Category: Happiness

Over four hundred studies including 50,000+ people reveal the best happiness techniques.

Meditation, mindfulness and conscious breathing are some of the best techniques for improving happiness, a review of over 400 studies reveals.

Positive psychological interventions like a gratitude journal, performing small acts of kindness and working on your sense of purpose are also effective.

Positive psychological interventions work best, though, when done together — individually they have little effect.

These techniques work well for people in good health and those with physical and mental illnesses, the research found.

However, it is important to find the right technique that fits you.

Mr Joep Van Agteren, the study’s first author, said:

“During stressful and uncertain periods in our lives, pro-actively working on our mental health is crucial to help mitigate the risk of mental and physical illness.

Our research suggests there are numerous psychological approaches people should experiment with to determine what works for them.”

Unsurprisingly, psychological therapies are also effective at improving well-being, although techniques need to be fitted to people’s requirements.

For people with mental health problems, cognitive-behavioural therapy was effective.

For those who already have good mental health, acceptance and commitment therapy works well.

Stick at it

All psychological techniques require that people stick at them for a period.

Mr Matthew Iasiello, study co-author, said:

“Just trying something once or twice isn’t enough to have a measurable impact.

Regardless of what method people are trying out, they need to stick at it for weeks and months at a time for it to have a real effect.”

While seeking professional help is important, there are many things individuals can do to improve their well-being, said Professor Michael Kyrios, study co-author:

“Implementing such interventions can be done safely for individuals on their own or in a group format, either in person or online.

It is therefore potentially a cost-effective addition to current referral pathways and treatment methods.”

The study was published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour (Agteren et al., 2021).

The ironic reason chasing happiness can make you feel worse.

The pursuit of happiness can make you unhappy when it makes you feel short of time, research finds.

People in the study who had the continuous goal of being happier, felt there was less time to achieve it.

Because of this shortness of time, they felt less happy.

In contrast, those who let happiness ‘just happen’ and were not pursuing it, did not feel the same rush and, consequently, were happier.

The researchers explain:

“Time seems to vanish amid the pursuit of happiness, but only when seen as a goal requiring continued pursuit.

This finding adds depth to the growing body of work suggesting that the pursuit of happiness can ironically undermine well-being.”

Feeling short of time is just one way the pursuit of happiness can backfire.

We can also force ourselves into activities we don’t really enjoy, spend too much money or simply overthink it.

For the research, sometimes people were given a goal of being happier.

Other times their normal levels of happiness seeking were tested.

Across four studies the researchers found that pursuing happiness could ultimately decrease it: whether it is in a person’s make-up or if they are given the goal.

It is a useful reminder that we all need time to stop and enjoy the fruits of our labours.

In the rush to be happy, we can find the goal is easily lost.

The researchers say:

“Because engaging in experiences and savoring the associated feelings requires more time compared with merely, for instance, buying material goods, feeling a lack of time also leads people to prefer material possessions rather than enjoying leisure experiences.

By encouraging people to worry less about pursuing happiness as a never-ending goal, successful interventions might just end up giving them more time and, in turn, more happiness.”

The study was published in the journal Psychonomic Bulletin & Review (Kim and Maglio, 2018).

Some people know how to enjoy themselves.

Indulging in short-term pleasures is just as important for happiness as self-control, a study finds.

While self-control is often recommended as the best route to happiness, enjoying yourself in the moment leads to long-term happiness, as well as reducing the chance of depression and anxiety.

Goals like learning a foreign language or getting fit can be rewarding, but sometimes we need to have fun.

People who find it hard to enjoy hedonistic pleasures because they are thinking about what they should be doing instead are missing out.

The new study comes in response to a focus in psychology on self-control.

Higher self-control has been linked to all sorts of positive outcomes, along with happiness.

Dr Katharina Bernecker, the study’s first author, said:

“It’s time for a rethink.

Of course self-control is important, but research on self-regulation should pay just as much attention to hedonism, or short-term pleasure.”

For the study, researchers developed a questionnaire designed to test people’s capacity for hedonism.

