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What Happiness Does for Your Health

According to the 2012 U.S. Census, people who consider themselves healthy are about 20 percent happier than the average Joe, while those who are unhealthy are about 8.25 percent less happy. So what can happiness do for your health? Here’s a look at five great health benefits of happiness: It boosts your immune system. Repeated studies on the immune system show that people with a high level of positive emotion who were exposed to viruses were better able to ward off illness. It strengthens your heart. Chronic anger and anxiety take a toll on your cardiovascular system; studies show that people with a high level of hope and optimism have a lower risk for coronary heart disease. It may help reduce pain. Many studies dealing with arthritis have shown happier people have less pain and stiffness; it also has been shown to reduce pain related to other conditions. It helps you sleep better. Sleep’s role in our overall health is becoming more widely recognized. We know now that when you sleep better, it improves your cognitive function, your ability to regulate your weight and boosts your immune system. (Not to mention making you way less grumpy!) Studies show a link between happiness and better sleep, contributing to that much-desired “upward spiral” of happiness. It lengthens your lifespan. There’s a strong link between positive well-being and longevity. Even with chronic conditions like heart disease, happier people tend to outlive their grumpy counterparts. Healthy Happiness Habits If you want to boost your happiness so you can increase your health, try some of these scientifically proven methods: Get outside. Being in nature is a natural mood-booster. Practice gratitude. Gratitude refocuses your attention and makes you appreciate the good things in your life. Develop a mindfulness or meditation practice. Slowing down and looking inward has medically proven benefits, and also helps you sleep better. Exercise. It’s good for your physical well-being but also plays a key role in boosting your mood. Eat a healthy diet. Healthy foods lead to a happy brain—and you’ll improve your health, too! This article originally appeared in the October 2018 edition of Live Happy magazine.

Ed Diener | Professor of Psychology, Author

science

Renowned Happiness Researcher Ed Diener Dies

Ed Diener, one of the trailblazers in the study of happiness and well-being, died on April 27. As one of the world’s most cited scholars in the field, Diener had earned the title “Dr. Happiness” from his students and was among the most eminent research psychologists in the world. His interest in studying happiness began as a college student in the mid-1960s — long before it was accepted as a legitimate researched topic — but it wasn’t until the early 1980s, as a tenured professor, that he was able to immerse himself into research on happiness. Diener coined the term “subjective well-being” (or SWB) as a measurement of happiness and in 1984, he published hisSatisfaction with Life Scale, a scientific measurement of subjective well-being that is still used today. Another major contribution to the field of positive psychology was his research on whether people are happy or not and the genetic basis for happiness. His research dispelled many of the myths about happiness and provided insight into how income, upbringing, relationships, and governmental policies affect personal happiness. His research also underscored how enjoying life is a strong predictor of good health and longevity. As a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and the University of Utah and senior scientist for the Gallup Organization, Diener was both an admired teacher and a gifted researcher. He earned numerous teaching awards, and his work has garnered more than 250,000 citations. His work also appeared in more than 400 publications, and he served as president of three scientific societies, was editor of three scientific journals, and the recipient of numerous major awards in the field of psychology. His passing drew messages of gratitude and grief from around the globe. “Ed Diener was a trailblazer in the study of happiness, and weare saddened by the passing of one of the fathers of Positive Psychology,” said Live Happy CEO and co-founder Deborah Heisz.“He inspired countless others through his research and teachings to study and implement strategies to improve human well-being. We at Live Happy are grateful beneficiaries of his legacy."

