THE EIGHT RULE TO LIVING A HAPPY LIFE

by Angel Rose C. Trocio

BA Psychology 4
Living a happy life is ideally everyones dream. We wake up to school or work to achieve our goals which in
return will make us happy in life. However, most of us, if not all, overlook or even neglect the body. We work
so hard that we forget to live. It seems that we have become mechanical like a machine in the production line
that we often forget the most essential of tasks like breathing regularly. Our health, no matter how busy we have
become, should never be a hindrance to achieving these goals. If properly handled, our health can even be our
best friend! It will surely help you achieve your goals effectively and efficiently.
Speaking of health, when can you say that you are healthy? Is it when illness is absent? Is it when your colds
disappear after drinking plenty of water? Does it came with age?
Health is not totally defined in any of these statements. As opposed to the popular notions of health, it goes
beyond the physical aspect it includes emotional, social, and mental well-being! For us Filipinos, spirituality
has become a major contributor of overall health.
Having known these facts about health, let me share to you eight important points to achieving a happy life.
Happiness rule # 1: GET ENOUGH REST AT NIGHT.
Sleep is so vital in achieving good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at
the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. Sleep does not
only prepare you for the day, but it also prevents you from acquiring life-threatening diseases. Lack of sleep has
been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure, stroke, kidney diseases, diabetes and many others.
It is also through sleeping that you become safe in the outside world. During the rapid-eye movement (REM)
stage in sleep, your body develops its reflexes in a safe context. This means that you can jump from buildings to
trees in your dreams without risking your life. Meanwhile, the brain flushes out toxins in our body during nonREM stage.
But how long should we sleep? Ideally, we need to sleep for 6-8 hours a night. Before you sleep, keep away
devices that are producing artificial lights: your cellular phones, laptops, and even your rooms light. These
artificial lights at night confuses the bodys natural circadian rhythm, increasing the risk of diabetes, cancer,
depression and even infertility.
Sleep also affects the quality of your relationships. Lacking in sleep gives you a groggy feeling, making you
more irritable and short-tempered. Of course, you may have understanding friends but in the long-run, who
wants a short-tempered friend? Well, unless all of you in your circle of friends lack sleep. But that is still not
good. Our relationships reinforce our habits, good ones or bad ones. So, share your friends your newest health
rule.
Happiness rule # 2: DRINK PLENTY OF WATER AND EAT THE RIGHT KIND OF FOOD.
The general rule is to keep your fluid and food intake normal. Eating the right kind of food prevents you from
malnourishment. Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) recommends the Pinggang Pinoy (as shown
in the picture below) program as a healthy food plate for Filipino adults.
The visual guide shows a plate in 4 portions, each with a symbol: banana as the most accessible type of fruit
among Filipinos for the fruit portion; malunggay which is loaded with healthy nutrients and can be found
almost anywhere in the country, for the vegetable portion; fish as staple in any Filipino household and arguably
affordable, for the mean portion; and, rice for the grain portion. The Pinggang Pinoy recommends that we eat
33% of rice, 33% vegetables, 17% fruit and 17% meat every meal. Also, cut the cutting crap! Dont skip meals

