Spirituality plays significant part in children’s happiness

Spirituality contributes significantly to a child’s overall happiness—even more so than for adults, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

The study tested 315 children ages 9 to 12, measuring spirituality and other factors such as temperament and social relations that can affect an individual’s sense of happiness.

“Our goal was to see whether there’s a relation between spirituality and happiness,” said Mark Holder, associate professor of psychology and the study’s co-author. “We knew going in that there was such a relation in adults, so we took multiple measures of spirituality and happiness in children.”

Past studies have shown that in adults, spiritual feelings and higher levels of religious behavior typically account for about 5 percent of a person’s overall happiness, said a university statement.

The results of the study came as a surprise to researchers: 6.5 to 16.5 percent of children’s happiness can be accounted for by spirituality.

“From our perspective, it’s a whopping big effect,” said Holder. “I expected it to be much less. I thought their spirituality would be too immature to account for their well-being.”

Children in the study were asked to rate statements such as: “I feel a Higher Power’s presence.” They also answered questions including, “How often do you pray or meditate privately outside of church or other places of worship?”

Parents also were asked to describe each child’s apparent happiness and spirituality, and teachers rated each child’s happiness level.

The study’s authors plan to conduct the same research in India to see whether children score similar results in a country not dominated by Christianity.

By Ron Csillag

Laugh, but if you cannot, watch how do laugh other people!!!

Are you depressed?
Just smile and your bad mood will leave you without a trace!!!



Do not feel shy to laugh and you will be surprised at how your life and health change. Good and kind laughter is useful and healthy not because it elevates your spirits.



People who like to laugh – less feel sick, less become annoyed and do not know what it means this thing depression.



Laughter calms your nerves

During laughter your organism releases endorphins (they occur naturally in your brain) – “hormones of happiness”, exactly they help you to get rid of irritation and sadness.



Even if you recall the minutes you were laughing – your mood would get better at once.



Laughter conquers your stress

British scientists investigated the influence of laughter on people’s health. Two groups of people, volunteers, took part in this experiment. During one hour one group was watching comic videos, the second group was asked just sitting in silence. After this experimentation all participants did blood tests. This research revealed that people were watching funny records, had a low level of “stress” hormones like cortisol, dopamine and adrenalin than the second group.



The fact is that when we laugh- all our body and all organs experience more physical work. When we stop laughing our body relaxes, rests and slows down.

Conclusion

Thus means, that laughter helps to get out of physical and emotional tension. Scientists insist on one minute of laughing, as one minute of frank laughter is equal to 45 minutes of deep relaxation.

Spirituality a big part of kids happiness

Spirituality is a major contributor to a child's overall happiness — even more so than for adults — according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

The study tested 315 children aged 9 to 12, measuring spirituality and other factors such as temperament and social relations that can affect an individual's sense of happiness.

"Our goal was to see whether there's a relation between spirituality and happiness," said Mark Holder, associate professor of psychology and the study's co-author. "We knew going in that there was such a relation in adults, so we took multiple measures of spirituality and happiness in children."

Past studies have shown that in adults, spiritual feelings and higher levels of religious behavior typically account for about 5% of a person's overall happiness, said a UBC statement.

The results of the UBC study came as a surprise: 6.5 to 16.5% of children's happiness can be accounted for by spirituality.

"From our perspective, it's a whopping big effect," said Holder. "I expected it to be much less — I thought their spirituality would be too immature to account for their well-being."

Children in the study were asked to rate statements such as "I feel a higher power's presence," and answer questions including, "how often do you pray or meditate privately outside of church or other places of worship?"

Parents were also asked to describe each child's apparent happiness and spirituality, and teachers rated each child's happiness level.

The study's authors plan to conduct the same research in India to see whether children score similar results in a country not dominated by Christianity.

By Ron Csillag