20 Tips For A Happier And Healthier Life by Jane Thurnell-Read

Here's 20 tips that can help you live a healthier happier life.

1. Panic and excitement involve similar bodily sensations - churning tummy, etc. It's how you label them that makes it panic or excitement. Why panic, when you could be excited?

2. When you have a disagreement or argument avoid the phrases 'you never ...' and 'you always …' - they are rarely true. Even if they are saying them is unlikely to lead to the person changing.

3. Just because alcohol doesn't contain chocolate drops, it doesn't mean it's not fattening.

4. You're less likely to suffer from a whiplash injury if your car head restraint is properly adjusted. It should be as close to the back of the head as possible, and the top should be level with the top of your head.

5. Physical tension and pain could be a symptom of rigidity of thoughts and feelings. Stretch and flex your mind and emotions.

6. "The magazine "Ultra Fit" says research now suggests that extended warm-downs of 10-15 minutes reduces post-exercise immune suppression.

7. "Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness." Edward Stanley

8. Look at the sky. Research has shown that people in hospital make a better recovery if they can see the sky from their hospital beds. Why wait to be ill? Enjoy it now.

9. In a study funded by Mind, the UK mental health charity, 80% of the participants said they felt better (emotionally and mentally) if they cut down on sugar.

10. When babies learn to walk, they keep on trying - they don't give up. When you're learning a new skill, be like a baby and just keep practising till you succeed.

11. Research by Martin E. P. Seligman found that volunteers who wrote and presented a letter of gratitude to someone they had never properly thanked were significantly happier and less depressed three months later. Try it yourself.

12. "Write the bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble." Arabic proverb

13. Drinking tea with meals increases your chances of suffering from anaemia as tea decreases the absorption of iron.

14. When using online shops, check that the URL in the navigation bar starts with 'https', not 'http', when you start to enter your credit card details. It's OK for it to start 'http' before this point.

15. To avoid conflict with your children give them a choice; e.g. would you like to go to bed at 8.30 pm or 8.40 pm?

16. Sit on a stability ball while working at the computer. It will help strengthen your core muscles, as many small muscles work to keep you stable.

17. Research has shown that eating early means you are less likely to snack mid-morning.

18. Sometimes diabetes appears a few years after chemotherapy, so if you've had chemotherapy be aware of this as a possibility.

19. Don’t have your blood pressure taken when you’re thirsty, as it could distort the reading.

20. Don't take health advice from unhealthy people.

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