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science

Happy for Life

A long, full and vibrant life has long been seen as an enviable stroke of good luck, the result of good genes or perhaps a gift from the gods. As technology continues to provide new medical breakthroughs that can expand our lifespans, the idea of a long life seems to be an attainable goal for most of us. But there’s a catch, says David Ekerdt, Ph.D., a professor of sociology and gerontology at the University of Kansas. While David acknowledges that a longer life has become a valued public health objective, he observes that, “At the individual level, longer lives are a goal only if [the individual] remains healthy.” His study, “Is longevity a value for older adults?” was published in December in the Journal of Aging Studies. He looked at aging adults from China, Germany and the U.S. and found they all shared one common belief: A long life requires good health to make it worthwhile. Recent research shows the path to long-term health may not be as dependent on genes or good luck as we once thought; science shows that our thoughts and actions play a bigger role in overall health than we previously realized. Starting Younger, Living Better If it’s a long, happy life you’re after, the time to start is now—regardless of whether you’re 5 or 35. The foundation for a long life is established early on; the habits and mindset you pick up along the way will affect your health much more than your family traits and curses. George Vaillant, director emeritus of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, says how long and how well we live is about much more than our genes, jobs, physical exercise or diet. The Harvard study, launched in 1938, examines what creates a long, healthy life. Today, it extends to the descendants of that original research project and gives an unprecedented look into what allows us to live better. “Genetics has much less effect on how long someone lives than their habits,” says George, who headed the study for 30 years. He found alcoholism and smoking to be the two deadliest practices, while moderate exercise and a stable weight tend to equal a longer life. Beyond that, the research shows, longevity depends upon our emotions and relationships. “People who live a long time have a lot of positive emotion,” he says. “And that means being part of a community. It’s hard to have positive emotion on a deserted island; you need other people.” Finding Your Tribe Positive emotions and good relationships are not only bedrock principles of positive psychology; they have been found to be instrumental to good health. While unhappy marriages and stressful relationships have been proven deterrents to good health, individuals with healthy relationships have 35 percent fewer illnesses. “The key to healthy aging is relationships, relationships, relationships,” George says. Well-being researcher Dan Buettner agrees. The Blue Zones author has studied what leads to longer, more fulfilling lives and has found that not only are happiness and good health tightly intertwined, but that social interaction can help you live longer and better. “We are more likely to be happy if we get five to seven hours of meaningful social interaction a day,” he says. “Making sure that you have happy friends affects how long you live, because that’s contagious. And focusing on your immediate social network is more important than either diet or exercise programs when it comes to living a long, happy, healthy life.” He says having five positive-minded people who share interests in recreation—whether it’s golfing, walking or gardening—and who truly care about you will have powerful incremental effects on your well-being. “That is almost the surest thing you can do in the long run for both making it to a healthy age 90 or 95 and enjoying the journey. [Happiness adds] about eight years to your life expectancy; it’s almost as good for you as quitting smoking.” Tending to Your Telomeres If the notion that simply being happy and focusing on positive relationships can offset aging seems hard to believe, Elissa Epel, Ph.D., has the proof. Elissa co-authored the book, The Telomere Effect with 2009 Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D., and their research shows that greater happiness equals longer lives. Telomeres—those caps at the end of each strand of DNA—protect our chromosomes and affect how quickly and how well our cells age. Telomeres shorten as we age, but practices like smoking, lack of exercise, a poor diet and stress also can shorten them. But now, Elissa says, there’s growing proof that just changing your mindset can change your telomeres, leading to a longer, happier life. Focusing on the positive and finding ways to be fully engaged with your life has a proven association with longer telomeres. Practices like meditation, tai chi and qigong can reduce stress and increase the production of telomerase, an enzyme that replenishes telomeres. Adopting happiness practices and learning to focus on the positives are scientifically proven to be some of the most beneficial practices for maintaining the length of telomeres. “Mindset and mental health are some of the most important parts of healthy aging,” Elissa says. “We can’t forget the daily work of good, healthy habits…but fewer people realize that where we put our attention is also critically important.” Don’t miss Paula’s interview on the Live Happy Now podcast with Dr. Joe Bates as he explains how to use brain exercises to keep your mind young and fit. This article originally appeared in the October 2018 edition of Live Happy magazine.

