4 Simple Tips For Adding More Happiness (And Less Stress) To Your Day

Time is a slippery fish. It seems that no matter what we do, there are simply never enough hours in the day to get everything done, much less turn some attention inward to check in on how you’re actually doing. But when you stop and think about it, what is a day but a collection of hours, and an hour but a collection of minutes, and so on and so on? Here are 4 simple tips for adding more happiness to your day while reducing stress as well!

Parceling off a few of those moments doesn’t seem so complicated when you put it that way (and tbh, finding those moments amidst all the time we waste scrolling mindlessly on our devices is probably the way to go).

The question is, then: What do you even do with that blessed free time you’ve reclaimed? Invest it back into #1, of course, with something that’ll boost your happiness signal and carry you through the rest of the day or night.

Below, we’ve compiled some science-backed approaches to defiantly hacking into a moment of happiness with some super simple me-o’clock techniques that are proven to give you a blissful boost.

Blast your favorite song over and over (and over) again

As it turns out, you’re not the only who’s still unapologetically listening to The Cardigans’ “Lovefool” (hello, Romeo + Juliet soundtrack), while grooming in the mirror. That’s because when we connect with a certain song and listen to it over and over again, we’re “fostering an intimate connection to the music while bypassing conceptual cognition and allowing the sound to seem ‘lived’ rather than ‘perceived,’” as Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, music cognition specialist and author or On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind, puts it.

In other words: There are some songs you just feel, and allowing yourself to really live repeatedly in the moment of that song puts you in a rewarding, hyper-engaged, and happy headspace. Thanks, science!

Stop and smell the lavender

Lavender plants aren’t just the background to your recurring day dream of getting day-drunk in the purple-flowered fields of Provence. A 2013 study found that lavender beat out the placebo in patients suffering from anxiety, and was also shown to reduce associated symptoms such as restlessness and disturbed sleep, overall having a “beneficial influence on general well-being and quality of life.”

Pick up some lavender extract to incorporate it into your food or drinks, and then treat yourself to this Bliss “In the Honey” face mask, which combines acacia honey, squalane, and cocoa seed extract, and lavender oil for maximum hydration and skin-calming effects. Calm = happy as heck.

Dance like nobody’s watching (your Instagram stories)

If you’ve ever turned on your favorite song and fully cut loose in the living room in your underwear, with or without Insta-documentation, you know the kind of good vibes that await. Dancing results in the production of endorphins, as well as the mood-lifting neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine.

Additionally, numerous studies that have proposed that the challenge of learning a dance routine can reverse signs of aging in elderly individuals. So you know what that means: More dancing now and, for the rest of your days.

Skincare is self-care

A recent study published in the British Journal of Dermatology found that individuals with acne are at a substantially higher risk for depression. But as anyone who has dealt with acne can tell you (*raises hand*), the causes and solutions can often feel like a guessing game. And of course, the causes of depression can also be very nuanced and complex.

But one thing that you can pretty much count on when it comes to vanquishing the acne that might be bumming you out? Exfoliating on the reg. Whether you’re opting for “mechanical exfoliation,” which refers to applying a product or object that physically removes dead skin cells, or “chemical exfoliation,” which generally relies on acids to remove them, clearing out those pores can go a long way in helping keep your skin clear.

For the former, pick up some Bliss’ Micro Magic Skin-Renewing Microdermabrasion Scrub, which features volcanic pumice as its chief exfoliant, and massage into clean, damp skin for two to three minutes before rinsing. If a chemical exfoliant is more your thing, opt for the Pore Patrol Deep Detox Four-clay Souffle Mask, which utilizes four different kinds of toxin-magnet clays, as well as glycolic acid, for a one-two punch of impurity removal and exfoliation resurfacing. And thanks to Bliss’ new lower prices, might as well pick up both, eh?

Happiness (and soft as heck skin) for days. Find these miracle workers and the rest of the revamped Bliss line at Target and Blissworld.com