'Bad' Habits That Actually Boost Your Health And Happiness

Sleep in, or scream out loud if you feel like it. These forms of catharsis can improve your well-being.

- Jo Upcraft

Sometimes it’s good to be bad. Here are 14 seemingly negative habits that can actually boost your health and happiness – no guilt involved!

Reading erotica

Indulging in a few sexy stories can be mentally and – potentially physically – great for us. Naughty prose is a great and perfectly harmless way to destress. “Not only will it take your mind off everyday life, it cheers you up and fuels your imagination,” says Eadren Tan, life coach and educator-at-large at Brainzworkz. All those steamy suggestions can only be carried over to the bedroom – because we all know how awesome making love is for cardio, endorphin-release and working body parts many of us don’t even know exist.

Swearing

Researchers in the UK found that saying any expletive out loud can make you feel better. Experts asked 64 students to put their hands in ice buckets for several minutes. One group was allowed to swear, the other had to keep quiet. The group that lasted the longest – and reportedly suffered less agony – were those sprouting profanities. No s**t.

Fidgeting

Playing with your hair, shaking your leg, drumming your fingers, doodling – you were told as a child to stop being so restless and just stay still. Turns out Mum was wrong about fidgeting.

It’s to do with this thing called nonexercise activity thermogenesis (Neat). Aside from eating, sleeping or doing sports, Neat is the energy you use doing everything else. And it turns out that fidgeting – continuous but small actions – helps increase Neat, which fuels weight loss and boosts your overall health.

Listening to loud music