AMES, Iowa — Do you feel blue? If so, try saying nice things to people. Not only can your kind words cheer others up, you may also feel better.
"People walk around being so anxious a lot of the time. And we come up with a lot of strategies on how to work with that. The problem is all of our best strategizing is what got us into the problem in the first place," Dr. Doug Gentile, professor of psychology at ISU, told WOI.
Gentile and his team of researchers set out to see if some simple behaviors could really change your mood. They enlisted the help of 500 ISU students and asked them each to walk around the halls of buildings for 12 minutes. They each had to do something extra while they walked. "We gave them, randomly assigned, one of these conditions: They either went out and wished each other well. They thought about how they were connected to each other. Thought about how they might be better off than others, or just looked at fashion," said Gentile.
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When the students checked back in, they had some surprising results. The students who wished other people well felt better, a lot better. "The biggest surprise, for me, was that we could see this effect in such a short amount of time. Just 10 or 12 minutes of walking around doing this changed their mood and lessened their anxiety. Changed their perception of social connection," said Gentile.
Could it really be this simple? Gentile says yes, it is that simple. The better question may be, will it be easy for people to put into action? Perhaps not. "Because it's so easy for us to get caught by our own thoughts. Jump on that train of thought and ride it wherever its going. Rather than actually paying attention to the people around us and this is one of the benefits of a mindfulness practice. It helps us breakout of our thinking and pay attention to what's really happening, what am I doing in this moment," said Gentile.
But don't let that discourage you. While it may take effort at first, Gentile says this is one quick fix you can believe in. And you may be on your way to more happiness in just 12 minutes.