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Practice

The Power of the Pen

In 2009, Gina Mulligan was diagnosed with breast cancer. As word spread to friends and family, dozens of handwritten letters and cards of encouragement began pouring in, many from people she’d never met. Before long, Gina looked forward to the mail’s arrival each day. The mailman typically delivered late in the afternoon, following her radiation therapy treatments, causing her to approach her sessions with a hint of excitement as she anticipated what might be coming that day. “I would read the letters and just relax after treatments that were so scary,” Gina says. “There was this warmth from being surrounded physically by these cards and letters.” Fast-forward two years: With active treatment behind her, Gina wanted to give back to other women who might not have the support she did. In August 2011, Gina founded Girls Love Mail, a nonprofit whose army of volunteers writes and sends handwritten letters to women who have been newly diagnosed with breast cancer. To date, the organization has distributed some 141,000 letters to women across the United States through its partnering cancer centers and programs. “I realized how powerful it is to get something handwritten,” Gina says. “Those letters were part of my healing.” Though she also received heartfelt emails and social media messages, those didn’t impact her in the same way. “I didn’t print the emails out,” Gina says. “A handwritten letter is more than just the words. It’s the stationery, the ink—all of those personal touches that really come through when it’s written by hand.” Mary Savig, curator of manuscripts at the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art—which contains hundreds of thousands of handwritten letters from artists and art-world figures—chimes in: “People have very physical responses to handwritten letters, whether you’re the writer or the receiver. You can really feel the presence of an author in a way that’s difficult to translate in a lot of other media.” But in this age of smartphones, tablets and laptops, it may seem like writing by hand is taking a backseat to these time-saving technologies. Take a 2012 survey of 2,000 British residents that found 1 in 3 respondents hadn’t written anything by hand in the previous six months, while on average respondents hadn’t put pen to paper in 41 days. “It’s novel these days to write by hand—to do something manually,” says Pablo Tinio, associate professor of education foundations at Montclair State University and co-editor of Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. That makes you wonder: How can we benefit from setting our screens aside and jotting down our thoughts on paper? Handled With Care A 2003 study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology suggests that an object’s quality is determined by the perceived amount of effort that went into its production. Researchers conducted three experiments in which undergraduate students were asked to judge the quality of a poem, paintings, and medieval arms and armor. In each experiment, researchers manipulated the perceived effort invested. For example, they told one group of participants that the poem took the writer four hours to compose, while informing a second group that it took 18 hours to complete. The results? Participants rated the objects that required more effort higher in quality each time. “There seems to be an intuitive sense, both from the maker and the receiver, that higher value is placed on something that takes more effort,” Pablo says. That helps explain why handwritten notes often resonate on a deeper level with recipients than those that are typed or emailed, just as they did for Gina. “It’s the difference between writing a condolence email versus a letter,” says Abby Smith Rumsey, historian and author of When We Are No More: How Digital Memory Is Shaping Our Future. “Writing signals a kind of intentionality that mechanical means don’t have. People who receive letters know that the person who sent it made lots of choices: the paper, ink, color of ink, the words. They know the person thought about what they were saying before they wrote it because there’s no autocorrect.” But it’s not just the recipient who benefits, as psychotherapist and corporate consultant Maud Purcell points out. “The act of writing clarifies your thoughts and feelings,” she says. When you write a note to a loved one, Maud says, you may be empathizing with them in your mind and heart if there’s something going on with them. “If in writing a letter you’re showing concern for them, if it gives you a sense of connectedness because you’re sharing your own experiences with them—all of these things are very healthy.” In Good Hands Undoubtedly, the ability to send emails or quickly type on our keyboards has positively impacted our lives—but the proven benefits that accompany handwriting can’t be overlooked. Exhibit A: journaling, a method of self-expression that Maud says can be any kind of writing—anytime, anywhere. The value comes as you’re able to get in touch with your thoughts and feelings. “The act of writing brings things that are just below the surface of consciousness to the fore,” Maud says. “If you sit down every morning and write your thoughts and feelings in a stream-of-consciousness way, you may end up inadvertently solving a problem you’ve been wrestling with.” The reason? Writing activates the left side of the brain, which is analytical and rational, Maud explains. While the left brain is engaged, the right side is free to intuit and feel. “Journaling allows the creative part of the brain to kick in so that when we’re not thinking, answers can come to the fore,” Maud says. “Not to say that there’s still not value in the keyboard, but the physical act of writing is more impactful and brings more to the surface. There’s a kind of catharsis that comes with it.” Not to mention the role handwriting plays in learning: Studies have revealed that writing notes by hand helps students better retain information, and some experts believe cursive writing can help kids with dyslexia learn to read more easily. Virginia Berninger, professor emerita of educational psychology at the University of Washington, researched the effect handwriting has on the brain. In a five-year study of children in first through seventh grades, she found that printing, cursive writing, and using a keyboard each make unique contributions to the literary process. “When you write by hand, you have to form the letter stroke by stroke,” Virginia says. “It’s that production that helps our perception of letters in reading.” The idea that production improves perception can help explain the results of a 2008 study in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. Researchers found that adults had an easier time recognizing new characters—like Chinese and math symbols—after writing them with pen and paper than they did after producing the characters on a keyboard. “The bottom line is we need to develop kids that are hybrid writers who can print, do cursive, and type,” Virginia says, “because each one of these has its benefits.” Make Your Mark The tension between handwriting and technology isn’t new: Other forms of technology, including the typewriter and telephone, were also once poised to destroy handwriting. The good news? There’s a place for both, as the invention of digital pens—which allow users to scrawl handwritten notes on digital devices—shows us. “While writing letters will probably never be our primary means of communication again, that doesn’t mean we can’t ask handwriting to do different things for us,” Mary says. “I remain optimistic about handwriting—it’s probably not going anywhere.” It seems handwriting has a sort of gritty staying power, and whether we’re scribbling a thank-you letter, penning a journal entry, or learning a new language, we can continue to reap the benefits of this ancient practice that has the ability to reveal our personality, connect with others, calm our minds, and learn easier all at the same time. Take it from Gina, who recalls the power one simple letter can hold: “I received a short note from a woman who told me that I was amazing just the way I was,” Gina says. “Her words were comforting and gave me strength—it was very healing to be told it was fine to just be myself.” This article originally appeared in the October 2018 edition in Live Happy magazine.

