Do you want to feel happier? Can you? New research from the UK shows that you most certainly can with the age-old advice to “eat your vegetables” (and fruit), and “play sports.”
“Lifestyle has a large and very significant impact on the physical health of individuals,” said the study authors. They wanted to find out whether lifestyle habits can also influence emotional health and life satisfaction.
Many factors affect how happy you feel:
• Your personality traits
• The environment you live in (neighbourhood, house)
• Your demographics (marital status)
• Your economics (job, income)
But, what about eating nutritious foods and being physically active? Can they also help people to feel happier?
The results of their study showed that, yes, both fruit and vegetable consumption, as well as participation in sports, are positively related to life satisfaction. This means that the more fruits and vegetables and sports that people partake in, the higher their levels of life satisfaction are. This is true for both men and women. In this study, the researchers found that women tended to eat more fruits and vegetables than men, and men tended to partake in more sports than women.
This study shows that implementing day-to-day healthy lifestyle improvements and keeping a focus on long-term benefits not only makes one more physically healthy, but also can result in being more satisfied with life.
The bottom line of this study is that: “F&V [fruit and vegetable] consumption and sports activity have a positive, significant impact on life satisfaction,” said the study authors. In fact, “Our … estimates show clearly that F&V and sports activity (both investments in a physically healthy future) are very effective in improving subjective wellbeing.”
The first thing to do is to have long-term health goals and be prepared to implement healthier lifestyle habits day-to-day to reach those goals. In other words, think about your “why”? Why do you want to eat more nutritious foods or be more physically active? This will be very unique to you, but may be, for example, to prevent or recover from a health issue, or to be strong enough to participate in an event or experience, or maybe to live long enough to make a difference in the world or to people you care about.
Then, when you have your long-term health goal—your why—clearly defined, be ready, willing, and able to action the steps you need to reach that goal. Delay gratification you may get by putting off that healthy meal or workout. Focus on the long-term. Think about how happy and satisfied you will be with your life in the future when you keep those everyday commitments to eat healthier and be physically active.
It may help to post some reminders of your long-term goal around your home and to make your healthier lifestyle habits convenient to do. For example, wash and chop your fruits and vegetables when you get home from the grocery store or market, and have your workout gear ready to go the night before. Then, do it.
