Tag Archives: body

Happiness is healthy

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Don’t worry, be happy”. It’s a catchy tune sung by Bob Marley. Being healthy makes us happy. But did you know that being happy can help keep us healthy?

“Happy people live longer, probably because happiness protects physical health.”

This was the conclusion of a research paper by Dutch sociologist Ruut Veenhoven
in The Journal of Happiness Studies in 2008 that looked at 30 follow-up studies on happiness and its effect on health and longevity.

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Shall we take the stairs?

Stairs in the Michigan Capitol

I was sitting in the back by the door.  After the meeting, and after many there had left, as two Michigan House Health Policy Committee members were walking out of the room one suggested that they take the stairs and the other concurred.

In the committee meeting, Meghan Swain of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health shared that childhood obesity has tripled in the state and adult obesity has doubled. A member of the committee shared that some of the members of the committee are now encouraging one another to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

The point was made that it’s not enough to talk about the importance of these things as they work to improve health in the state, but that they need to do something.

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