5 Simple Habits for Happiness, Stress Relief, and Emotional Wellness

Life has a way of taking unexpected twists and turns. While those turns can bring joy and delight, they can also create circumstances that are less than desirable. When this happens, we have more control over a situation than we may believe. There are five simple things you can start doing today to relieve stress and build habits for happiness. You can start implementing these 5 habits for happiness today.

Happiness and Health Are Connected

Many people think happiness is simply an emotion, but research suggests it affects physical health as well. Chronic stress can impact digestion, sleep, inflammation, immune function, and overall wellness. Positive emotions, social connection, gratitude, and stress-management practices help support the nervous system and may improve overall well-being.

This connection between the brain, nervous system, and digestive system is often referred to as the gut-brain axis. Building simple habits that improve emotional wellness may benefit both mental and physical health.

5 Habits for Happiness

1. Breathe deeply

Deep breathing is a practice that engages the muscle above your stomach called the diaphragm as opposed to simply breathing in your upper chest. Also known as “belly breathing” or diaphragmatic breathing, it involves taking deeper breaths that fill the entire belly with air. There are many exercises to help master this technique, but the benefits are clear. Known as the breath used during meditation, this type of breathing may reduce stress levels, regulate body processes and lower your blood pressure while clearing your mind from unnecessary chatter. Check out these 8 breathing exercises.

Deep breathing also helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system, often called the “rest and digest” system. This helps calm the body, reduce stress hormones, and support healthy digestion.

2. Meditation

Even five minutes of quiet reflection, prayer, or mindfulness each day can help reduce mental clutter and improve emotional resilience.

3. Kindness

Doing a good deed does more than just help another out. In fact, your body responds with certain chemical reactions when you engage in random acts of kindness by releasing dopamine and oxytocin, two feel-good hormones that provide a sense of contentment, well-being, and happiness. But just one or two acts of kindness aren’t enough to sustain these hormones long-term. Kind acts need to be performed regularly to realize the greatest benefit.

Social connection and meaningful relationships are important components of emotional wellness. Small acts of kindness benefit both the giver and the receiver.

4. Gratitude

It has been suggested that taking time at the end of each day to write five things you’re grateful for can pay you back tenfold. We as humans tend to focus on things that may have gone wrong and even ruminate or hyper-focus on those scenarios. Spending time with thoughts of gratitude can shift our focus from the sometimes toxic thoughts that can fill our minds and bring us back to a place of positivity. Physiologically, dopamine is released every time we express or receive gratitude, which brings an overall feeling of contentment, peace of mind, and happiness. Plus, let’s be honest, it just feels better to focus on things that are positive rather than negative.

Many people find that keeping a gratitude journal is one of the easiest ways to develop this habit. Writing down three to five things you are grateful for each day can help shift your focus toward the positive.

5. Create Healthy Boundaries with Social Media

Social media can certainly serve beneficial purposes and can even help us connect with others near and far, but too much can begin to have negative consequences. Studies show that too much exposure to social platforms can increase anxiety and feelings of isolation while prompting feelings of inadequacy or the fear of missing out. Studies have shown that many times, individuals will use social media as a security blanket of sorts and will turn to this usage instead of connecting with live human beings. Taking a break or limiting usage can have a strong benefit on your mental health.

Life can certainly be a compilation of joy, excitement, disappointment, and worry. It can feel like a roller coaster! But we can make certain choices to help us navigate life with confidence, happiness, and gratitude.

Happiness is not something we discover one day. It is often the result of small daily habits practiced consistently over time. Deep breathing, gratitude, time with others, movement, time outdoors, and stress management can all contribute to greater emotional wellness. Small daily habits for happiness really do add up over time.

If you’re looking to create more healthy habits that support both emotional and physical wellness, check out The Healthy Habits Challenge.