Little expressions of love...
Your way to feel happy and psychologically satisfied
A team of psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania has revealed an
interesting relationship between our actions and our inner feelings.
A one-month study showed that
even simple expressions of concern and kindness toward others elicit a strong
response within us, as if we were loved. It does not require large or dramatic
gestures
but small and continuous manifestations of care are sufficient.
52 people participated in the study, and they answered questions six times
a day regarding how much they felt loved at that moment, and how many times
they had shown love to others since the last questionnaire.
The results revealed
- a remarkable tendency: when participants expressed love
- whether with kind words, hugging close ones, or helping others
- their feeling of "being loved" increased significantly.
But the opposite relationship was less
clear:
even when receiving love, people did not always show a similar reaction.
It is noteworthy that
a person's feeling of being loved lasts longer than memories of the expressions of
love themselves. This explains why the participants, who felt loved frequently
evaluated their lives as more successful and happy;
They dealt better with
psychological stress, and felt more satisfied and psychologically comfortable.
The study's author, Zita Oravets, emphasised:
'There is no need to wait for special occasions or prepare showy surprises.
It's the small, everyday expressions of love, like a hug before heading out to work
a warm message during the day, or an offer of help, that create that positive
resonance that strengthens our relationships and makes us happier."
A scientific study
provides a "quick recipe for happiness."
A recent scientific study has confirmed that practicing simple activities that
do not exceed five minutes a day can enhance positive feelings and increase
happiness rates, in a scientific discovery that provides
an easy recipe for facing the pressures of daily life.
Researchers
from the University of California
San Francisco, conducted a study that included participants from around the world
as part of an initiative called the "Big Joy Project," the results of which were
published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research in early June.
Psychology researchers have found that allocating five minutes a day to practicing
what they call "mini-joy behaviors" - simple actions aimed at enhancing positive
emotions :
is enough to reduce stress levels, improve overall health
and significantly raise sleep quality.
Dr.Elissa Ebel
- an expert in the field of stress and gerontology, explains that simple practices
- such as listening to spontaneous laughter, stopping to contemplate
- a flower during a walk in the neighborhood, or providing
a small favor to a friend
can bring about a tangible shift in the psychological state
and a person’s outlook on life. Expressing her astonishment at the results
Professor Ebel
who led the research team, says: "We were surprised by the fact of the amount of
improvement we observed in the emotional health of the participants.".
It relied on a huge sample of 18,000 participants from the United States
Britain, and Canada, as part of the "Great Happiness Project" initiative
and continued for two years until 2024.
This research
was distinguished by being the first of its kind to focus on evaluating the impact of
simple practices that do not require a long time or great effort, while measuring
the extent of the continuity of this impact.
Interestingly
the results showed that participants who adhered to these practices for just one
week achieved positive results similar to those usually achieved through
treatment or training programs that take months of lengthy sessions.
The study
the results of which were published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research
included seven activities distributed over seven days, which included sharing
moments of joy with others, doing kind deeds for others
writing a list of :
issues for which one feels grateful, and watching video clips that
arouse feelings of amazement and admiration for nature.
Professor Ebel
explained that the research team carefully selected activities focused
on enhancing three categories of
emotions:
hope and optimism, amazement
and admiration, fun and entertainment. Each task is designed to take less than ten
minutes, including answering a few short questions before and after practice.
To measure the effect
the participants underwent a comprehensive evaluation of mental and physical
health at the beginning and end of the experimental week, measuring several
indicators including the level of emotional well-being, positive emotions
the so called
"ability to make happy", as well as stress levels and sleep quality.
Emotional well-being here refers to the extent to which a person is satisfied with
his life and feels meaning and purpose, while "the ability to create happiness"
reflects the extent to which an individual feels control over his emotional state.
The results revealed
an improvement in all the indicators mentioned, noting that the degree of
improvement was directly related to the level of commitment to the program.
Participants who completed
- the full seven days recorded greater improvement compared to
- those who committed to only two or three days. A striking observation is that
- members of ethnic minorities achieved greater benefits than white participants
and the younger group showed a better response than the elderly.
Despite these clear results, the exact mechanism that makes these simple
practices have a strong effect on mood remains questionable.
Professor Ebel proposes the hypothesis that these small activities may work to
break negative cycles in thinking - such as excessive anxiety or self-flagellation
and redirect mental energy towards more positive paths.