Put pleasure in your life

(by Laura Miller)

How frequently do you allow yourself totally carefree moments? Little time-outs and simple pleasures?

We race around frantically, making quick cameo appearances at supermarkets, day-care centers and the dry cleaners. We fantasize about curling up in bed with a good novel and a cup of tea on a cold Saturday afternoon but, invariably, feel compelled to wax the car or run a couple of kilometers. Although we believe we're better off for having made those sacrifices — healthier, more productive, and better disciplined — that's not necessarily the case.

In fact, the very opposite may be true. Truly healthy people, it seems, indulge in the occasional decadent dessert without guilt. They shamelessly grab an afternoon flap, spend 15 minutes idly patting the cat, toss an old blanket on the lawn, lie back and watch the clouds race across the sky.

Dr David Sobel, a specialist in preventive medicine, and Robert Ornstein, a psychologist and brain researcher, espouse a theory that a little of what you fancy does you good.

"Studies seem to indicate that overall happiness is not dictated so much by the peaks and valleys of your life as by the total amount of time you spend in a positive mood", Dr Sobel says. "And that to us means the small pleasures."

The researchers got the idea when they began noticing that the healthiest people they knew were not those who spent a lot of time managing their health.

"We began to realize", Robert says, "that we didn't know anybody we thought was healthy who had an extremely healthy diet and monitored their exercise. Instead, they were people who were actively engaged in their lives." They live with optimism and gusto, Robert says. They are passionate about hobbies, travel and family life.

How pleasure works

Scientists are still exploring exactly what makes our bodies acknowledge and feel pleasures. It's all in the brain, it seems. Human beings have pleasure centers located in the brain in an area known as the limbic system, which can be stimulated naturally through pleasing sights, sounds, smells, tastes and thoughts. Precisely how those centers are tapped in what scientists are trying to discover.

Some researchers think pleasure releases endorphins, opiate-like substances in the brain that make us feel better. Says Dr Sobel: "We don't really know. Our understanding of this mechanism is very crude. It's in its infancy."