Pusong Pinoy

The heart of the Filipino or Pinoy is full, even if his pocket is empty. That’s what most of the teleseryes or TV soaps make us believe. Judging by the high ratings of today’s Pinoy soaps, most people can relate to the characters. The star of the soap is normally born poor, an underdog, but because of his/her kindness, labor, perseverance, and faith, he/she triumphs in the end. Success may not even be glory and money, but simply the fulfillment of having a complete family full of love and care.

Recently, several Gallup polls seem to back up this premise. The Philippines ranked number one or “world leader in love” in one of their studies. In a separate one, also by Gallup, the Philippines was ranked as the most emotional society in the world. The emotions must be more positive than negative, because the Pinoys are the fourth happiest people in the world (only two percent away from the top spot). It was no wonder then that more than 90% of Pinoys surveyed said that they would meet 2013 with hope rather than fear. The Pinoys also ranked 17th as the most generous people in the world, particularly in volunteerism.
 

Survey says …

Filipinos get the most love. This is the conclusion from a global love survey conducted by the Gallup Organization. The survey, which was conducted in 136 countries, asked the question: “Did you experience love for a lot of the day yesterday?”

In the Philippines, 93% of 2193 respondents said they experienced love the previous day. The global average is 70%. As reported in Philippine STAR by Sheila Crisostomo, Justin Wolfers, a Gallup senior scientist and a University of Michigan professor, clarified that love does not only refer to the romantic kind but could also refer to love of a child, a parent, family, or good friends.

Trailing the Philippines by only one percent was Rwanda at 92%, followed by Puerto Rico at 90% and Hungary at 89%.  Following Hungary  were Cyprus, and Trinidad and Tobago with 88%.  Paraguay had 87%, Lebanon, 86%, and Costa Rica and Cambodia had 85% each. In comparison, 81% of Americans experienced love the previous day.
 

Country with the least love

The country with “the least widespread feeling of love” was Armenia with 29%.  Mongolia and Uzbekistan followed, with 32% each while Kyrgyzstan had 34%, Morocco, Belarus, and Georgia had 43% each.

Gallup, the US-based poll firm, asked these questions in a 2011 survey involving 148 countries: “Did you feel well-respected yesterday? Were you treated with respect all day yesterday? Did you laugh or smile a lot yesterday? Did you learn or do something interesting yesterday? Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday? How about enjoyment?”

They released the percentage of respondents who answered “yes” to these questions to get the 10 happiest countries in the world. While the Philippines did not top the list, we shared fourth place with Guatemala, with 82%. Top place went to Panama and Paraguay with 85%.

With a lot of love and happiness, it was not a surprise that a poll by Pulse Asia late last year revealed that 92% of Filipinos surveyed said they would welcome 2013 with hope rather than fear. This view is common across geographic areas (90 to 96%) and across socio-economic classes (89 to 96%) as reported by Helen Flores in this newspaper.

Filipinos ranked 17th as the most generous people in the world, according to a new study made by the UK-based Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). Pinoys devoted the most amount of time to charity work in Southeast Asia with 45% volunteering. According to the study, while the world has become a less generous place, the Philippines World Giving Index is higher by four percentage points compared to its five-year average.

Love more, live more

Another statistic that you must know by now is that about 25% of Pinoys die of cardiovascular disease. If we believe the statistics about Pinoys above, then if we just keep on loving, keep on being happy, and volunteering to make others feel better and happy, then we have the simple but effective way to improve our heart health.

Research says that love and good health are connected. Love is said to bring better health. In a 2007 issue of Human Communication Research, it was reported that merely writing affectionate feelings on paper could lower cholesterol levels. Those who wrote love notes in 20-minutes sessions three times a day had significantly lower cholesterol levels than those who don’t.

At the Heart Math Institute in California, they found that those who were taught exercises to love at will increased their production of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone or the anti-aging hormone) by 50% after six months and 90% after nine months. DHEA is the hormone which produces feelings of youth and vitality.

Hugging is good for the heart

At the University of North Carolina, a study published in the July/August 2005 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine revealed that hugging has measurable benefits for the heart. Some 38 couples were asked to sit close to one another, talk, and then hug. Afterwards, women showed somewhat lower levels of cortisol and lower blood pressure, while both men and women had increased levels of oxytocin, the bonding hormone.

Happier people also have greater protection against things like heart disease and stroke, according to Andrew Steptoe, the British Heart Foundation professor of Psychology at University College London.

In the United States, a research suggested a possible link between happiness and long life. Nuns in Milwaukee who were studied were grouped into “happy nuns” and “not-so-happy nuns,” based on how joyful or gloomy their journal entries were.

While their living conditions are the same, their life expectancy was not. Of the gloomy nuns, two thirds died before their 85th birthday. In comparison, 90% of the happy nuns were still alive. On the average, happy nuns lived nine years longer than the gloomy ones.

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Post me a note at mylene@goldsgym.com.ph or mylenedayrit@gmail.com.