Happiness seems to be the state many of us seek, but all too often find elusive.

Even more confusingly it seems that while life's stresses and strains seem to constantly knock some people for six, others ride the storms and still come up smiling.

Charmaine Yabsley, author of The Happy Plan, believes that the heart of a happy life is realising that "happiness is all about achieving balance - the balance between being healthy, feeling fulfilled in your personal and professional life and setting and achieving personal goals".

She recognises "Getting your life in balance is not always easy. Once you achieve this balance, you'll find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - happiness."

Crucially, she says it's essential to treat your body with respect, whether it's through work, exercise, diet or relaxation. "Your body is the most important tool you have and your gateway to achieving long term happiness and contentment."

There are all sorts of simple ways to transform your health so that you feel physically better, and have more energy to face life's challenges and gain a greater sense of wellbeing.

Just making a few changes to your lifestyle could help you towards more contentment and relieve some of the nagging, irritating problems and symptoms that pull you down.

10 TIPS FOR A HAPPIER YOU

You look forward to the weekend but it's ruined because you feel low and irritable This is often caused by dehydration. If you're drinking your prescribed eight glasses of filtered water every day of the working week, make sure you continue at the weekend.

Insomnia saps energy and can lead to mood swings and low mood. Try eating a banana around 30 minutes before going to bed. Ripe bananas may raise mood and help you go to sleep. They're also believed to have a soothing effect on the body by stimulating serotonin production.

Exercise really is vital to boost energy and mood. The UK's National Institute of Mental Health estimates that around 30 minutes physical activity not only helps lift mood but keeps it elevated for 24 hours.

Don't worry if you can't slog it out in the gym. It's just as beneficial to do three 10-minute bursts. Try walking to a sandwich bar maybe 10 minutes away from the office, or parking further away from the supermarket when you shop. Those minutes add up and gradually you'll feel fitter and more positive.

Regulate your body clock so that you avoid waking up exhausted, and don't suffer energy slumps mid-afternoon which can contribute to low mood.

Skipping meals, or overeating at separate meals, will override your body's natural ability to recognise hunger and fullness. These can make you vulnerable to bingeing or snacking heavily at odd times, which leads to mood swings as blood sugar levels vary.

Instead eat three meals a day at the same time every day, include protein, vegetables and eliminate processed foods such as white bread and rice.

Cut down on drinking. Alcohol robs your body of mood-enhancing B vitamins. Drink no more than one or two units a day.

Try this 60-second mood lifter at work. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen in your body. If you're feeling bored and lethargic, five deep, slow breaths will do wonders at boosting your mood and energy levels.

And breathing and meditation exercises improve your chances of a good night's sleep, a major weapon in the fight against depression and low mood.

Try this exercise before you go to bed. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your navel. Take a deep breath. If the lower hand doesn't move, you're not breathing deeply enough. As you breathe in, feel your abdomen rise and your fingertips part.

Use herbs to aid happiness. Try ginger to lift the spirits, cinnamon to counteract exhaustion, camomile to help with nervous tension and peppermint to help calm nerves and relieve anger. These can be bought as herbal teas.

Feeling blue? Call a friend for a giggle and a gossip (or a rant and a moan). Talking through problems or just catching up with each other's lives can help shake you out of your world.

A good laugh does you and your health a world of good by releasing endorphins, the body's feel-good chemicals, into the bloodstream.

Get that often-talked-about 'work/life balance'. Always leave work on time, or if that's difficult designate one night only when you can work late. Book personal appointments, whether it's for the gym, to see friends or have a massage, and put them in the diary. These are just as important as your work-day commitments. Stick to them and don't let yourself down.

Keep your brain healthy by ensuring it stays stimulated. Take up a new hobby which can excite the mind, help ease stress levels, fire your enthusiasm and help restore your confidence.

TAKE THE HAPPINESS QUIZ

1 You're late for work and everything is going wrong. You spill tea over your skirt and can't find your purse. Do you

• (a) Burst into tears and seriously consider calling in sick to work?
• (b) Run around searching for your purse, yelling as you go?
• (c) Take a deep breath, eat an apple, and calmly look for your purse?

2 When you watch a soppy movie with a sad ending, do you

• (a) Cry for days and feel as though you've lost a friend or family
  member?
• (b) Smile through your tears - it was a good movie?
• (c) Turn it off halfway through? What a pile of sentimental junk!

3 You promised to babysit for a friend, but another friend calls and
invites you to a spa opening with a free massage and manicure, on the
same night. Do you

• (a) Call your friend the day before to cancel, with the excuse of being
  ill, then go to the spa, but don't enjoy it because you feel so guilty?
• (b) Find a replacement to babysit for your friend and go to the spa
  opening, even though you are really tired?
• (c) Cancel babysitting at the last minute, leaving your friend in the
  lurch, and attend the spa, without a pang of guilt?

4 Are your favourite foods

• (a) Sticky toffee pudding, chocolate ice-cream and apple pie?
• (b) Homemade meals, such as roast dinners and healthy, balanced meals?
• (c) Or do you prefer to eat out, and have others wait on you?

5 When you go to the gym do you

• (a) Prefer to go to an easy class, such as beginners' aerobics?
• (b) Like to change your routine and alternate between forms of exercise?
• (c) Train with a personal trainer? It's the only way you'll reach your
  goal.

RESULTS

Mostly As The Weeping Weakling.

You say 'yes' to everybody. Wanting to please everybody all the time usually means that you end up pleasing nobody any of the time. Say 'no' the next time somebody asks you to do something that doesn't fit into your day's plan. With more time you will have more self-esteem and feel that you have a more honest relationship with others.

Mostly Bs The See-saw.

Sometimes you're on top of the world, other times you're lying in the gutter in despair. You like to live life to the full, but overburden yourself with demands. Sometimes we keep ourselves busy because we're afraid of being alone. Making time out to genuinely enjoy your own company will help you feel more grounded and enhance the caring side of your personality.

Mostly Cs The Extremist.

You are so determined not to miss out on anything, you are in danger of burning yourself out. There's nothing wrong with running around in the latest styles, as long as you realise that designer clothes do not maketh the man (or woman). Sign up for meditation classes, enjoy a night in watching corny movies and make a fool of yourself now and then. You will like yourself much better for it.

OPTIMISM IS A HABIT

Take a tip from psychologists who estimate that we think around 40,000 thoughts every day. If that seems overwhelming, take heart the good news is we can choose what we think.

When you wake up programme in positive thoughts by asking yourself the following three questions What am I looking forward to today? How can I be generous today? What am I grateful for today?

Try to do it for the next 30 days and choosing happiness could become your new best habit. For more happiness secrets call the Happiness Project on 0845 430 9236 or visit www.happiness.co.uk

The Happy Plan by Charmaine Yabsley, is published by Collins & Brown, priced £12.99. Out now.