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Physiology and Happiness, According To Me
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I can't tell you how to be happy, but I can tell you how to feel happier. It's pretty simple really.
The more you feel refreshed and alert, the happier you will be, or just in a better mood, if you prefer.
To make it simple, let's lump it all together and just say the higher your energy level, the better
you feel about life and yourself.
So what's my point? It's that nature doesn't care about whether you're in a good mood or not, it just "cares" about
whether you survive long enough to propagate. You have to convince nature, represented by your own
metabolism, that you need a high energy level.
One way to do just the opposite is to eat a big meal. That's understandable, because of digestion.
But the more I eat big meals and don't exercise, the more lethargic I feel, and the more I want to
eat. It gets so that the only time I really enjoy is when I'm eating. I feel like crap and I'm not happy,
but I'm satisfying that craving.
But it works the other way as well. If I can break that cycle, and eat frequent, very small meals, and
eat relatively clean, then gradually the overwhelming craving dies away and I start to feel more energetic
and more interested in doing things other than eating.
Here's why I think that happens. If I habitually eat calorie dense foods, and I eat
large amounts at one sitting, and I don't exercise, I'm telling my metabolism that there's plenty of
food available at no effort. The metabolism responds by influencing me to eat even more and become
more lethargic to store up fat for the famine that's sure to follow. "What famine?", you ask.
"Exactly", I reply.
Famine is the switch that stops the metabolism from influencing me to eat and store fat. Nature doesn't
care if I'm miserable because now I'm really craving that milk and honey. I'll get over it, but I really
better get going and find some food.
That's when the switchover occurs so the metabolism starts pumping the right stuff to give you energy and
alertness so you can do just that. I've seen it suggested that this is the reason why people who go on
restricted-calorie
diets feel so good at first. Their bodies are reacting to famine conditions, which makes sense. Note
these are diets in which the calories are reduced extremely in the belief it extends life. I don't
advocate this type of diet in any way. I only mention it because of the famine connection.
When I say the metabolism starts pumping the right stuff, I'm also talking about the hormone named
endorphins. Endorphins cause pleasure by activating specific areas in the brain. Endorphins are produced
during exercise, and the theory is that they dull the feeling of discomfort caused by exertion. Now I
know for a fact that in a well-nourished healthy adult male jumping rope to music they cause euphoria and
for awhile completely block any sensations of effort or fatigue. In ancient times, during a famine, they may
have made the difference between finding your next meal or collapsing and dying, so the word 'pleasure' is a
relative term.
Endorphins are generated at times other than during exercise. As a matter of fact, anytime you feel pleasure,
supposedly, it's because a shot of endorphins hits your brain's pleasure centers. Again, pleasure being a
relative term; if you're barely surviving, it may be your brain's "here's some more anesthetic, try to hold
out longer and maybe we won't starve to death" center.
That brings us to self-esteem. People just trying to survive have all the self-esteem they need. They
think it's worthwhile to save their own ass from starving. But when survival is assured then what you
think of yourself starts to matter. I know for sure exercising daily gives you a boost in self-esteem
because you get not only the endorphins from the workout, but you also get pleasure (more endorphins)
from the feeling of accomplishment and taking care of business. Most people just blow off being fit in
old age, but you're taking care of not only that, but improving your day to day life as well.
It's all about energy, and the more you have, the more the effects complement and re-inforce one another, and
the more strategies for maintaining it naturally become intertwined in your life style.
(More to come)
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Any advice given reflects the experiences of myself and acquaintances over the last 30 years
to the best of my recollection and under no circumstances constitutes medical or professional advice.
There is no guarantee of accuracy, completeness, or the approriateness of any information or advice on
this site or any site linked to.
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