Writing makes you happier

It seems much of the literature on the benefits of writing deals with “expressive writing,” or putting what you think and feel to paper (or, let’s be honest, to the keyboard).

For instance, one form of expressive writing might be thinking about and writing out your goals in life—an activity that research [1] has shown is beneficial for motivation.

Even blogging “undoubtedly affords similar benefits” [2] to private expressive writing in terms of the therapeutic value.

Expressive writing has also been linked to improved mood, well-being, and reduced stress levels for those who engage in it regularly.

Research [3] by Laura King shows that writing about achieving future goals and dreams can make people happier and healthier. Similarly, there’s plenty of evidence [4] that keeping a gratitude journal can increase happiness and health by making the good things in life more salient.

And Jane Dutton and I found [5] that when people doing stressful fundraising jobs kept a journal for a few days about how their work made a difference, they increased their hourly effort by 29% over the next two weeks.

Many people shun expressive writing because they don’t fully understand what it means. It doesn’t necessarily mean spilling your guts in essays starting with “Dear Diary.”

Writing leads to better thinking + communicating

Laziness with words creates difficulty in describing feelings, sharing experiences, and communicating with others.

Constantly having that “tip of the tongue” [6] feeling, or being able to flesh out thoughts in your mind only to have them come stumbling out when you speak is very frustrating. It paints an unfair picture of you, and regular writing can keep this from happening.

In both emotional intelligence and in “hard sciences” like mathematics, writing has been shown [7] to help people communicate highly complex ideas more effectively.

Writing helps eliminate “it sounded good in my head” syndrome. It forces ideas to be laid out bare for the thinker to see, where it is much less likely that they will be jumbled up like they are in your head (hey, it’s crowded up there).

Is writing an outlet for handling hard times?

The connection with expressive writing and traumatic events is quite complex.

On one hand, I’ve seen a study or two that shows especially stoic people tend not to receive many benefits when they write about their troubling times.

On the other hand, there are some pretty amazing studies that conclusively show writing about trauma is a powerful way to come to terms with what happened, and to accept the outcome.

In one interesting study [8] that followed recently fired engineers, the researchers found that those engineers who consistently engaged with expressive writing were able to find another job faster.

The engineers who wrote down their thoughts and feelings about losing their jobs reported feeling less anger and hostility toward their former employer. They also reported drinking less. Eight months later, less than 19% of the engineers in the control groups were reemployed full-time, compared with more than 52% of the engineers in the expressive writing group.

In an older study [9], writing about traumatic events actually made the participants more depressed… until about ~6 months later, when the emotional benefits started to stick.

One participant noted: “Although I have not talked with anyone about what I wrote, I was finally able to deal with it, work through the pain instead of trying to block it out. Now it doesn’t hurt to think about it.”

It seems that timing is critical for expressive writing to have an impact. “Forcing” the process to happen may only worsen things, but if it is an activity that is engaged in naturally, the benefits seem to be clear for many traumas [10].

Writing keeps you sharp with age

Writing is a thinking exercise, and like physical exercise, it can help keep you “in shape” as you age.

While the only research that I’ve seen discussed [11] mentions hand written ideas as a good cognitive exercise, I don’t think the leap to typing is all that far.

Just like how friendships help keep you happy and healthy through their ties to social interaction and dialogue, writing seems like the private equivalent — it keeps you thinking regularly and helps keeps the mental rust from forming.

Writing leads to increased gratitude

Counting your blessings is an activity that is proven to enhance one’s outlook on life.

As the authors noted one study [12], subjects who reflected on the good things in their life once a week (by writing them down) were more positive and motivated about their current situation and their future.

The thing was, when they wrote about them every day, the benefits were minimal.

This makes sense. Too much of any activity, especially something like reflecting on one’s blessings, can feel disingenuous and just plain boring if it is done too often.

In spite of this, it is interesting to me that writing about the good things in your life has such an impact. Perhaps because it forces you to really look at why those things make you happy.

Writing closes out your “mental tabs”

Have you ever had too many Internet tabs open at once? It is a madhouse of distraction.

Sometimes I feel like my brain has too many tabs open at once. This is often the result of trying to mentally juggle too many thoughts at the same time.

Writing allows abstract information to cross over into the tangible world. It frees up mental bandwidth, and will stop your Google Chrome brain from crashing due to tab overload.

Although I’ve heard it argued [13] that the information age might be making memories worse, I’m inclined to cite the quote about Hemingway from that very same article:

Hemingway’s words came from experience. When his wife lost a suitcase that contained all existing copies of his short stories, the work was, to his mind, gone for good. He had written himself out the first time around. He couldn’t recapture it–whatever it was–again.

