simple pleasures | The Health Sessions

19 Fun Ideas to Bring More Laughter in Your Life, Even When You’re In Pain

This blog post contains some affiliate links to resources you may find useful, at no extra costs to you. All opinions are my own.

You know how they say that laughter is the best medicine? As frivolous as that may sound, there actually is some truth in that.

Research confirms that having a strong sense of humor helps you live longer, even if you have poor health. That’s because laughter releases endorphins that boost your mood and counteract the negative effects of stress, like compromised immunity. Even better, these feel-good chemicals raise your ability to ignore pain, making genuine laughing a fun tool to manage chronic pain.

Laughing out loud also supports your heart health, by increasing your heart rate and the amount of oxygen in your blood as well a lowering your blood pressure. And let’s not forget how humor lightens your burden, strengthens your relationships and helps you deal with distressing emotions.

These benefits are no joke, so why aren’t we laughing and smiling more?

How Arts Can Improve Your Mental Health

This article is written by Justin Osborne.

Art is one of the most important fundamental expressions humans are capable of. From the prehistoric cave drawings to the modern-day artworks, we used brushes, instruments, words, and movements to communicate what goes beyond our everyday tasks and basic needs.

Creating and experiencing art lifts spirits, helps make connections, and at times, makes us experience feelings that can be described as “glimpses of eternity”. Knowing this, it comes as no surprise that creative arts have a huge positive impact on human health, improving focus on positive life experiences, reducing stress levels, and alleviating physical pain among others.

When it comes to the effect artistic expression can have on an individual’s mental state, here’s what benefits you can expect if you include creativity into your everyday routine.

8 Science-Backed Strategies to Boost Your Mood

There’s nothing wrong with being sad, frustrated or angry from time to time. Life isn’t always easy and you don’t have to “just be positive” all the time when you’re struggling with your health, relationships or finances.

But when you feel down, worried or tense more often than not, it may be a warning sign for you to take action. Depression and anxiety disorders can have a really negative impact on your health, happiness and overall functioning. So what can you do to take care of your mental health?

Have a look at these 8 scientifically proven strategies to boost your mood.

21 Mini Adventures to Spice Up Everyday Life (Even If You’re Chronically Ill)

Are you hungry for adventure or longing for that rush of excitement that a first-time experience brings you?

Life with chronic illness, injury or disability can be pretty dull – with mostly unpleasant surprises instead of exciting ones. Unfortunately, backpacking through Europe, rock climbing or partying at festivals are probably not in the cards for you right now. But that doesn’t mean you can’t bring a sense of novelty and excitement to your day-to-day life.

When you break out of your usual routine, your brain releases the happiness hormone dopamine to store information in your memory and create new neural connections.

So if you have some energy to spare, boost your happiness by shaking things up with ‘mini adventures’.

4 Easy Ways to Pamper Yourself at Home

This article is written by Sarah Smith.

Summertime is upon us, and that means a lot of people will be spending time outdoors. However, if you are an individual with health problems, you may not be able to spend as much time outdoors as others. Therefore, you need to come up with ways to pamper yourself at home in order to keep yourself occupied during your free time.

Since many people exert a lot of time and energy into their work, coming up with leisure activities at home to occupy your time that doesn’t include rest may be challenging. If you are one of those people who can not spend much time outdoors, and are struggling to figure out what to do in your spare time at home, you have stumbled upon the right post. In this article, we will be discussing four ways to pamper yourself at home!