Posted on 15 Dec, 2010 -
Because pleasure is GOOD for you
Why trying too hard to be healthy could actually make you more sick
Why indulging in things like parties, chocolate, wine, and salty rich foods could actually make you super-well!
And why our work ethic can make us feel so guilty about feeling good
Dear Reader,
If you want to be healthy then you must take pleasure in life. You must take it. You must seek it. And you must constantly be creating it.
And… the message that really hit home for me… you must drop all this guilt associated with feeling good…
Take time out to seek pleasure. Lavish all kinds of pleasure upon yourself. Stop feeling that you always need to be doing something constructive and realise that taking time for a nap, for a cuddle or a day spent ‘selfishly’ is time well spent.
Indulge in pleasures to get healthy
The central thesis of the best-selling book, ‘Healthy Pleasures’ by Ornstein and Sobel, is that one of the most powerful things you can do to improve the strength of your health is to live life with an optimistic outlook and an appetite for pleasure.
So much is written, they say, about what we shouldn’t do in order to protect our health. Don’t eat this. Don’t eat that. Don’t drink. Don’t smoke… with little regard to the pleasure involved in these acts. Too much attention put on the potential causes of illness while virtually ignoring the acts that can build and protect your health.
Years of research into health by these two men revealed that the healthiest people were not those who never drank, never ate salt and never ate burgers. They were people who enjoyed the most joie de vivre.
They also discovered that a lot of the healthy living advice we receive is actually a lot of bunkum:
Too much fear of fatty foods. For those people with high cholesterol levels, then measures do need to be taken to keep levels down. Most people, however, are “blessed with a metabolism which simply doesn’t produce high levels of cholesterol, no matter what we eat.” There may be more danger in turning millions of healthy people into ‘cholesterol neurotics’.
The same is true for salt. About half of people with high blood pressure are ‘salt sensitive’ meaning that their blood pressure responds unfavourably from eating salt. Tests show that for the 90% or more of us who aren’t, any excess salt we eat simply increases the amount of salt in our urine. Sure, it’s still not a good idea to go mad with the salt cellar, but as one president of the American Heart Association said, “Why in the name of heaven should we restrict sodium intake of people who are not hypersensitive?”
1 to 3 units of alcohol a day is good for you. “Moderate drinkers have less blockage of their coronary arteries, suffer fewer heart attacks, and face less risk of death from heart disease than do abstainers or heavy drinkers.” While excessive drinking is obviously harmful for your health, there are many reasons why having a few drinks can be good for it. If drinking aids your ability to have fun, to relax, to go out and socialise then it will be good for you.
In one study where elderly residents of a nursing home were offered an afternoon beer each day, social interaction tripled… the number of them who could walk on their own increased from 21% to 74%… and the percentage of patients taking a tranquilising drug went from 75% to zero.
Food is another thing we often beat ourselves up about too much. We try too hard to be thin - sometimes even making ourselves fatter in the process, filling ourselves with guilt and denying ourselves the essential pleasure that food should give us. Being slightly plump used to be a sign of beauty. There are also studies that have shown that overweight people are significantly less anxious and depressed than their slimmer peers.
We should seek a diet full of flavour to add to our daily dose of pleasure. We should not deny ourselves the calming, mood-boosting effects of carbohydrates. And a little bit of chocolate really is a good thing.
Seeking out what’s good for you is more important than avoiding what’s bad for you
The truth, say these authors, is that while certain factors of diet and lifestyle may have a negative impact on your life, it’s also crucial to think about the positive effects of lifestyle choices as well as the negative.
“Depression, in at least one study, turned out to be a better predictor of future heart problems than the severity of artery damage, high cholesterol levels, and cigarette smoking.”
When did we start feeling guilty about pursuing pleasure? That damn work ethic again…
As I mentioned earlier, one of the key messages for me personally in the book was about how actively taking time to seek pleasure often goes against the grain of what we think we should be doing.
While our preindustrial ancestors would have thought nothing of taking time to roll in the hay or nap in the afternoon if all the work had been done, we have now been conditioned into believing that we should work at least a 9 to 5 day. Taking time for recreation or personal enjoyment often feels like a ‘guilty’ pleasure.
”The dominion of work is so complete that it dampens even innocent pursuits."… “But our health, happiness, and future depend upon understanding and reversing this deep-rooted cultural denial of pleasure and leisure.”
8 Healthy Pleasures for you to indulge in today
So what should we do? Now here’s the good news:
Simple daily pleasures. Every day, seek simple pleasures such as the view of a sunset, the feel of a cat’s warm fur or the smell of a bakery. The smell of something like spiced apple, for example, has been found to make people measurably happier, less worried and more relaxed.
Treat yourself to warmth. Sit in front of a fire or take to the bath or a sauna to improve your immunity, boost your joie de vivre and release your body’s own natural pain killers.
Make sure you’re getting your minimum daily requirement of sensual input. Whether your personal pleasure hits come from the touch of a loved one, the sound of the wind in the trees or the stained glass windows in a National Trust House… don’t feel guilty about making sure you seek them out. Cuddle up on a sofa with an album of holiday snaps or a book of art or photos. Listen to Brahms in the dark or book a trip to hear live music.
If you suffer in the winter from the lack of light, try full-spectrum fluorescent light bulbs.
The touch of others is essential to our health. Motherless monkies and babies in orphanages have been found to die without it - or thrive when it is given. The hand of a friend on our shoulder alone can be a powerful medicine. Hugs and cuddles are even better. “In others,” say the authors, sex can be as necessary to health as “food, air, sleep, exercise, love and laughter.”
Laugh - especially at yourself! As psychologist Gordon Allport says: “I venture to say that no person is in good health unless he can laugh at himself, quietly and privately, noticing where he has over-reached, (where) his pretensions have been overblown or pedantic. He needs to note where he has been hoodwinked, too sure of himself, too short sighted, and above all, too conceited.”
Find out what’s relaxing for you. We all have different activities that we find relaxing - or not. For some people, for example, sitting still or trying to meditate is actually rather stressful. For some people it is better to lose themselves in an absorbing pastime such as doing a jigsaw puzzle, reading a book or watching television. Other people will find napping - or taking vigorous exercise - better.
Shopping, like so many other pleasures, can be healthy in moderation. “It can dispel boredom, lift the spirits, quell loneliness, and provide the backdrop against which we can live out our fantasies.”
So the message for us all this week? Don’t hold back from having fun this Christmas!
Best wishes
