Do you have tons of things on your to-do list? Well, add one more. It’s time to pencil in some fun.

Chances are, you simply deserve some joy and fulfillment. But if you prefer, you can think on the serious side of fun. Experts say that good emotions can increase your ability to bounce back from stress, solve problems, think flexibly, and even fight disease.

Studies show that:

• Laughing reduces pain, can help your heart and lungs, promotes muscle relaxation and can reduce anxiety.
• Positive emotions can decrease stress hormones and build emotional strength.
• Leisure activities offer a distraction from problems, a sense of competence and many other benefits. For example, twins who participated in recreational activities were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or dementia than their co-twins in one study.

Ways to create joy and satisfaction

Strengthen your funny bone

You can keep it together by teaming up: It’s hard to be annoyed, worried or mad when you’re rolling with laughter. And gentle humor often helps defuse a tense situation.

Check out some tips:

• Pick up some joke books or humorous essays in a bookstore or library. Keep a few on hand for a quick pick-me-up.
• Put together a collection of sayings or pictures that make you smile, and put them in a visible place. Change them occasionally or you’ll probably stop noticing them.
• Keep a humor tape in the car and avoid traffic frustration.
• Watch or listen to comedy via video, podcast or website. Or get a laugh the old fashioned way – through the comics section.
• Try to laugh at some of the difficulties in your life if you can. Figuring out what’s a little absurd or funny in a challenging situation might just bring relief.

Find something fun

Whether it’s playing golf or fooling around, having fun isn’t just fun. It also promotes our overall well-being and success.

Leisure activities can increase our efficiency, broaden our perspective, increase creativity and replenish our energy supply. Leisure can combat stress by offering:

• social support
• chances to build self-confidence
• distractions from difficulties
• an emotional lift

Let’s have fun:

• Free up some time. Can you afford to scratch something off your calendar? Is there someone you can ask to help ease your burden? Set aside time for fun and treat it like a doctor’s appointment.
• Do something you loved to do as a child. Run through the sprinklers, hang from the monkey bars, make a mess with finger paint.
• Do something you’ve always wanted to do. Bake a soufflé, build a tree house, learn to knit. If you’re not sure how, take a class or look for a local group dedicated to the activity.
• Pursue a creative interest. Writing, singing or making music all have therapeutic effects. Or just turn on a song you love: Brain imaging shows that music can trigger feel-good hormones.
• Do it with someone you love. Get an extra boost from your free time by sharing it. Good times build relationships, and good relationships is the key to our happiness.

What is your “flow”?

Some activities provide an extra psychological boost, claims prominent psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. They are activities that completely absorb us, challenge us without overloading us, and make us feel fulfilled. It is they who create the feeling of “flow”.

Everyone has their own sources of flow. For you, it might mean whining down the Alps; for another it might be basting a turkey, bowling or mowing the lawn. Whatever your flow, it will make you feel efficient, confident and in control.

To get more flow:

• Identify the highlights of your day. Try to notice when you have the feeling of “in the zone”. Or reflect back at the end of the day to see what made you feel good. So try to do these activities more.
• Don’t look for flow in passive pursuits. Watching TV, for example, doesn’t offer the challenge that tends to spark flow. And once you’ve improved a task, you consider raising the difficulty in some way.
• Inject flow into some common activities. Adding more meaning or ingenuity to routine tasks can make them more rewarding. In a study of hospital cleaning staff, some were dissatisfied with the job, but others increased their pleasure by creating new challenges, such as working more efficiently or helping patients.

Go ahead, treat yourself

While there probably isn’t much research into the emotional value of a good soak in the tub, we all need some sort of relaxing retreat.

Consider these options:

• Therapeutic massage. A massage can relieve muscle tension, stimulate the body’s natural pain relievers and boost your immune system. It can also help you feel less anxious and more relaxed.
• Meditation or a form of meditative exercise. Try tai chi or qi gong, which use calming, flowing movements.
• A break in nature. A blue sky, lush bushes, a scenic lake. Walking into – or even just looking at – nature calms our nerves and relieves mental fatigue. In one study, workers with views of nature were happier at their jobs than workers with similar jobs but no views of nature.
• A mental vacation. If you can’t hop on a plane to a soothing place, just close your eyes and imagine a scene you love. Try to fully imagine the experience of being there.

Get more out of what you have

Sometimes we don’t need to add new activities to get more joy. We just have to soak up the joy in the ones we already have.

If we don’t stop to notice the positives in your life, it’s as if they barely exist. Unfortunately, our daily demands sometimes block our ability to enjoy. To increase it, try these tips:

• Practice mindfulnessor the experience of being fully conscious. You can start by really enjoying a meal. Feel the textures, taste the flavors, enjoy the aromas. Don’t rush, don’t pick up the phone (and don’t talk with your mouth full!). Remind yourself to be aware of other experiences throughout the day, like how your shower feels on your skin or how the sun feels on your face.
• Share the joy. If you want to experience your positive experiences more fully, tell a friend about them. That way, you can relive the moment – ​​and enjoy your friend’s reaction.
• Let it out. When you feel good, throw yourself into it. Go ahead, jump up and down, clap your hands. Research shows that if you act out a certain emotion, you can turn that emotion on.

Reviewed by Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, University of California, Riverside psychology professor and author of The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want (Penguin Press).