I read a post this week that said March feels like the real beginning of the new year.
And I agree.
The lighter mornings and evenings, blue skies and the warmer weather.
By the end of this month, the clocks will have gone forward and spring will officially be here!
With the world outside starting to look a bit brighter, it seems a bit more reasonable for me to suggest that you leave your house more often and socialise with the world around you!
This week’s Mental Sunshine is just that – to socialise more.
This doesn’t mean going to massive parties or events, if that’s not your kind of thing.
It could be meeting some friends for coffee or going for a walk together.
When it comes to staying happy and healthy, we all know about things like diet and exercise –
But it’s also important to remember the importance of social interaction.
In the early 20th century, scientists looked at a small town in Pennsylvania called Roseto.
The town seemed to have a higher than average life expectancy, where people weren’t as likely to die from heart attacks etc.
The scientists looked at every measure of longevity, trying to figure out how these people managed to live for longer and to be more healthy.
They did blood tests, looked at diet, smoking, exercise, all the obvious things.
And then one Sunday, one of the researchers was in town just as the church service was finishing.
He saw everyone come out of the doors of the church…
But they didn’t all go their separate ways.
In fact, for over an hour afterwards most people were still standing there, chatting and enjoying each other’s company.
He realised the reason people in Roseto were living longer was that they were a community.
They had a social infrastructure; they spent time engaging with each other.
We do this after our open-water swims too.
Everyone gathers around the firepit and the conversations start.
It’s this sense of community spirit that’s an added bonus to our swims
So, what can you do this week to be more sociable?
To engage more with the world around you?
Let me know…