People who are good at enjoying themselves in the moment tend to agree with statements like:

• “I often do what I feel like doing.”
• “I can follow my desires in the here and now.”

People poor at enjoying themselves agree with statements like:

• “Thoughts about my work sometimes prevent me from enjoying pleasant activities and moments.”
• “I often think about my duties even while I am enjoying a good moment.”

People poor at enjoying the moment tend to get distracted by intrusive thoughts about what they should be doing instead.

Dr Daniela Becker, study co-author, said:

“For example, when lying on the couch you might keep thinking of the sport you are not doing.

Those thoughts about conflicting long-term goals undermine the immediate need to relax.”

The results showed that some people find it hard to indulge in short-term pleasures.

They are also more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.

None of which is to say that hedonism should be the sole aim of life, said Dr Bernecker:

“The pursuit of hedonic and long-term goals needn’t be in conflict with one another.

Our research shows that both are important and can complement each other in achieving well-being and good health.

It is important to find the right balance in everyday life.”

It can be hard work, though, enjoying yourself, Dr Bernecker said:

“It was always thought that hedonism, as opposed to self-control, was the easier option.

But really enjoying one’s hedonic choice isn’t actually that simple for everybody because of those distracting thoughts.”

One solution for those who find it hard to enjoy themselves is to to set aside specific times for enjoyment.

That way enjoyment is the sole aim of that period of time, hopefully reducing intrusive thoughts about other, more worthy, activities.

The study was published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (Bernecker & Becker, 2020).

Study of more than 10,000 people reveals how the grumpiest people can be more happy today.

The key to being more happy is simply to move around a little more.

A little extra physical movement makes people appreciably happier, research finds.

Activities that can’t even be classified as exercise, but do involve moving around a little are enough to provide a boost.

Getting up from the desk to walk around a little is one good example.

Dr Jason Rentfrow, one of the paper’s authors, said:

“Our data show that happy people are more active in general.

However, our analyses also indicated that periods of physical activity led to increased positive mood, regardless of individuals’ baseline happiness.

There have been many studies about the positive psychological effects of exercise, but what we’ve found is that in order to be happier, you don’t have to go out and run a marathon – all you’ve really got to do is periodically engage in slight physical activity throughout the day.”

The results come from a study in which data from over 10,000 people’s smartphones was analysed.

People who moved about more were happier and people were happier in those moments when they moved about more.

Dr Gillian Sandstrom, a study co-author, said:

“Most of us don’t keep track of all of our movements during the day.

A person might track whether they went for a walk or went to the gym, but when asked, most of them probably wouldn’t remember walking from the desk to the photocopier, or from the car to the office door.”

Professor Cecilia Mascolo, another study co-author, added:

“This study shows how mobile and wearable technology really can allow social psychologists to perform large longitudinal studies as well as open a direct and permanent connection with the users for advice and intervention.”

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE (Lathia et al., 2016).

Noticing these sources of happiness makes people more optimistic and increases their wellbeing.

People who experience more moments of ‘felt love’ during the day have better mental wellbeing, research finds.

This type of love does not need to be romantic — it can come from all sorts of sources.

These moments include things like a friend asking after your health, receiving a nice compliment or getting heartfelt thanks from a colleague.

Brief experiences of connection and love in everyday life like these are also linked to greater optimism and purpose in life.

The study suggests that paying attention to small everyday moments of connection could improve happiness and optimism.

Dr Zita Oravecz, the study’s first author, said:

“We took a very broad approach when we looked at love.

Everyday felt love is conceptually much broader than romantic love.

It’s those micro-moments in your life when you experience resonance with someone.

For example, if you’re talking to a neighbor and they express concern for your well-being, then you might resonate with that and experience it as a feeling of love, and that might improve your well-being.”

The conclusions come from a study of 212 people who were prompted by their smartphones to report their felt love and wellbeing six times per day over four weeks.

The results showed that as the study went on people noticed more examples of love and connection in their own lives.

It could be that being asked to notice these moments increased people’s awareness.

