Skiing into happiness

Skiing is an interesting activity; it involves high speeds, higher altitudes, cold temperatures, preposterous headgear, dressing up like a marshmallow, and a willingness to fall down a mountain holding onto sharpened sticks. There may have been more bizarre things that humans have chosen to devote time to, but none spring to mind (Morris Dancing aside, of course). Still, skiing is a popular pursuit and according to research there is good reason for that as hitting the slopes can increase your happiness.

In a new study South Korean researchers surveyed visitors to ski resorts. The skiers were assessed for sense of pleasure, their degree of happiness, their sense of involvement, and their degree of satisfaction after having been out on the slopes.

The results showed that people did report higher levels of happiness even if they were not regular skiers.

The researchers say that activities like skiing promote high levels of engagement in people, the psychological phenomenon known as “flow”. It might not seem too astounding that having an exhilarating time boosts your happiness levels but what is interesting is that these researchers say that intense “flow” experiences such as this have effects that extend through to the rest of life.

That means that skiing can lead to life changes beyond the snowfields. It can enhance positive thinking, reduce the impact of stress in life, and even help combat mental illness. Of course, the logical extension is that other activities that produce high levels of engagement and psychological flow can have far reaching positive effects. We can reasonably expect that you will receive such benefits from surfing, skydiving, perhaps even extreme needle-work.

The moral of it all is clear and none too new; go with the flow.