Immerse yourself in joy

Did you know it’s great for your health to build the pursuit of small joys into your every day? What makes you joyful?

Our pursuit of health can often focus on physical health, diet, and exercise. Many of us overlook the positive impact of paying attention to joy. Joy is more than a fleeting emotion – it is a state of being that can influence your mental, emotional, and physical health positively. 

Practice bringing attention to things that give you joy, to make joy part of your everyday life.

Practice finding ways to feel good

By cultivating our ability give attention to the things that make us feel good, we can bring positive change to ourselves and those around us. Try making joy a priority; embrace its transformative effects on your health journey.

Enjoy the benefits

Here are 5 reasons why you should seek to cultivate joy in you and your life. More joy in your day can:

• boost your immune system
• reduce your stress and anxiety
• enhance mental clarity and creativity
• improve relationships
• promote overall wellbeing

Boost your immune system

Regularly tapping into feelings of joy can help bolster our body's defences against illness and help overall health. Research has shown that positive emotions, such as joy, can enhance the function of the immune system. When we experience joy, our bodies release neurotransmitters like dopamine and endorphins, which are linked to stronger immune responses. 

Reduce stress and anxiety

Joy can counteract stress and anxiety. When we experience joy our bodies relax and decrease stress hormones like cortisol. By cultivating moments of joy through activities we love or spending time with loved ones, we can create a buffer against the negative effects of stress. This leads to greater emotional resilience and a calmer state of mind.

Enhance mental clarity and creativity

Joy has a way of clearing the mental fog and enhancing cognitive function. When we're joyful our minds are more open, creative, and receptive to new ideas. This can increase productivity, and a sense of purpose and fulfilment in our daily lives.

Improve your relationships

Joy is contagious. When we radiate joy, it can have a positive impact on the people around us, and strengthen our relationships and social connections. Joyful interactions foster empathy, compassion, and understanding, and create a supportive environment where communication flows more easily, conflicts are resolved more peacefully, and bonds are deepened.

Promote improved overall well-being

In neuroscience, it's said that ‘neurons that fire together wire together’. By consciously choosing to give attention to things that make you joyful, you fire and wire moments of joy into your neural pathways to create a default state of positivity and resilience.

Conversely, a critical and judgment bias can create a deep reflex of toxic biochemistry that can become heavy and depressing.