Dr Oravecz said:

“It’s something that we’ve seen in the literature on mindfulness, when people are reminded to focus attention on positive things, their overall awareness of those positive things begins to rise.

Similarly, just by paying attention to those everyday moments of felt love, we may also increase our awareness of the overall positive aspects of love in our daily lives.

This effect replicates in both studies, implying that raising awareness of felt love in day-to-day life may itself be an intervention that raises levels of felt love over a longer period of time.”

The study was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences (Oravecz et al., 2020).

Using this kind of humour is linked to being happier.

People who use humour to laugh at themselves are happier, research finds.

Laughing at oneself is also linked to being more social.

The finding — that laughing at oneself could be psychologically healthy — comes from research into how people use humour.

Jorge Torres Marín, the Spanish study’s first author, said:

“…a greater tendency to employ self-defeating humour is indicative of high scores in psychological well-being dimensions such as happiness and, to a lesser extent, sociability.”

The researchers also found that people who used humour to strengthen their social ties were kinder.

Humour that was self-enhancing also had its role to play.

Self-enhancing humour — especially under trying circumstances — has been linked to happiness, satisfaction with life and hope.

Other types of humour, though, were more sinister.

Ginés Navarro-Carrillo, study co-author, said:

“[the] results suggest that humour, even when presented as benign or well-intentioned, can also represent a strategy for masking negative intentions.

Humour enables individuals with low scores in honesty to build trust, closeness, etc. with other people and thereby use important information in order to manipulate them or obtain advantages in the future.”

Aggressive humour was mainly used by people to express anger.

People who use aggressive humour were found to experience negative feelings, like superiority and hate, in everyday life.

They also found it harder to manage their rage or anger well.

The study was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences (Torres-Marín et al., 2018).

Satisfaction with life refers to the overall way in which people evaluate their own lives: including their relationships, career, achieved goals and ability to cope with daily life.

Higher satisfaction with life is linked to markedly improved psychological and physical health, a study finds.

Satisfaction with life refers to the overall way in which people evaluate their own lives: including their relationships, career, achieved goals and ability to cope with daily life.

It is often contrasted with moment-by-moment happiness.

People who are highly satisfied with their lives tend to agree strongly with statements like:

1. “In most ways my life is close to my ideal.”
2. “The conditions of my life are excellent.”
3. “So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.”
4. “If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.”

The study found that people who were highly satisfied with their lives were also:

• 46 percent less likely to be depressed.
• 26 percent less likely to die.
• 25 percent less likely to have a physical disability.

They were also more hopeful, optimistic, felt a greater sense of mastery and were less lonely.

Improve satisfaction with life

Money and how people rate their appearance have a considerable effect on how satisfied people are with life.

However, many factors that are easier to change affect life satisfaction.

Relationships clearly have a large effect on life satisfaction, along with jobs, hobbies, learning to savour life, setting goals, being in nature and even analysing negative events in life.

In the end, accepting and adapting to circumstances that cannot be changed makes people feel more content.

Governments should look past money

The conclusions of the current study come from almost 13,000 people over 50-years-old surveyed in the U.S..

Each was asked to evaluate their health and well-being and followed up four years later.

Dr Eric Kim, the study’s first author, said:

“Life satisfaction is a person’s evaluation of his or her own life based on factors that they deem most relevant.

While life satisfaction is shaped by genetics, social factors and changing life circumstances, it can also be improved on both the individual level as well as collectively on the national level.”

The results showed that people whose life satisfaction improved also experienced considerable boosts in psychological and physical health.

The research is part of an effort to persuade governments to think about more than just money when making policy decisions.

Dr Kim said:

“The results of this study suggest that life satisfaction is a valuable target for policymakers to consider when enhancing physical, psychological and behavioural health outcomes at the policy level.”

He continued:

“As our nations pause and reevaluate our priorities in light of the widespread change caused by COVID-19, our policymakers have a rare and excellent opportunity to pursue well-being for all in the post-pandemic world.”

The study was published in the journal The Milbank Quarterly (Kim et al., 2021).