The secret formula for happiness.

The Magic Formula for Happiness

Count on scientists to conjure a mathematical formula for happiness. What's even better, they've developed an app that lets the world at large participate in their happiness experiment.To sum it up, "happiness depends not on how well things are going, but whether things are going better or worse than expected," says Robb Rutledge, senior research associate at University College London and lead author of the study that came up with this formula:Happiness (t)=w0+w1∑j=1tγt−jCRj+w2∑j=1tγt−jEVj+w3∑j=1tγt−jRPEjRobb explains the formula this way:Happiness (t) depends on:· Safe choices (certain rewards, CR),· Expectations associated with risky choices (expected value, EV)· Whether outcomes of risky choices were better or worse than expected, reward prediction error (RPE), the difference between anticipation and realization.How it works: Say you plan to meet a friend for dinner, your happiness should increase in anticipation, Robb says. If you get a last-minute reservation at a popular new restaurant, your happiness might increase. If the meal is good, but not quite as good as expected, your happiness should decrease.Robb's team developed games that test memory, impulsivity, attention and decision making to support its formula. They scanned the brains of 26 subjects playing the games and examined the results of 18,000 others who downloaded an app to play them.You're invited to play along. Check out Robb's Apple or Android app at the Great Brain Experiment. See if winning points while contributing to neuroscience and psychology research multiplies your happiness.Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.
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The Power of Passion

I can't live If living is without you I can't live I can't give anymore —"Without You" I remember the first time I heard these lyrics, sung by Mariah Carey—a cover of adesperately emotional ballad that equates intense longing with an ideal form of romantic passion. From Billboard music charts to blockbuster films, popular culture perpetuates this notion that true love is an uncontrollable feeling of being “swept away.” Though this kind of unbridled passion has an enormous appeal, both in popular culture and in life, “it can be harmful to our well-being and relationships,” says Robert (Bob) Vallerand, Ph.D., past president of the Canadian Psychological Association and the International Positive Psychology Association. In his new book, The Psychology of Passion,the social psychologist reports an all-consuming or "obsessive passion" is associated with not trusting one's partner. Those who are obsessively passionate toward their lovers are insecure and preoccupied with protecting their egos rather than being attuned to their partners, he says. They tend to be defensive, controlling and have to win all the time. Not exactly the stuff of Prince Charming. Obsessive passion is as detrimental to a relationship as having no passion at all. In fact, women in relationships with obsessively passionate men reported feeling less satisfied sexually and overall, Bob says, despite what popular culture would have you think. Of course, in the throes of early romance we may feel distracted and focus on our partners at the exclusion of everything else. We might while away time daydreaming at our desks instead of drafting those important memos, or mentally replaying every word from our most recent conversations. And we feel butterflies in our stomachs just thinking of our partners. What would life be without these exhilarating experiences? It's healthy to savor these moments. However, problems arise when we are stuck at this stage and don't develop. Our relationship stagnates and often falls apart, research finds. Cultivating a healthy passion Relationships with a "healthy," or what Bob calls a "harmonious passion," are those in which we are in control of our emotions. We retain our identity, maintain balance, experience greater intimacy, and handle conflict better—all of which leads to a more mature relationship, according to Bob’s research. Fortunately, we can learn to cultivate harmonious passion. Instead of losing yourself in a new relationship, maintain the friends and interests you had before the relationship began. It’s tempting to dive into a new love and forget about everything else in your life, but certainly not healthy for your sense of identity. And when the intensity of an early love dissipates (or disappears), you’ll need the rest of your life to fall back on! In order to maintain your identity, reflect upon your unique strengths and interests, Bob says. Find something you both enjoy and share it with your partner. Research shows that engaging in exciting activities together increases attraction. And of course, you should try to avoid serious competition, which may be destructive to the relationship, Bob says. The point is to have fun together, not to win. So, if you’re a chess wizard or your partner is a competitive swimmer, you might want to avoid those activities. This is about connecting, not winning! Finally, find time to share something good that you experience with your partner every day. This is another simple way to build a healthy passion, Bob says. And when it comes to those dramatic love songs, perhaps you can look to them for entertainment, not emulation. Suzann Pileggi Pawelski is a freelance writer specializing in the science of happiness and its effects on relationships and health. She and her husband James Pawelski will present their "Romance and Research" workshop at the 3rd Congress: Spaces of Thought and Action in Psychology in Graz, Austria, as well as at IPPA's 4th World Congressin Orlando, Florida.
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More sex doesn't equan more happiness?

