I just discovered a new reason to love the laugh lines and creases around my eyes: They may be a sign that I will enjoy a long life.

According to recently published research study, people who have big smiles in which also the corner of their eyes move live longer.

The way, how the study was done, may seem a bit unusual: Researchers at the Wayne State University in Michigan categorized 230 pictures of players from the 1952 Baseball register based on smile intensity: big smile, no smile, partial smile. They then compared the three categories with data from deaths and accounted for other factors that are related to longevity, such as body mass index or education. At the time of the study 184 of the 230 players had died.

The researchers found that players with a big smile lived in average 7 years longer as players who didn’t smile on their pictures. (79.9 years for big smiles versus 72.9 for no-smiles).

So – smile a lot and you live longer? Seriously?

The researchers say YES and offer an explanation: Our facial expressions reflect our emotions. We smile to express positive emotions. Also other studies have proven that positive emotions are related to better mental and physical health. People who smile often are more likely to have stable personalities and marriages, and also better relationships with other people.

The author, Christiane Turnheim, is psychologist and life-coach. Visit her website www.coach4u.net

or email to ten.u4hcaocnull@enaitsirhc

Do you also occasionally wonder how some folks manage to go to the gym three or four times per week for an hour or more? I do, because with kids, house, garden and last but not least, two jobs squeezing out time for the gym seems impossible. I do know, it’s recommended – still, I don’t have time for it and this is no excuse. Now, at least, I don’t need to feel guilty anymore about the little exercise I do.

A study at McMaster University in Canada has shown that doing several times per week high-intensity interval training (HIT) is as beneficial for your health as  traditional long term exercise. For the study, volunteers did three times per week ten one-minute sprints on a stationary bike with one minute rest in between. In total they got 30 minutes of exercise. The results of the study were  published in the March issue of the Journal of Physiology .

What I learned from this study is that in good conscience I can replace hours of endurance training, for which I don’t have time in my busy life,  with a few minutes of intense exercise on my stationary bike. Works for me.

Christiane is Life coach and psychologist. Contact her at www.coach4u.net

Do you think that getting old is equivalent to getting forgetful, physically weak and dependent on others? If yes, think again – in your own interest.

According to recent research, people who expressed negative stereotypes about aging when they were younger had a higher risk 30 years later to suffer from serious health and memory problems. They even lived on average 7.5 years shorter compared to those with a more positive attitude about getting old.

Scientists are of course trying to find out what is causing this link between stereotypes and health effects.

It could be that the principles of self-fulfilling prophesies are here at work. If you believe that you will lose cognitive skills like memory as you get older, you may stay away from tasks involving those skills.  Consequently, as the old adage goes, “use it or lose it” you are then losing these skills.

Christiane is psychologist and Life & Career coach. Contact her at ten.u4hcaocnull@enaitsirhc

ScienceDaily (May 16, 2009) People looking for a good job at a good salary could find their intelligence may not be the only trait that puts them at the top of the pay scale, according to researchers. A new study finds attractiveness, along with confidence, may help job-seekers stand out to employers. … http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090514130641.htm”>read full article

If you belong to the few lucky ones, who still have some extra cash to spend, don’t “waste” it on the newest gadgets. Instead, buy yourself happiness. You may need it in a tough time like now.

“One can’t buy happiness”, I hear you saying. Well, Ryan Howell, assistant professor of psychology at San Francisco State University, begs to differ. He believes that if you spend your money right you can increase your happiness.

The trick is not to “waste” your money on material things. Instead, buy yourself experiences, such as a meal out, going to the theater or to a baseball game.

Howell did a study with 154 people ages 19 to 50 and found that people feel more alive and inspired after they have made experiential purchases. They also appreciated the positive memories they were left with. An additional benefit was the social nature of those experiences, i.e. being together with other people and thus satisfying the need for social connectedness. Overall, buying experiences made people happier than buying stuff.

In conclusion, Howell suggests that his findings can also be applied to purchasing gifts for other people. If you give a certificate for a restaurant, for tennis lessons, or a spa visit, you will not only brighten the day for the person, but also create long lasting happy memories.

Christiane is psychologist and Life & Career coach.  She teaches Psychology at a College in the Greater Boston area. Visit her website at www.coach4u.net

Did you already bake cookies, and made jam ? Are you out of ideas what else to give during the holiday season?  Here a few gifts that won’t cost you a fortune:

 Do you like to cook and have great recipes?