Self-Care

Let Music Help You De-stress This Month

April is Stress Awareness Month, and it appears that we are more aware of stress than ever. Research conducted on behalf of the American Psychological Association by Harris Poll, found that Americans are feeling the effects of prolonged stress. The result is increased anxiety, sadness, anger — and other negative emotions. While there are many ways to deal with the effects of stress, one of the easiest — and most enjoyable — is to listen to music. While we all have our favorite go-to songs to suit our changing moods, now researchers in the U.K. have found the songs that are scientifically proven to help us destress. Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson, chairman of the research company Mindlab International, led a team of researchers to study how certain songs affected the brains of volunteers. The volunteers were given puzzles to complete and, as they worked to solve them, sensors monitored their heart rates, blood pressure, breathing rates and more. Through this research, they discovered the 10 best songs for relaxation. When volunteers listened to these songs, their stress levels dropped by as much as 65%. That’s good for your body and your mind! If you’re ready to destress, we’ve put their 10 songs into a playlist that you can find here. Now, relax and enjoy!

work

Happiness Clocks In

In Denmark, happiness in the workplace is so valued that they even have a name for it: arbejdsglæde. Roughly translating into “work joy” or “work happiness,” it’s a word that seems foreign to U.S. workers in more ways than one. During the course of our lives, we spend roughly 90,000 hours working, so it makes sense that we’d want to enjoy that part of our lives. While previous generations may have focused their attention on paying the bills and working hard to build a good life for their families, today’s workers expect a greater work and life balance. In fact, Gallup’s 2017 State of the American Workplace report found that 53 percent of workers say that having a position with greater work/life balance and increased personal well-being is “very important.” And they increasingly expect employers to play a role in that. The 2017 Staples Annual Workplace Study discovered that 80 percent of workers believe employers have a responsibility to keep employees both mentally and physically well. Given the connection between happiness, good health and productivity, bosses would do well to listen. “People who are happy at work have better health, are happier in life and enjoy greater career success and lifetime incomes,” says Alexander Kjerulf, CEO of the Danish company Woohoo inc. It’s good for the company, too. Economists from the University of Warwick found that happier people are 12 to 20 percent more productive and use their time more effectively. “Companies like Google have invested more in employee support and employee satisfaction has risen as a result,” says Andrew Oswald, professor of economics and behavioral science at the University of Warwick and one of the authors of the study. “For Google, [productivity] rose 37 percent. Making workers happy really pays off.” Rules of Engagement But what, exactly, makes for a happy workplace? It’s more than Google’s free food and arcade games that make employees want to work harder and do better; it’s most likely the autonomy, the ability to learn on the job and the variety of challenges that contribute to happiness and greater productivity. All of those elements were found to be major contributing factors to work satisfaction in the Gallup report. “Autonomy is a key human motivator, and that includes autonomy at work,” says Scott Crabtree, chief happiness officer and founder of Happy Brain Science, a consulting company that helps organizations boost productivity and happiness. “Nobody enjoys being micromanaged, so why do it to others?” Employees who fare best are those who are given clear goals or expectations, limited feedback (and only when necessary) and the freedom to move forward on their own. That kind of approach leads to an engaged workforce—and engaged workers are happy ones. Making a Play for Workplace Happiness Engaging workers is easier said than done. While it’s not a new problem for workers or for employers, it is becoming more important. One of the new drivers of employee engagement is gamification, which applies game mechanics to nongame settings—such as the workplace. This allows employers to develop rewards, encourage employees and improve performance in a more accessible, enjoyable way. As he studied more about happiness in the workplace, Scott—who has a background in video game design—was surprised to learn that what makes people happy and engaged in video games are the same elements that engage us at work. “What makes games so compelling, according to science, is that you find core human intrinsic motivators in them; these are psychological needs that we all have,” he says. “Specifically, those needs are autonomy, relatedness and mastery, and the best video games satisfy our needs for that. “It’s exciting to know that the things that engage us in playing games are the same things