Happiness Is Contagious

Be happy, be healthy.

The more happy friends and neighbors you have, the happier you’re likely to be.

Those are the conclusions of a 10-year study that tracked happiness levels of 4,739 people in Framingham, Mass. The research, published in the British Medical Journal, also discovered a chain reaction, in which happiness spreads to friends of friends, and to their friends. On average, every happy friend increases your chance of happiness by 9% while every unhappy friend decreases your chance by 7%. The researchers suggested that we take greater responsibility for our own happiness because it affects dozens of other people.
 

How Do We Heal Ourselves? A nationwide survey by the federal government shows that 38% of adults use complementary and alternative medicine. The most popular treatments are natural remedies, deep breathing, meditation, chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation, massage and yoga.

 

♦ Vital Statistic
Without regular strength training, muscle wasting is a normal part of aging. Muscle lost after age 50: 0.5% to 1% per year. An 80-year-old may have only 70% of the muscle of a 50-year-old.
Source: University of Nottingham, England