1. You could buy a nice notebook or folder, and create a personalized recipe book for a dear friend or family member.
2. Give a coupon for a five course dinner at your house – or
3. Promise to cook for an event at their house.
4. Buy ingredients for a not-your-every-day family meal and add your special recipe.

For avid gardeners:

1. Give a coupon or gift certificate for a plant, seeds, or fruits from your garden. Add a picture, if you have.
2. If you have seeds from last summer, purchase a pretty box or bag and fill it with seeds and planting instructions.
3. Give your time and experience: Friends or colleagues without green thumb will appreciate a coupon for “garden consulting” – or
4. Give a certificate for “spring cleaning”

Do you need a gift for a couple with young children?

1. Give a coupon for x number of babysitting nights
2. Invite the kids for a weekend in your house
3. Offer your time for help with afternoon activities
4. Organize a party for all the kids of your friends (so that they can spend some grown-up time together)

Do you have an elderly loved-one, friend or neighbor?

Give the gift of your time by giving them a coupon for help with shopping,  rides to medical appointments or a day out in the country.

Christiane is a professional life coach with private practice in Massachusetts. She specializes on helping people on realizing their goals and putting them into action.

I have a good friend whom I admire for her energy, curiosity about life and optimism. She is well into her eighties with an unbroken zest for life.

A while ago, she told me the secret for her positive attitude: “When I get a box with a variety of chocolates, I will eat only one per day. On the first day, I will select the one that I like best. The next day, I will take the best of the remaining, and this I will repeat every day until all are gone. This way, I get to enjoy every day just the best of all my options”. 

If you are like me, then there is always too much to do and never enough time to do it all. In consequence, many of us are controlled by their daily “to do list”.

On a weekly basis, how much time do you have left for some fun in your life? If you don’t know for sure, maybe you will find the work-life balance calculator useful that I recently found on cnn.com

Do you belong to the lucky ones who still can put in overtime? Well, as it turns out now, it may be good for your paycheck but not as good for your psyche.

According to a recently published study by Norway researchers, people who put in more than 40 work hours per week have a higher risk for anxiety and depression.

The researchers compared about 9,000 people, who work 40 hours or less with 1,350, who worked regularly overtime. “Results: Overtime workers of both genders had significantly higher anxiety and depression levels and higher prevalences of anxiety and depressive disorders compared with those working normal hours.” (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, http://www.joem.org/ )

According to the United States Department of Labor (http://www.bls.gov, )
full time worker spend just under 43 hours at work per week. In 2006, about 18 % of full time workers put in more than 50 hours per week. Currently, about 3 % of the workforce has a part time job because they can’t find a full time job or their companies cut the work hours because of the economic downturn and about 5 % of the workforce holds more than one job.

Children bring much joy to your life. Are you sure? Think again! According to Daniel Gilbert, Harvard university psychology professor, having children has a negative effect on marital satisfaction. It’s an illusion that children increase people’s happiness.

Gilbert , author of the book ‘Stumbling on happiness’ based his statement during a happiness conference in May in Sydney, Australia on several studies that are quoted in most developmental psychology textbooks: Many couples experience a dip in their marital satisfaction after the birth of their first child. Particularly at risk are those couples who married after a relatively short courtship, are not settled in their partnership yet and get a baby soon after marriage. If couples postpone having children until their careers are under way, work on their financial stability and further concentrate on building up a sense of “we-ness” , their marital satisfaction will be more resilient against the challenges of raising children.

The deepest point in marital satisfaction often comes when the kids enter adolescence. Having a grumpy and moody teenager at home puts a strain on parents’ happiness. Marital satisfaction returns when the kids leave for college.

What Gilbert didn’t say, or it was not reported by the media, is that later in life grown children and their kids, so the grandkids, become a main source for the mental well-being of the elderly. A study by Karen Fingerman showed that the majority of “relationships between parents and their adult children improve as parents transition to old age”….”Generally, there was a feeling on both sides that this was as good as the relationship had been, and both sides felt appreciated and nurtured.” (Karen Fingerman on Purdue University, http://www.purdue.edu/uns/x/2007b/071126FingermanAge.html )