Getting important ideas down alleviates the stress caused by anticipating this dreadful outcome. I’ve personally never felt inclined to not work on something just because I “archived” the idea with some notes or an outline—in fact, I’m more likely to work on it since it has already been started!

Remember these wise words from Mitch Hedberg:

I sit at my hotel at night, I think of something that’s funny, then I go get a pen and I write it down. Or if the pen’s too far away, I have to convince myself that what I thought of ain’t funny.

Don’t let that happen to you!

Writing leads to better learning

Information often better stays with us when learn as though we need to teach.

This concept of having a “writer’s ear” never fully clicked with me until I started writing regularly.

There’s a certain discipline required to create interesting written work that demands the individual be receptive and focused on finding new sources of information, inspiration, and insight. I’ve read books, listened to podcasts/radio, and watched videos I may have normally put off in order to learn something interesting that I might write about later.

Simply being a curator of good ideas encourages deeper thinking, research, and “heading down the rabbit hole” in order to find unique takes on topics that matter to you.

Committing to creating a volume of work also allows you to tackle big ideas more effectively.

From humble beginnings, writing around a certain topic for some time will allow you to build off of older thoughts, utilizing what you’ve already written down to develop ideas on a grander scale (I’m sure many writers have had a paragraph lead to an essay, which lead to a series of articles, which lead to a book).

In this way, writing encourages a specific style of personal development. You’ll begin to want to build on ideas, which will lead to a further exploration of your interests and a better understanding of your subject matter as you push onward into new topics and angles.

Writing is leadership at scale

Despite the fact that the world is now being suffocated by ‘new media,’ there are obviously a lot of interesting opportunities that an “anyone can publish” world brings about.

The ability to leave an impact at scale through your words alone is a pretty amazing concept.

The emails I’ve personally received, both for my personal work and my writing at Help Scout have been truly humbling. There’s a bit of a “creative shock” the first time someone emails you thanking you for the work you’ve put how, and how it has helped them.

Without a doubt, the positive feedback for this “leadership at scale” leads to a feeling of gratitude and happiness for the writer.

Even in the face of criticism, writers learn to build thick skin like few others. Criticism, even unwarranted criticism, is the breakfast of champions.

(More ideas on how to be a happier person here)

Sources

[1] http://psp.sagepub.com/content/27/7/798.abstract

[2] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-healthy-type/

[3] http://psp.sagepub.com/content/27/7/798.abstract

[4] http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/84/2/377/

[5] http://pss.sagepub.com/content/23/9/1033.short

[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tip_of_the_tongue#Causes

[7] http://www.edutopia.org/blog/writing-executive-function-brain-research-judy-willis

[8] http://amj.aom.org/content/37/3/722.short

[9] http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=1987-01227-001

[10] http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/171/1/78

[11] http://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704631504575531932754922518

[12] http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/gpr/9/2/111/

[13] http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/literally-psyched/2012/04/30/on-writing-memory-and-forgetting-socrates-and-hemingway-take-on-zeigarnik/

Article originally appeared on sparringmind.com and is written by Gregory Ciotti

4 Simple Steps To Get Great Posture (Video)

Our posture both reflects and creates how we feel and how we live, so obviously good posture is so important! When it's not so good, we often feel more sluggish and weak, but when it's good, we feel great! We have lots of energy, and we're strong enough to do anything we want.

Since our posture is created by what we do all day, it might take more than a few shoulder-rolls to get everything perfect. But there are some things you can actually do for just a few minutes each day that will help your body learn (and remember!) the optimal ways of moving and holding still. From here, great posture becomes an all-day, every-day good habit!

It's helpful to remember that posture isn't just about your shoulders and back. How you hold yourself builds on a chain of interconnected parts —  beginning at your ankles and then knees, up through your hips, belly, and lower back. From there it runs up the full length of your spine, into your neck and shoulders.

You want this chain to be not too taut, not too loose, but just right in the middle. Think of your body like water in a glass —  easily and fluidly movable, encompassed by a nice big container that keeps us from spilling all over the place!

Here are four key areas of movement that I cover in-depth for you in the video below. Try getting into each of these areas every single day, and your body will start to align perfectly and your back will thank you!

1. Get on your hands and knees (or feet!) and move everything you've got, in every direction you can move it.

This gives you a great way to move and explore the full length of your spine easily, in every possible direction. This kind of movement is critical for development of all the small supporting muscles along your spine, which in turn helps your ligaments restore and maintain proper position for healthy alignment.

