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9 Things That Will Make You Happy, According to Science

9. THINGS THAT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY ACCORDING TO SCIENCE "Happiness is not something ready made, it comes from our own actions," says the Dalai Lama. But which actions can make us happy? WHAT IS HAPPINESS and WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Happiness is almost impossible to define and means different things to different people. Psychologists do generally agree however that 50% of our happiness is determined by our genes, 40% by our daily activities and 10% by our life circumstances.' Did you know? Happier people live longer. Happiness can combat stress. Older people were A 3-year study showed that 35% less likely to happier people had 23% die during a 5-year lower levels of cortisol, the study if they stress hormone, than those reported feeling who were less happy. happy.? Happiness makes us more productive. A university study showed people who felt happy were 11% more productive at work than those who were unhappy.“ 9 WAYS to IMPROVE YOUR HAPPINESS 1. EAT MORE FRUIT AND VEGGIES Research from the University of Warwick found that eating more fruit and vegetables can significantly boost our happiness levels.5 Build 8 portions of fruit or vegetables into your daily meals. Try snacking on dried fruit and drinking smoothies. 2. LIMIT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA TIME According to a report Deactivate your by the Happiness Facebook account Research Institute, for 30 days; this users who quit hides your account Facebook for a week from all your friends. reported an increase You can reactivate in their average anytime by logging happiness rating. back in. 3. WALK TO WORK Research from the University of East If you take the train or bus to work, get Anglia found that people who build walking into their daily commute off two stops earlier benefitted from improved well-being, and walk the rest of better ability to concentrate and lower the way. levels of strain." 4. LOOK AT PICTURES OF CUTE ANIM. Researchers at the University of Hiroshima found that looking at pictures of cute animals evokes happy and excited emotions and can also improve our level of focus at work. BuzzFeeD Load up Buzzfeed.com on your phone and check out some of their 'cute' articles before work for an easy happiness boost. CUTE 5. SPEND AN EXTRA HOUR IN BED A study by the University of Surrey's Sleep Research Center found that just one extra hour of sleep per night can boost happiness and make us feel healthier. SLEEPY TIME Try going to bed one hour earlier for a whole week and avoid drinking any caffeinated drinks before bed. 6. PLAN A VACATION Research led by the University Start a of Rotterdam has shown that Pinterest the act of planning a trip away board of boosts levels of happiness and places you'd anticipation, and these feelings like to visit. can last up to 8 weeks.10 7. HUG IT OUT Research has found that the act of hugging significantly boosts our levels of oxytocin, the ʻlove' or 'trust' hormone, making us feel happier. Spend more time with those you feel closer to and try to give up to 8 hugs per day." 8. SPEND TIME WITH HAPPY PEOPLE Researchers from Harvard and San Diego Universities found that, with each additional happy person you surround yourself with, your own probability of feeling happy increases by 9%.12 Organize a party or gathering with your closest friends and talk about happy memories to boost the happiness of the entire group. 9. LISTEN TO MUSIC Scientists at McGill University have found that listening to our favorite music releases dopamine, one of the happy hormones associated with rewards, giving us a pleasurable, happy feeling.13 Create a playlist of upbeat songs and spend 5 minutes at the start of the day giving it a listen. Though happiness is hard to define, it's not that hard to find if you know where to look. Try our tips and see for yourself. Sources Newman, KM. (2015). Six Ways Happiness Is Good for Your Health. greatergood.berkley.edu 2 Steptoe, A and Wardle, J. (2011). Positive affect measured using ecological momentary assessment and survival in older men and women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108(45). pp. 18244-48 Steptoe, A and Wardle, J. (2005). Positive affect and biological function in everyday life. Neurobiology of Aging. 26(1). pp 108-112 Oswald, AJ et al. (2014). Happiness and Productivity. warwick.ac.uk 5 Mujcic, R and Oswald, AJ. (2016). Fruit and Veg Give You the Feel-Good Factor. warwick.ac.uk The Happiness Research Institute. (2015). The Facebook Experiment: Does Social Media Affect the Quality of our Lives happinessresearchinstitute.com 7University of East Anglia. (2014). Walking or cycling to work improves wellbeing, University of East Anglia researchers find. eurekalert.org 8 Nittono, Het al. 2012. The Power of Kawaii: Viewing Cute Images Promotes a Careful Behavior and Narrows Attentional Focus. PLOS ONE. 7(9) *BBC Magazine. (2013). How much can an extra hour's sleep change you? bbc.co.uk " Nawijin, J et al. (2010). Vacationers Happier, but Most not Happier After a Holiday. Applied Research in Quality of Life. " Spechler, D. 2015. The Power Of Touch: How Physica Contact Can Improve Your Health. huffingtonpost.com 1E Harvard Medical School. 2008. Happiness is a collective - not just individual - phenomenon. web.med.harvard.edu McGill University. 2011. Musical chills: Why they give us thrills. sciencedaily.com BROUGHT TO YOU BY: O O O : This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License - www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.O CashNetUSA. Money's on the waye

9 Things That Will Make You Happy, According to Science

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Our new infographic shares nine misery-busters, backed-up by science. Not all of them might work for you, but from listening to your favorite music to eating more fruit n’ veggies, there’s no harm...

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