that engage us in making work more rewarding and engaging.” Playing With a Full Deck Scott merged the research on workplace happiness with positive psychology principles into a game called Choose Happiness @ Work. Using two decks of cards, players work through a set of problems based on real-world work scenarios. One player draws a problem, and the other players recommend one of the solutions they’ve drawn from the other deck. “It gets everyone talking about how these different solutions will work. Every solution has real science behind it,” Scott says. Those solutions apply principles of positive psychology to resolve the scenario. “I use this a lot in workshops and presentations, and there’s a lot of laughter,” he says. “There’s not enough laughter in the workplace. So even though it’s a ‘serious’ game, it’s a lot of fun.” Even in its levity, however, the game is providing ideas and guidelines for solving workplace problems, improving communication and creating greater engagement. The solutions presented are designed to make players think differently and respond to situations using a positive, engaged approach. “When you talk to people about gamification at work, most people immediately go to the surface stuff: We’ll give people points and badges and prizes. All of that is great and it works, but it works better if you understand why it’s working and what it’s all about,” Scott says. “In work and in games, it’s all about progress and mastery.” While workplaces may have been reluctant to introduce initiatives for employee happiness in the past, today that mindset is changing. “I understand that we’re at work to get things done, but fun is not the opposite of productivity. Science shows us it can be a great complement to productivity,” Scott says. “If you take 5 percent of your time to boost happiness at work, and you get a 20 percent productivity boost out of that investment, then I would say that’s a fantastic return on investment.” This article originally appeared in the October 2018 Edition of Live Happy magazine.

Education

Higher Education With a Higher Purpose

When Universidad TecMilenio was established in 2002, it touted an innovative educational model that allowed students to take a more customized approach. Students have the flexibility to study the topics most applicable to them in crafting their ideal careers. As a spinoff of the prestigious Monterrey Institute of Technology, the school found almost immediate success and grew quickly. Today, it serves 43,000 students at 29 campuses throughout Mexico and offers an online component. Yet university leaders believed there was more they could offer to enhance students’ lives. "One of the things we began thinking about was how a university should be in the 21st century,” says Hector Escamilla, rector at Universidad TecMilenio. “We analyzed what was important in life, and found it was to be happy. And we also found that the people who are happiest are those who have a purpose in life.” The school then implemented another cutting-edge approach to education in 2012. “We could see that we should be doing better in higher education to provide the tools for people to get what they think is important in life,” Hector says. “We declared our vision [to be] to prepare people for their purpose in life and provide the competence to achieve it.” With that in mind, they created a new model for education built on the principles of happiness and well-being. They identified well-being as feeling well, being satisfied and living a life with purpose. Using the PERMA model (Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Achievement) from positive psychologist Martin Seligman, Ph.D., and adding components of mindfulness and well-being, they developed what Hector calls a “happiness and well-being ecosystem.” Today more than 700 faculty members and school leaders are certified in positive psychology, and all students take positive psychology and positive organization courses. The emphasis for students is to find their purpose and meaning in life while they develop global competencies that allow them to compete and excel in their chosen professions. “We believe the way we live will make a difference in the well-being of students,” Hector says. “The most important thing we know is that happiness leads to success, but success does not lead to happiness. That is why we want to focus on happiness.” He says the key performance indicators at Universidad TecMilenio are the happiness of the students and the rate of employment—and results in both of those areas show that it’s working. Among first-semester students, 87 percent report a positive change in the definition of their life purpose since beginning school, and students overall report an increase in happiness and well-being. It’s also translating well in the more traditional goals of employability, as 80 percent are working upon graduation. “College is only 4 or 5 percent of your life, and the degree is only a small portion of what you will do with your life,” Hector says. “It seems too narrow to only be focusing on that.” This article originally appeared in the June 2015 edition of Live Happy magazine.

