happy people are good for your skin

I think happiness is the ultimate anti-aging product.   And there’s scientific proof to back me up on this. 

Research has shown that stress (I personally think stress and unhappiness go hand in hand) causes the release of Cortisol- a stress hormone, that breaks down collagen- thus accelerating the aging process. 

So where do we find this elusive anti-aging drug called happiness (without a prescription)?

According to a recent New York Times article entitled, “Strangers May Cheer You Up, Study Says”, happiness is just one strange person away. 

Dr. Nicholas Christakis and James H. Folwer, the authors of the 20 year study, found that “a cheery next-door neighbor has more effect on your happiness than your spouse’s mood”.

That’s pretty amazing.  I can kind of see it though.  I know if I have a nice conversation with a friendly shopkeeper, I feel inexplicably happy for several hours after. (And it has nothing to do with the fact that I just bought chocolate from him and I'm on a sugar high.)

In fact, the study found that, “if your friend’s friend’s friend becomes happy, that has a bigger impact on you being happy than putting an extra $5,000 in your pocket.”  (So take that recession.)

I guess what all this means is, we should try to expose ourselves (not in the flasher sense) to happier people.  That way we’ll be happier. Then we’ll make others happier.  Then they’ll make us happier.   And eventually we’ll all be so happy, we’ll all hold hands and skip everywhere.

Let’s just pray our happiness doesn’t reach this level.

So, I guess today, we should all try to get out there and become beacons of happiness.  It’s good for us, the other people we share the planet with, and perhaps most importantly our skin.

In conclusion, happy strangers make great anti-aging products. (Don't bother, seeking out ones, who are eating antioxidant-rich Pomegranates, they're not any better for your skin.)

Comments

[Niall]

You realize that the picture you use of the happy Japanese family is from Takashi Miike's "The Happiness of the Katakuris", which is a scathing satire on the impossibility of family happiness. You don't? Oh. Well, check here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304262/

[jenny]

yes, I realized that. That's why I choose it. I thought the irony was funny. But maybe not:)

[Niall]

In that case, excellent choice! And artsy!