on my work was shocking and reawakening, leading me to write today. The exciting thing about this habit is that journaling is not only for writers or people who are good with words. It’s a habit that everyone can and should form; hence, we are all encouraged to start with gratitude. There is a thing or two you would come across in a day that would make you thankful for life, love, people, food, or even the air you breathe. Gratitude journaling calls for reflection, which makes you realise that you are blessed beyond your thoughts or imaginations, even if it doesn’t seem so.
Read also: Doom Spending: How emotional well-being drives impulse buying among Gen Z and millennials in Nigeria
As journaling comes through reflection, focus, and deep search, it helps put things in the right perspective, spurring deliberate actions that improve physical wellbeing.
Call to action:
Good habits take time and effort to stick. You need at least forty days of unbroken daily input and actions to form a good habit or break a bad one. Replacing a bad habit with a good one is one of the secrets behind successfully breaking it. So, which of the ten habits discussed in this physical wellbeing month would you use to replace a bad one? How do you intend to go about it? If you are struggling at all with this, reach out to me for help by sending an email to [email protected].
Olayinka Opaleye is a Wellbeing Specialist and Corporate Wellness Strategist. She can also be reached at +234 8100371304 or by clicking on www.linkedin.com/in/olayinkaopaleye.
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