Running Head: PHYSICAL HEALTH AND HAPPINESS 1

Physical Health and its Effect on Happiness

Lauren Meffer
Saginaw Valley State University
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Abstract
People have many questions regarding their own happiness. Some questions we ask are

about how to become happier, what outside factors can affect our happiness, and how we are able

to combat what is making our happiness levels decrease. But, little do some people know, we

have the ability to change our happiness. According to Sonja Lyubomirsky and her book, The

How of Happiness, forty percent of our happiness is affected by our own actions (2007). Since

we have the huge ability to alter our happiness levels, this research essay will be discussing our

physical health and how we can change our physical lifestyle to make us happier. While our own

physical health can alter our happiness levels, our happiness levels can alter our physical health

as well (Veenhoven, 2008). One's physical health and their happiness level correlate with each

other and they make a huge impact on each other in our lives. Improving our physical health can

make us happier overall.

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Introduction
One person's physical health can alter their own happiness levels. Our happiness is linked

to our physical health in a positive way, while it is linked to physical symptoms in a negative

way. This means that we are happier when our physical health is in good shape and our physical

symptoms are not the greatest when we are not happy (Miquelon & Vallerand, 2006). There will

be many different aspects of physical health we will explore and their impact on our happiness

levels. The categories being discussed are our life choices such as substance use, physical

disabilities, obesity, and exercise. The goal of this research is to see how our happiness can be

altered by our own physical health and lifestyles. After discussing this topic, we will be able to

discover what we can do to ensure that we can become happier people after adjusting our

physical health and well-being.

Life Choices
The actions individuals choose to make can impact their overall happiness. These life

choices affect our healthy lifestyle and happiness levels. Our instincts tell us to run to these

choices in means of finding a happier lifestyle or to cope with how unhappy we may be in our

lives (Veenhoven, 2008). The life choices that will be discussed in this section include smoking,

alcohol consumption, and even the simple topic of what we choose to eat and our nutrition

intake. People whom are happier are experimented to have a lesser tendency to smoke, have

lower alcohol consumption levels, and tend to lean towards eating better (Dolan et al., 2014).

According to Veenhoven, heavy smokers and heavy drinkers are prone to becoming unhappier

due to hanging to depend on these substances to feel adequate about themselves. An incline in

smoking and drinking habits are correlated with a decline in happiness levels. Continuing in

Veenhovens research, people who tend to consume more products from fast food restaurants are

likely to be less happy than those with a healthier food diet. People who eat fast food replenish
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their bodies with possible chemicals from the fats food more than replenishing their bodies with

organic and healthy foods (2008).

Physical Disabilities
According to Iedema and Van Campen, disabilities is defined as a problem in bodily

functioning that acts as a limitation in physical activities (2007). These physical disabilities vary

from cancer to neurological disorders. In a research study conducted by Angner et al., it was

discovered that health status is "one of the most important predictors of happiness" (2013,

p.1571). Angner et al. focused on physical diseases and disorders such as cancer and

neurological disorders, an example being Multiple Sclerosis. In their research, their participants

noted that their physical disabilities greatly alter their happiness levels due to the fact that they

feel like they have no such freedom to move about. Their participants said that they feel confined

to their homes, beds, or wheelchairs, and they feel that they can't go out and make themselves

happy since they can't do much movement (Angner et al., 2013). For patients who have physical

disabilities that are still able to participate in daily life, they argue that they are still limited. They

have hopes of wanting to do as much as their loved ones could, but they are being setback by

their disabilities (Iedema & van Campen, 2007).

Obesity
It was discovered by Carol Graham that the obese are less happy than the non-obese

(2008). In her research, most obese citizens in the United States have their weight issue due to

poor economic situations. They either have a difficult time finding a job due to criticism or they

heavily spend their money on food, which leads them to having little money to helping

themselves out in the economy we live in. Most obese patients develop depression, which then

leads them to relying on food even more for comfort. Graham also discovered in her research

that the first year a patient is medically diagnosed as obese, they will become unhappy in the

following year after the diagnosis. In the research, obesity doesn't tend to happen the following
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year after being depressed (2008). Depression takes a toll on the patient as they discover obesity

and how hard it could be to become healthier. According to Veenhoven, most patients become

obese by relying on food as a source of comfort. Having this bad comfort strategy leads to

obesity, which then leads to depression (2008). This finding becomes one example of how

physical health has a direct effect on happiness.