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Research

What Can I Do to Increase My Happiness?

“Hey! I have a good idea,” says Emma, jumping in for the first time. “We—,” she glances behind her, “I mean, Ted—should stop making interpersonal comparisons.” The whole class laughs. “That way, he won’t want more stuff he doesn’t need and be less happy just because other people have more stuff.” Good reasoning, Emma—if at Ted’s expense! Too many people end up buying a house larger than they need and a deluxe car (or cars) to display their wealth. The result is to burden themselves, with colossal debt and the stress of meeting large debt repayments month after month. It’s awfully hard to enjoy your BMW if you can barely afford the gas to drive it. Because income trends upward during the working ages, you might think that people would become increasingly satisfied with their financial situation. Yet, in fact, there is very little change in financial satisfaction throughout the prime working years, due to the burden of debt repayment brought about by perpetually multiplying the list of things we want. It’s not until folks are into their retirement years, with incomes leveling off or even declining, that financial satisfaction improves noticeably. Children have completed school and are mainly self-supporting. Material aspirations decline as needs diminish in the so-called golden years, and the burden of debt is substantially reduced as mortgages and other debts are finally repaid. The lesson? “We can all increase happiness by focusing on what we really need and not worry about keeping up with our neighbors!” Ted exclaims. Yes, Ted, good on you and Emma: We can increase happiness by addressing our true needs and avoiding unnecessary debt. A pretty easy lesson? Sure, yet a word of warning: Eliminating social comparison is easier said than done. I live, for example, in quite a nice house. Some time ago, my daughter Molly’s soccer coach invited us to his residence for a get-together of players and parents. His house turned out to be quite grand, and I must admit that when I got back to my own dwelling, my pleasure in it was somewhat diminished. As Karl Marx says, “A house may be large or small; as long as the neighboring houses are likewise small it satisfies all social requirement for a residence. But let there arise next to the little house a palace, and the little house shrinks to a hut.” I should know better than to indulge in social comparison, but it’s hard to break the habit. Nevertheless, it’s definitely worth the effort. (Note to self: Remember this!) There’s a second, and perhaps easier, route to increasing happiness: improving our use of time. Each of us has only a given amount of time, and the more we devote to one activity, say, making money, the less time there is for others, like improving health and family life. Because wants regarding health and family life are relatively fixed compared with wants for living conditions, devoting time to an improvement in one’s health or family life will have a more lasting effect on happiness than increasing one’s income. Unfortunately, people spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to make more money, at the same time shortchanging things like family life and health. Look at the responses to this survey question: “Imagine you are 38 years old and offered a new position in a field you like. The job is more prestigious and will pay 15 percent more than your present job. It will also require more work hours and take you far away from your family more often. What is the likelihood you would take the job?” There are four response options. About a third of respondents say it is “very likely” that they would take the job; another third say “somewhat likely,” and the remaining third say “somewhat unlikely.” Not one person chooses the fourth option, “very unlikely.” Thus, in a survey in which respondents had previously said “having a happy marriage” was their top life goal, family life is sacrificed to make more money. What’s more, in all likelihood, health would suffer because of longer work hours and more time on the road. The preference for the new job option highlights how people typically misallocate time by downplaying family life and health relative to making money. It’s probable that some respondents who choose the money option rationalize their decision on the grounds that, despite their absence from home, more money will make for a happier family life—that money will substitute for personal presence. OK, but what sorts of things make people happy? In fact, many of the things that people enjoy, that make them most happy, require little or no money, though they do require time. Over the past few decades, numerous studies reveal how people use their time. People’s responses, based on personal diaries, cover the usual range of daily activities. Fortunately, one nationally representative inquiry hit on the idea of also asking respondents how enjoyable each activity was. The answers are on a 10-point scale from 1 (=dislike) to 10 (=like). Here are the most enjoyable activities (a rating greater than 7.5) ordered from high to low in terms of average score: 9.3 Sex 9.2 Play sports 9.1 Fishing 9.0 Art, music 8.9 Bars, lounges 8.8 Play with kids, hug and kiss 8.6 Talk to kids, read to kids 8.5 Church, sleep, attend movies 8.3 Read book, walk 8.2 Relax, magazines, visit, work break, meals away 8.0 Talk with family, listen to stereo 7.9 Lunch break 7.8 Home meal, TV, read paper 7.7 Knit, sew What stands out is that most of these activities don’t cost a lot, and some require no money at all. However, they do require time. Taking a job that would “require more work hours and take you far away from your family more often” would leave much less time for many of these sources of happiness. This survey of enjoyable activities is over 30 years old, so some items such as “knit” and “sew” seem out of date, at least for a large portion of the population. Perhaps now “surfing the Internet” and “tweeting” might substitute for knitting and sewing. Nonetheless, the essential findings of this early study are largely confirmed by a somewhat similar collaborative study, published in 2004 by psychologist Daniel Kahneman (again! the reference-level pioneer) and others. Those surveyed were Texas women who worked the previous day and were easy to reach, a convenience rather than random sample. The three items leading the list of most enjoyable activities are “intimate relations,” “socializing,” and “relaxing.” All three fit well with the items above. They take time, certainly, but they require little or no money. “So why do people do this—use up their time trying to make money?” asks Lily, looking perplexed. Exactly so, Lily—why do we? Very often, people misallocate their time, choosing the pursuit of money at the expense of other life goals. Why? “Because they think a lot of money will make them happy,” blurts out Ted. Yes, that’s the answer: because of the common belief that more money makes you happier. People don’t realize that their material wants increase in step with what they have. The expected increase in happiness resulting from more money turns out to be illusory, while the loss of happiness due to the sacrifice of family life and health is real. So, what will make you happier? Despite what I felt after leaving the soccer coach’s house, I know the answer is “more time devoted to things like family life and health, less time to the pursuit of money.” Focus on soccer, not the coach’s house. Adapted from An Economist’s Lessons on Happiness: Farewell Dismal Science by Richard A. Easterlin. Copyright ©2021. Published by Springer International Publishing under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