Frequent Sex Not Always Linked to Happiness

Our culture holds the general belief, backed up by self-help books, that sex within a committed relationship will make you happy and healthy—and the more the better. Academic study In the first study to ask whether having more frequent sex actually makes people happier, Carnegie Mellon University researchers assigned some couples to have more sex than others and observed both groups' happiness over three months. The results, published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, show that simply having more sex did not make couples happier, in part because the increased frequency led to a decline in wanting more sex and enjoying the sex they had. The study involved 128 healthy people, ages 35-65, in married male-female couples. The researchers randomly assigned the couples to one of two groups: The first received no instructions on sexual frequency. The second group was asked to double their weekly sexual intercourse frequency. Enforced date night At the end of the study, surveys showed that the couples who were asked to did have more sex, but that it led, surprisingly, to a small decrease in happiness. These same couples reported lower sexual desire and a decrease in sexual enjoyment. This may have had something to do with the fact that their turbo sex lives were initiated at the behest of a university study—not the most sexy of circumstances. "If we ran the study again, and could afford to do it, we would try to encourage subjects into initiating more sex in ways that put them in a sexy frame of mind, perhaps with baby-sitting, hotel rooms or Egyptian sheets, rather than directing them to do so," George Loewenstein, Ph.D., the study's lead investigator, told the Carnegie Mellon news center. Basically, ignore this study, lead investigator says Despite the study's results, George says he continues to believe that most couples have too little sex for their own good, and thinks that increasing sexual frequency in the right ways can be beneficial.
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Chocolate is good for your brain.

Chocolate Is Good for Your Brain

We already know that a good dose of chocolate can make us happy. But new research shows it can give our brains and energy a boost as well. When thinking starts to get fuzzy this afternoon, reach for a piece of dark chocolate to sharpen your mind, says a new study published in the journal NeuroRegulation. Chocolate boost A 60 percent cacao confection will get you past a midday slump by making your brain more alert and attentive while its stimulants give your blood pressure a short-term boost, according to the research from Northern Arizona University. A regular chocolate bar with high sugar and milk content won't be as good, Larry Stevens, Ph.D. and NAU professor of psychological sciences, told the university's news center. 60% is the magic number His team's first-ever chocolate consumption study using brain-wave measuring electroencephalography, or EEG technology, also measured blood pressures of its 122 participants. (It must have been tough to recruit participants for this study!) The Hershey Company, the study sponsor, provided confections that looked identical but had either low cacao content, higher cacao (60 percent), or higher cacao plus L-theanine, an amino acid in green tea that acts as a relaxant. Chosen for taste and availability, the 60 percent cacao was moderate and kept its effect small but statistically significant, researchers said. If you want to go for it, "there are quite palatable chocolate preparations publicly available containing up to 90 percent cacao," they added. Really. (Because the study was sponsored by Hershey, you may want to take the results with a grain of salt—er, sugar.) Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who divides his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.
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Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert’s Generosity Stuns Teachers

Comedian Stephen Colbert is showing his appreciation of his native South Carolina's public school teachers by funding every existing grant request they have made on thecrowdfunding website DonorsChoose.org. "Using the proceeds of the sale of my old set on The Colbert Report, which we auctioned off, and with the generous matching funds from The Morgridge Family Foundation and ScanSource, DonorsChoose is going to flash-fund all 1,000 projects in South Carolina," Colbert said in a surprise live video feed May 7 at Alexander Elementary School in Greenville. The $800,000 worth of projects were submitted by 800 teachers at more than 375 schools. Grants will pay for new books, classroom supplies, school-branded clothing and professional development for teachers. "Enjoy your learning, South Carolina," Stephen said to a roomful of students and educators. He was speaking from a conference in New York hosted by DonorsChoose.org. "There are going to be some happy, happy teachers across the state," said state schools Superintendent Molly Spearman. "This is Teacher Appreciation Week, so what a great way to say 'thank you teachers for what you're doing every day.' " DonorsChoose.org accepts public donations as little as $1 for classroom projects posted by public school teachers. When a project reaches its funding goal, the organization ships materials to the school. Jim Gold is a veteran reporter who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.
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Yoga on the go.

Yoga on the Go

Harried travelers who prefer to chill out in chaturanga instead of at the bar can now breathe a deep, restorative sigh of relief at a growing number of airport yoga rooms."I definitely have found myself going to the bar and having a glass of wine," Ritu Riyat, a yoga instructor and life coach who has used airport yoga rooms, told The New York Times. "With yoga, I don’t need to have that glass of wine."A growing trendAirport yoga rooms have taken off since San Francisco International Airport launched the first one in 2012. Now at least four U.S. airports have yoga rooms. One recently opened at Heathrow in London and its operator plans another in Hong Kong, the Times reported."The Yoga Room gives modern travelers a space that fosters and supports quiet and reflection," says Melissan Mizell, design director at Gensler architects, which created San Francisco's first room. "Those aren't emotions that people typically encounter at the airport."Calm amid the stormBecause though vacations may be restorative, travel itself is stressful(especially business travel). Planes run late, people run late, and on top of that, many of us have a fear of flying. Perhaps that's what makes an airport the perfect place to stop what you're doing (if you have time—perhaps time you didn't know you were going to have) to stop for a moment of peace and mindfulness."Yoga's probably a lot healthier than trying to quell the stress at an airport bar," Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst, told the Times.Read more about the health benefits of yoga.Where to find airport yoga rooms:Burlington, Vermont: Evolution Yoga room, second floor.Chicago: O'Hare Yoga Room, Terminal 3.Dallas-Fort Worth: Yoga studio, near Gate 40 between Terminals B and D.San Francisco: Yoga Rooms, Terminals 2 and 3.Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.
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Puppy-sized.jpg

