According to a study led by SMU psychologist Nathan Hudson, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that people’s overall sense of happiness is linked to physical health.
As reported by Psychology Today on December 7, 2019, “the question of whether health promotes happiness or vice versa remains a matter of scientific debate. Some findings suggest that people who are healthier just feel better about life; others that some third factor such as personality or genetics causes health and happiness to be related; and still others suggest that people who are happier are healthier because they take better care of themselves.”
The researchers analyzed three years of data for a group of 1,952 participants ranging in age from 17 to 95. They found “it was impossible to separate the dynamic interplay between happiness and health.”
The findings revealed that taking measures to stay healthy, like exercising and getting enough sleep, and focusing on long-term goals can go a long way toward maintaining overall happiness.
Read more at Psychology Today.