2. Get up on your feet and challenge your balance.

By playing with balance, you further develop and fine-tune all the small supporting muscles in your body. These muscles are the key to how you hold yourself. When they're engaged and evenly-developed, you will naturally hold yourself up just right (without even tiring!) and be ready for anything.

3. Get all-around STRONG in your core!

We all know a strong core is necessary for a healthy back and good posture. Here, we'll get into your core as we did before, by moving evenly in every possible direction. By starting this multi-directional movement right from your center, we'll check off a key element in healing and strengthening your body's natural alignment systems.

4. Release and relax the hips and hamstrings.

Finally, we wind it down with some easygoing releases for your hips and thighs, by exploring all around these areas again, in every possible direction. Your legs and hips are a key part of the chain that sets up how you stand, sit, and move, so keeping them stress-free and easily movable is important.

When you awaken every inch of your body and move happily, your body becomes a wonderful orchestra —  all the pieces in tune, playing the best music there is.

Want perfect posture? Tune your orchestra! Move happily, everything you've got, in every direction you can. Do it every day, and you're going to like what happens to your body, I assure you.

Here's the video to get you started. Enjoy!
 

Article originally appeared on mindbodygreen.com and was written by Michael Taylor

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Why Do We Sneeze?

Whether you sneeze because of a cold, or after sex or a good meal or in sunlight, the good old Achoo is the body's way of ridding itself of irritants.

A sneeze seems like a simple thing—especially since it’s so common—but it’s a complex neurological phenomenon that occurs for a multitude of different reasons.

Sneezing, technically known as sternutation, is triggered by anything that irritates the nerve endings in the mucous membranes of the sinuses. The irritation sets off a reaction that sends signals to the brain stem, which controls most of the body’s essential functions, like breathing. The brain then tells the body to leap into action. The eyes close, the whole body contracts, and the glottis—a slit-like opening between the vocal cords—snaps shut as the body forcefully inhales. That’s followed by a powerful exhalation that, because the glottis is closed, has to go up through the nasal passage—the “achoo.” The exhalation expels the irritants.

A sneeze can contain 40,000 droplets (often packed with bacterial and viral particles), rushing out at an average speed of 100 miles per hour, but can range up to 600 mph. That’s a fast and furious way to spread disease, which is why doctors urge people to sneeze into their elbow.

But there’s still much that’s not known about what happens in the brain and why the sneeze mechanism developed.

Sneezing is most commonly associated with allergies, and colds, but can also be a non-allergic reaction to dust, perfume, mold, smoke, or even a change in temperature or the moisture content of the air. And, sneezing “may be seen with exercise, with a full stomach, and even after sex,” says Andy Nish, chief of allergy and asthma for the Northeast Georgia Physicians Group in Gainesville, Georgia.

Why after sex? Interestingly, erectile tissue is found not only in the genital area, but also in the mucous membranes of the nose, says Nish. The association between sneezing and sex was first written about in the 1880s, but was not more fully described until the 1970s. Although there seems to be a physiological cause for sneezing after orgasm, it’s still considered to be relatively rare.

Sneezing after a good meal has been reported even less often, but it still managed to get its own medical term—“snatiation”—for sneezing combined with satiation.

Some people sneeze in reaction to sunlight or bright light. Nish says the photic sneeze reflex is a genetic trait that affects about a quarter of humans. The reflex is also known as the ACHOO (autosomal dominant compelling helio-ophthalmic outburst) syndrome.

Almost everyone sneezes at some point—and often in clusters, which is likely a way for the body to fully clear the irritant, says Nish. “But an inability to sneeze over a prolonged period of time might raise concern for problems with the nervous system, since intact nerve pathways to and from the brain are necessary,” he says.

Sneezing is only rarely associated with serious disease. There have been reports of sneezing accompanying seizures, and preceding a stroke. So-called intractable—or incessant—sneezing has been identified as a potential psychiatric disorder in adolescent girls. Contrary to popular myth, sneezing does not cause the heart to stop.

It’s okay to try to prevent a sneeze, but it might lead to an unpleasant feeling, says Nish. If you feel a sneeze coming on and try to suppress or contain it, that may temporarily increase the pressure in your ears and upper airway, causing a popping sensation.

Humans are not the only creatures to sneeze. Nish says that cats, dogs, chickens and iguanas all sneeze. “Most of these sneezes are probably for the same reason that we sneeze, but in iguanas, the sneeze is actually an important means of getting rid of excess salt that its body no longer needs,” he says.

Throughout human history, sneezing has been interpreted as both good and bad. “The Greeks and the Romans took sneezing as a sign of wellness and expressed their good wishes to the person who sneezed using the phrase ‘Live long’ or ‘May Jupiter bless you,’” wrote Turkish researchers Murat Songu and Cemal Cingi in an overview article about the sneeze.