Puppy Power

Petting puppies is the newest—and cutest—way students anxious over year-end exams and dissertation deadlines can de-stress at the University of Central Lancashire in England.When the UCLan Students' Union announced on Facebook it would take 300 signups for a "puppy room" on May 7, all the slots—and a waiting list—filled up in a day.Besides relaxing 20 to 30 puppy cuddlers at a time, the 15-minute sessions will raise money for Guide Dogs, which will provide the tail-waggers.A Japanese study on the "power of kawaii," or cuteness, showed people have higher levels of concentration after looking at pictures of puppies or kittens. So why not go even further and enjoy snuggling with the real thing, Lucy Haigh, a UCLan Students' Union board member, told Rock FM. "Everyone's going to leave a little more happy than when they came in," Lucy said. "We're going to measure it."We already know petting dogs helps relax us andkeep us healthy. The guide dogs-in-training get something out of the sessions, too: getting used to being around people.Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.
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Are you in debt?

Credit Card Debt Tied to Depression

Next time you're in Macy's checkout line, think about paying cash instead of credit. Your purchase, and the ensuing debt, will be less likely to cause depression, suggests a study to be published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues.Credit cards, overdue bills and other short-term debt increase depressive symptoms, says the first study of different types of debt and their effects on various groups of people. The results were reported in Science Daily.Depressive symptoms were particularly strong among unmarried people, people reaching retirement age and less-educated people, says lead author Lawrence Berger, Ph.D., a University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work professor.Mid-term and long-term debt were not linked to depressive symptoms—only short-term credit card debt, Berger said.Berger's team focused on data about 8,500 working-age adults in two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households, conducted six years apart and ending in 1994.Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.
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Mindfulness for depression?

Mindfulness Acts as Antidepressant, Study Says

Depression sufferers who would rather avoid pills can turn to mindfulness therapy to keep the disease at bay, according to a new study published in The Lancet. Mindfulness therapy Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is just as effective as antidepressants at preventing a relapse among patients with depression, concluded United Kingdom researchers who undertook the largest-ever study comparing the two treatments. "Depression is a recurrent disorder. Without ongoing treatment, as many as four out of five people with depression relapse at some point," says Willem Kuyken, lead author and Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford. A recurrent disorder For most patients, antidepressant medication reduces the likelihood of relapse or recurrence by up to two-thirds, says co-author Richard Byng, a Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry professor. "However, there are many people who, for a number of different reasons, are unable to keep on a course of medication for depression," Byng says. The primary reason is the inability to tolerate side effects. Read about a new way to fight inflammation and depression. The study After dividing 424 patients into two groups—212 receiving MBCT and 212 taking antidepressants – researchers concluded mindfulness was just as effective as antidepressants and offers a similar level of protection. Relapse rates were 44 percent in the mindfulness group and 47 percent in the antidepressant group. MBCT uses group discussion and cognitive behavioral exercises to teach people with recurrent depression skills to recognize and respond constructively to thoughts and feelings associated with relapse, preventing a downward spiral, they said. Read more about the hidden signs of depression. Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who divides his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.
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Can divorce make us happy?

Can Divorce Make Us Happy?

Women who leave bad or destructive marriages find happiness more often than those who remain in them, says a new study from the University of Arizona and University of Colorado, Boulder.Interestingly, according to the study, women who left so-so or decent marriages fared worse than those who stayed in them, according to the same study.The studyFor the new study, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, researchers measured life satisfaction among 1,639 men and women ages 25 to 74. Marriage quality was determined by survey questions such as "How much does your spouse or partner really care about you?" "How often does your spouse or partner make too many demands on you?" and "How often does he or she get on your nerves?"Gender differenceFor men, life satisfaction seems to have little to do with marriage quality, divorce or remaining married."This may be due to differences in how men and women view themselves in their marriages and the roles they take, with women generally being more invested in their relationships and more affected by their quality," said the study's lead author, Kyle Bourassa, a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Arizona Department of Psychology, according to a report in Fusion.One takeaway: If you’re a woman, carefully analyze just how bad your relationship is before calling the divorce lawyer.Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.
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