Exercise
Having an unhealthy diet and spending too much time on a sedentary lifestyle not only

lead to health problems, but it can decrease your happiness as well (Dolan et al., 2014). Through

research, exercising can benefit you in two ways: you'll become healthier and happier at the same

time. When someone is participating in physical activity, the brain releases endorphins and

serotonin. These chemicals are responsible for sending feelings of joy and satisfaction (Dolan et

al., 2014). According to Tal Ben-Shahar, if a patient doesnt participate in a healthy exercise

routine, it will be the equivalent of patients with depression not taking their prescribed

medication. Its also been discussed by Ben-Shahar that people who participate in a regular

exercise routine and can continue this routine without dropping it, they will have a less likely

chance of relapse than those who rely on medication to become happier. He also discusses that

combining your medication with a regular exercise routine will be highly beneficial to your

health and happiness (2009). So, developing an exercise routine can benefit your happiness and

your health at the same time.

What We Can Do
When we look back at Sonja Lyubomirskys book, The How of Happiness, we learn from

reading that forty percent of our happiness can be altered by our own actions and thoughts

(2007). So, we have the ability to change our happiness simply by acting on it. While there may

be some setbacks our physical health gives us, there will always be a way for us to reach
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happiness while combatting these struggling issues. Each category of our physical health we

looked at gives us insight on what we can do to change it so we can reach happiness for

ourselves.
Life Choices
To review, these life choices include smoking, alcohol consumption, and simple actions

of what we choose to eat. Looking back at Veenhovens research in 2008, some of these life

choices are being acted upon as either bad habits, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and could even

be a psychological issue. It was also discovered by Veenhoven that we become unhappy when

we must depend on drug substances because it is the only way that patients will be able to feel

adequate about themselves and the life they are living (2008). One way to go against these

unhealthy issues is to make a list of the things in our lives that potentially show our significance

and what makes us feel better. Finding different coping mechanisms and activities will strongly

encourage us to kick out these bad habits and lean towards better lifestyle options on making us

feel better.

Physical Disabilities

Iedema and Van Campen discussed that patients with physical abilities feel as if they

cannot participate in daily activities or other events with their family and friends due to having

disabilities. This is an unhealthy mindset that these patients have, which then refuses them to

participating in different events. As the mindset leads to levels of happiness being lowered,

patients will have to kick out this mindset and find ways to be able to participate in activities that

will raise their happiness levels (2007). As we learned that forty percent of our happiness is by

our own thoughts and actions, its up to these patients to go out and make their happiness levels

rise simply by doing it.

Obesity
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As we learned from Veenhoven's research, one problem that leads to obesity is patients

relying on food as a source of comfort when situations get tough (2008). One thing patients can

do is kick out the unhealthy coping habit by replacing it with a different one. Patients can write

down how they are feeling, they can visit with friends and family for support, or they can take a

walk outside for some fresh air. Patients can always talk to a doctor to find ways to combat this

habit and make sure that they are able to get back onto a healthy diet. Finding new coping

mechanisms can be paired with finding a healthy diet and a workout routine so patients can raise

their happiness through multiple different methods while also trying to get back to a normal body

weight.

Exercise

How patients can become happier by exercising is straight forward. One can develop a

regular exercise routine that they will plan to stick with. If someone cant afford a membership to

the gym or workout equipment, there are plenty of different routines one can develop at home so

they have access to a workout right in their home. Someone can easily start small by doing their

routine only 2 days a week for 30 minutes each day, and then slowly bump up their workout time

as they progress. These workout routines can be easily adjusted if needed, so patients will never

feel like they cant accomplish this task.

Conclusion

There are many different events in our lives that can affect our happiness overall. One big

part of our happiness can depend on our own health. Our life choices, disabilities, weight, and

exercise routines can make a huge impact on how happy we really are. But, being able to raise

our happiness levels can depend on our own thoughts and actions. So, after some research on

different aspects of our physical health, its easy to see that we just need to develop a new
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mindset on how we view ourselves in our lives and find better ways of managing stressful times.

Its also important to keep in mind that we can still achieve happiness through possible setbacks

that settle into our lives. It takes our own thoughts and actions to make a difference in our

happiness levels and become happier. Being able to change our thoughts, habits, and unhealthy

coping mechanisms can make a huge change in our happiness.

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References

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Comiskey, B. (Director). (2009). Happiness 101 [DVD]. United States: PBS.

Dolan, P., Kavetsos, G., & Vlaev, I. (2014). The Happiness Workout. Social Indicators

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Graham, C. (2008). Happiness And Health: Lessons-And Questions-For Public Policy. Health

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Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want.

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