In the Talmud, it is considered to be a favorable omen if someone sneezes while praying, and it is common in China and Japan to believe that if a person sneezes without a reason, this means that somebody else is talking about him, according to Songu and Cingi.

Pagans thought that sneezing got rid of the devil, but that it also created an opening for “invasion by Satan and evil spirits, or even caused part of one’s soul being ‘thrown out of the body,’” say Songu and Cingi, who trace the phrase “God bless you,” to this Pagan belief.

While you might bless someone for sneezing, “the sneeze is actually a protective mechanism for them, but maybe not for you,” says Nish.


Article originally appeared on smithsonianmag.com, and was written by Alicia Ault.
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ask-smithsonian-why-do-we-sneeze-180957634/#H1GQ4Lsv4YPYL9Ma.99
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The Easiest Way to De-Stress: Use Your Physiology

Breathing is, fortunately, usually second nature. However, when we get flustered, our breath becomes short and shallow — and stress has nowhere to go but up.

In that flustered state, it’s easy to forget to be in the moment and, as they say, “just breathe.”

But if you pause for a moment and shift focus to your breath, or what's called breathing mindfully, wonderful mind/body effects start to happen almost immediately: The body’s relaxation response kicks in, heart rate slows, escalating emotions can level off, and things like blood pressure and heart rate start to ease back down into a healthier range.

Breathing mindfully is like an instant chill pill — minus the pill!

Mindful breathing helps relieve tension, restore energy, and reduce stress. It’s one of the fastest ways to combat the stresses of too-busy days.

Best of all, it's simple, effective, and can be done just about anywhere, at any time. For many people, though, the challenge isn't knowing when to breathe mindfully — most of us can feel stress rise — but how to do it on demand.

That's why I'm sharing my favorite breathing techniques, so you can train yourself to breathe mindfully wherever and whenever you need to.

Breathing 101: How to Tune into Your Frequency

If you’re new to the idea of mindful breathing, start by becoming aware of your breathing rhythms at different points throughout the day. You’ll start to notice the breath’s varying pace depending on what’s happening at a particular moment.

For example, if you’re upset, anxious, or you’re exercising, you’ll notice more rapid breathing. When you’re relaxed or falling off to sleep, you’ll notice breathing slows.

Once you’ve spent some time paying attention to your daily breathing rhythms, try practicing this simple form of awareness:

• Breathe shallowly and rapidly — and see how you feel.
• Then breathe deeply and slowly — and feel the difference.
• Breathe in and out, preferably through the nose, with the exhale lasting longer than the inhale.

As breaths come and go, they’ll teach you to let go and go with the flow. Remember, it’s not possible to control everything and be perfect — so “let it go” as you breathe with awareness.

The 3 Best Breathing Exercises To Soothe Your Body & Mind

1. "The Speedy Soother": A Basic Abdominal Breathing Exercise

• Find a quiet spot where you won’t be disturbed.
• Get into a relaxed position, either lying down or sitting up.
• Put your hands on your abdomen, close your mouth gently, touch your tongue to your upper palate, and breathe through your nose. If your nose is blocked for any particular reason, it's fine to breathe through your mouth.
• Inhale deeply and slowly into your abdomen rather than your chest, becoming aware of your diaphragm moving downward and your abdomen expanding. Your hands on your abdomen will feel the expansion like a balloon filling.
• At the end of the inhalation, don’t hold the breath; exhale slowly so that your abdomen falls automatically as you exhale.
• Try to get all the breath out of your lungs on the expiration. The expiration should normally be about twice as long as the inhalation when you're relaxed.
• Keep repeating this, keeping your focus on your hands rising on the abdomen with inhalation and falling as you exhale.

2. "The Tension Terminator": An Abdominal Breathing Exercise For Pain

• Find a comfortable position.
• Do 10 abdominal breaths.
• Then, imagine with your next inhalation that you're breathing into a tense area such as a tight neck, a strained lower back, your head, your buttocks, or wherever you may feel pain or tension.
• With the exhalation, let the tension go out of your nose along with the air.
• Keep repeating this until the pain or tension starts to ease.

3. "The Workday Wonder": A Quick, Do-Anywhere Breathing Exercise

• Place the tip of your tongue so that it’s touching the place where the back of your top teeth meet the roof of your mouth.
• Exhale completely, making a whooshing or sighing sound.
• Close your mouth and inhale through your nose for 4 counts, hold for 7, and exhale for 8 counts.

For more on the wonderful ways mindful breathing supports health and well-being, check out The 5 Healing Benefits of Breath.


Article originally on Mind Body Green and was written by by

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