or even cut out entire groups or foods in your diet. This will only increase
the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases.
Of course, dont forget to drink a glass of water every meal.
In our elementary science lessons, we have learned that water is a
universal solvent. With its capacity to dissolve any substance, it dissolves
the harmful toxins our body has taken due to the food that we eat or the
pollution in our environment we were exposed to. It makes our skin look
fresh and our intestines clean. Since our body is 60% water, drinking 8-12
glasses a day would also help our body achieve balance (or homestasis)
which helps transport nutrients in the body, regulate body temperature,
digest food and more.
Happiness rule # 3: TRAIN YOUR BRAIN; EXERCISE, NOT OVERSTRAIN.
We dont just lose muscle over time our brains can atrophy, too. So let those neurons work and those muscles
stretch! Give your brain and your body some exercise. What are easy ways to train your brain? Answering
puzzles like soduku and crossword puzzles has not only become everyones favorite pastime, but it aids the
brain in building more neural highways for higher cognitive processing! This has proven to enhance memory
and prevents us from acquiring neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers disease, aphasia and
dementias.
Hitting the gym is okay when you want to get those muscles toned, but it may not be the best solution if you
want to just maintain a good health. You dont have to lift those double-your-weight dumbbells, do 1,000 pushups a week or run 50 kilometers. One simple, doable and inexpensive exercise is to just keep moving. Brisk
walking, climbing the stairs, lifting mild weights every now and then are effective ways to keep your circulatory
system going. This should be adequate in supplying more oxygen to your blood.
Happiness rule # 4: AVOID HEALTH-DAMAGING BEHAVIORS
What are the usual health-damaging behaviors people do? In the prior rules, you have learned how important it
is not to lack in sleep, over or under eat, skip meals, set the fluids aside and exercise too much as it damages
you in the long run. But other health-damaging behaviors such as drinking alcohol, smoking, and taking illegal
drugs will not only affect your lungs, heart, brain and other organs in the body, but it also affects your
relationship with others.
Drinking kills the neurons in the brain and slows down the senses; hence increasing the risk of road and
pedestrian accidents. And like I said, yhese health-damaging behaviors has been proven to affect relationships.
It has increased the risk of domestic violence, sexual, physical, emotional and psychological abuse. It also cuts
productivity, making you achieve lesser than usual.
Happiness rule # 5: CREATE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
By creating healthy relationships, you do not just avoid toxic people, but you also avoid the unnecessary stress
coming in to your system. With this, you prevent damaging your coronary arteries, gut function, insulin
regulation, and the immune system. Basically, it prevents the body from releasing too much cortisol.
A raised cortisol level hinders us from performing cognitive activities such as problem-solving, memorization
and more. Healthy relationships develop state and trait positive affect which regulates tone of the vagus nerve.
The vagus nerve has been linked to pro-social behaviors like gaze, affective touch and sound.
Being in healthy relationships means youre also with the right kind of people. It has been linked to high
conscientiousness, thus preventing you from doing health-damaging behaviors.

Happiness rule # 6: BE AWARE OF YOUR EMOTIONS.

Some emotions feel positive like feeling happy, loving, confident, inspired, cheerful, interested, grateful, or
included. Other emotions can seem more negative like feeling angry, resentful, afraid, ashamed, guilty, sad,
or worried. Both positive and negative emotions are normal. However, remember that emotions come and go.
If we have become so immersed in our current anger that we want to aggress towards other people, we may
regret it after a few hours. If we become more aware of our emotions, we prevent potential injuries or damages.
Being aware of your emotions is the most powerful thing you can do to your brain. When you become aware of
your emotions, you can regulate it to yield desirable results. Cognitive restructuring aids us in shifting the
negative to positive. When we restructure a stressful situation into eustress, we can all the more find ways in
preventing this negative stress from coming.
Happiness rule # 7: INVEST FOR YOUR FUTURE
We know that the times are hard. Our individual world is undeniably linked to the social world, and vice versa.
Economic steeps or falls may affect our lives. But it really pays to invest for your future. Save money, build
your dream house, or earn your degree this can be positive or negative stress depending on how you think of
it.
But investing for your future goes beyond the material preparedness. We also have to establish deep social
connections to people who truly matter. Our success is no longer measured by our socio-economic status, but
our positionality in social circles. The deeper connection you establish, the better.
Happiness rule # 8: OLD AGE IS INEVITABLE
For goodness sake, stop stressing out on those wrinkles! They naturally come to invade our face and its
perfectly fine. Health does not come with age, rather it would tell us what direction to take. Of course, the risks
are higher with old age, but we can always do something to manage our body so that we can prevent diseases or
sudden death.
People ask, Whats the point of living when we all die anyway?
I agree, we will all die thats for sure but its all up to us on how were going to rule our lives. We dont
want to live a life of unresolved issues haunting us in our sleeps or deathbeds. Hence, it is essential that we shift
our perspective in life and make every second count.
By making every second count, we do the things we are truly passionate about. We dedicate our time and effort
to continuously improve our methods in achieving our goals. More importantly, we do this to inspire not just
ourselves but other people as well, who may be influenced by the positivity we bring to life.
Now that youve learned eight happiness rules, its your time to make it happen. Let this rule govern your life
but always make sure you put in your own rules as well.
After all, a healthy life is indeed a happy life.