Unlocking the riddle of what makes humans happy is the subject of
much research, aimed perhaps at finding a formula or creating a map to
help us in this endless and universal quest. The following are 10 recent
studies that examine the factors at play in human happiness.
1. Disproving the myth of the grumpy old man…
Stanford research conducted over a period of a dozen years suggests that age brings increased happiness, balance, and even ability to get along with others
– contradicting the stereotype of the grumpy old man. That comes as
good news to a society that is, itself, growing older; baby boomers can
look forward to leaving behind the frustrations and let-downs of youth,
and gain an appreciation for each moment as the time to enjoy them
dwindles.
2. Keeping up with the Joneses…
A massive global study into the connection between income and
satisfaction levels seems to disprove the old adage that money can’t buy
happiness, instead showing that the proverbial “Joneses” remain the yardstick by which we judge satisfaction with our own lives.
Over the course of two years, Gallup polled nearly 140,000 people in
132 countries to paint the most accurate portrait yet of how humans
define happiness, revealing a universal link with the notion of the good
life.
3. Time for a raise…
According to Princeton research involving 450,000 Americans, an income of $75,000 a year is key to the happiness equation,
representing freedom from money woes; drop below that level, and your
happiness plummets while stress and sadness increase. Although momentary
moods are not apparently elevated by even higher incomes, a more
profound sense of life satisfaction seems to be the reward as you climb
the earnings ladder.
4. Adding kids to the equation…
A report in the Journal of Happiness Research contradicts anecdotal
evidence and earlier studies that suggest children bring more stresses
than pleasures. In fact, based on nearly 90,000 observations, author of
the study, Luis Angeles, finds that marital status is key to whether kids enhance or detract from happiness,
actually increasing satisfaction levels in marriage; however, this is
an overall measure – when it comes to social life, for instance, kids
can be a real downer.
5. Feeling the burn…
Although those who participate in fitness activities commonly report
that doing so improves mood, Dutch research on twins and their families concludes there is no causal effect.
In the study, those who tended to avoid exercise manifested a greater
incidence of depression, but the link was genetic – so for those who are
already feeling blue, money spent on a gym membership might be better
used for traditional therapy, including anti-depressants.
6. Location, location, location…
A Gallup study of 155 countries found that Scandinavians are the cheeriest bunch on the planet,
while Africa is a hotbed of suffering. Less expected findings included
the poor showing by Asian powerhouses, China, India and Japan – while
the US managed only a fifth place finish just in the Western hemisphere.
7. When feel-good philosophies fail…
Research reported in Psychological Science refutes the feel-good
platitude popularized by Norman Vincent Peale in The Power of Positive
Thinking, suggesting that those with lower self-esteem only feel worse following a round of self-affirmations.
The latest studies reinforce the new direction in therapy that advises
acceptance of your negative self-talk; gaining a truer perspective may
be more productive than reciting affirmations about self-worth that
simply don’t ring true.
8. The overstated importance of happiness…
The fixation on achieving the elusive state of happiness is probably
counterproductive, and so is the pressure to participate in feel-good
activities like volunteering. In an ongoing study called MIDUS (Mid Life
in the US), eudaimonic well-being (“well-being that comes from engaging
in meaningful activity”) is replacing happiness as the ideal goal,
and it seems to originate in the pre-frontal cortex where high-level
thought takes place – allowing people to realistically evaluate
situations and find challenges instead of obstacles.
9. The health-happiness link…
A number of studies show a strong connection between health and
happiness, including research at Carnegie Mellon that found subjects
identified with positive emotional traits proved more resistant, and suffered fewer symptoms,
when exposed to cold and flu germs. Another study, reported in The
American Journal of Health Promotion, followed up with approximately
10,000 Australians to compare self-reported life satisfaction with
future health, and found that happy respondents reported a 160% greater
incidence of good health.
10. The unhappy mind-wanderer…
Harvard researchers utilizing an iPhone app called Track Your
Happiness to gather real-time reports of feelings from 250,000
participants worldwide found that sex, exercise, conversation and music-listening headed the happiest activity list,
while personal hygiene, commuting and working were the biggest bummers.
Curiously, the less happy the activity, the more the mind wanders;
furthermore, their findings show that daydreaming actually causes
dissatisfaction – proving that real happiness is indeed achieved by
living in the moment.
Do you agree with these findings? Please share your thoughts below.
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