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News & Trends

Finland Remains the World’s Happiest Country

For the fourth consecutive year, Finland was named the happiest country in the world in the 2021 World Happiness Report. The annual report, released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, ranks countries according to national happiness in addition to providing in-depth reports on specific areas of happiness and well-being. The United States dropped one more spot in the rankings, from No. 18 last year to the 19th spot for 2021. Five years ago, the U.S. ranked 13th. The lowest-ranking countries were Rwanda, Zimbabwe, and Afghanistan. The World Happiness Report has been produced every year since 2012 and uses data gathered by the Gallup World Poll. This year’s editors are John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Lara B. Aknin, and Shun Wang. While introducing the report during a workshop on Saturday, March 20 — the International Day of Happiness — Sachs noted that 2020 presented “the strangest year in producing the World Happiness Report.” “We were trying to understand and monitor in real-time incredibly complex challenges and changes,” he said. “The impacts of COVID-19 have differed so widely across different groups in society.” He added that as the pandemic continues unfolding, the report provides an analysis and snapshot of a complicated story. Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 This year’s report looked specifically at how the global coronavirus pandemic affected happiness and well-being around the globe. Not surprisingly, survey respondents reported their mental health was affected by COVID-19, and that decline was seen around the world. The UK, for example, reported a 47% increase in mental health problems. Globally, women, young people, and poorer populations were hit harder by the pandemic. The problem was exacerbated by the disruption of mental health services in many countries just when they were needed most. However, report authors noted, the positive effect is that more attention is being given to mental health and this increased awareness could pave the way for more research and better mental health services. One of the biggest impacts on happiness and well-being has been the lack of social connection during COVID-19. Due to physical distancing, lockdowns, and self-isolation, people had fewer opportunities to connect with others. Feelings of connectedness to others were related to levels of happiness, and when less social support was available, loneliness increased and happiness fell. In many cases, digital connections — such as Zoom — provided a way to stay less isolated, and that was reflected by the lower levels of happiness in people without proper digital connections. Other factors that further diminished happiness were prior mental illness and a sense of uncertainty about the future. Gallup’s Jon Clifton noted that loneliness has been greatly exacerbated by lockdowns: “Right now, over 300 million people in the world — that’s the same size as the United States — do not spend a single hour with a single friend.” Some of the practices found to offset loneliness and help people cope were gratitude, grit, volunteering, previous social connections, exercise, and having a pet. Work and Well-being Work and its effect on happiness has been widely studied, and in 2020, the results around the globe were similar. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of Oxford University led a team of scholars to look at how COVID-19 affected work and well-being and discovered that as unemployment rose, the effects were “devastating.” That was true regardless of income levels, global location, or gender, and resulted in a 10-30% drop in well-being, depending on the situation. “At the start of the pandemic, 50% fewer jobs were being posted,” De Neve said. “As unemployment rose, job postings dropped. Not having a job or falling unemployed during a pandemic, mixed with half as few jobs available, is a toxic mixture.” As people became unemployed, their loneliness escalated. “There was about a 40% further impact on a person’s well-being if they didn’t have social support to rely on. People who [already] felt lonely were doubly impacted by losing their social networks at work.” During the pandemic, supportive management and job flexibility became more important drivers of happiness at work, while such factors as purpose, achievement, and learning at work became less important. However, a sense of belonging, trust, and support remained unchanged, which De Neve said indicated that what makes workplaces supportive of well-being in normal times also makes them more resilient in hard times. “Many more lessons can be learned from this on the future of work and how to build back happier,” he said.

House made of chalk with red heart in on blue wooden background. Sun in a corner

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Building on Friendship

Over the last two years, I spent a lot of time helping my colleague Sandy Lewis launch her business. I live in Washington state and traveled to her community in Texas to help. Through many texts and phone calls, I provided advice and served as a mentor. She told me she would never have achieved the success she did without my help. She is always grateful and appreciative. It should be no surprise that we have become close friends, almost like sisters. I value how ourrelationship has matured, that we can be honest with each other with no concern about feeling weak or wrong. Knowing that I am always just a phone call away, she forges ahead and has achieved notable success while growing through the inevitable ups and downs.All this time, her husband, John, had been quietly observing all the positive changes and growth in his wife, knowing that it was through our relationship that she was becoming a strong businesswoman. While I was visiting Texas last year, John told me he was so appreciative of my efforts to help his wife that he wanted to reciprocate.Despite my concerns about the distance, and time and money investments it would take for him to visit me in Washington, he continued to insist. Knowing that my home desperately needed numerous repair and improvement jobs,John asked me to make a list. Although retired from his career in sales,he is an accomplished carpenter and “fix-it” handyman who thoroughly enjoys this hobby. So, despite my concerns, John packed up his four-door Honda sedan with every hand and power tool imaginable, plus a ladder, table saw, chain saw, nails, etc. He then drove 2,200 miles in three days from Kerrville, Texas, to Lacey, Washington. He set to work immediately, rebuilding a fence and new gate.As if that was not enough, he tore out a rotten porch, built a replacement, installed new siding on the house, cut down trees and installed a new screen door and a smoke detector.Here for two weeks, he also fixed my broken toilet, got the automatic garage door to work and repaired a portion of my roof, among other things. He made numerous trips to local lumberyards and home improvement stores.(My responsibility was to supply the investment for all materials).Getting an early start each day, he was like the Tasmanian devil of solving problems and making a difference. Two weeks later to the day, we packed up his car for the return trip, and he drove back to Texas. Who does this?! You can only imagine my delight as I watched the transformation of my home. It was one of the most memorable and heartfelt experiences of my life.My neighbors were astounded, having never imagined such a selfless act of giving that John demonstrated. It has taken me many years to develop an “ask for help” attitude. What I have learned is that most people want to help—some even are desperate to help—and that they have talents and experiences that are hugely valuable.Accepting help can feel daunting or even threatening, but most of the time it is the best path to success.It also fosters relationships that mature over time.And it lends both parties an opportunity to reciprocate—which can lead, as in this case, to a most generous and unexpected surprise. This article originally appear in the December 2015 issue of Live Happy magazine.

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