We read, analyze and keep track of all the happiness studies we refer to in our articles. As a result, we've analyzed 499 studies, journals, and reports across 111 publications. This page lists every happiness study we've come across and includes the most interesting happiness facts that we found in the study. As a result, you don't have to read through the whole thing!
Here are the top 5 publications with the most happiness studies in our database:
NCBI: 93 happiness studies
APA: 49 happiness studies
Science Direct: 37 happiness studies
Sage journals: 36 happiness studies
Research Gate: 36 happiness studies
This page is updated every month with the latest studies and observations.
If you're looking for a happiness study from a specific publication, please use the search function (ctrl + F) or the table of contents below!
Study title: The Impact Of Positive Mood On Learning
Interesting finding: A positive mood has been shown to improve your capacity to learn and helps you perform better than if you were in even a “neutral mood”.
Interesting finding: Some people are born with personalities capable of creating an ‘affective reserve.’ These people are able to use this reserve of happiness to cope better with life’s difficulties.
Interesting finding: While younger people are more likely to associate happiness with excitement, older people are more likely to associate happiness with peacefulness.
Study title: The Broaden-And-Build Theory Of Positive Emotions
Interesting finding: A positive mindset can be triggered, and more importantly, a positive mindset initiates more creativity and an urge to “play ball”.
Study title: Happiness & Health: The Biological Factors- Systematic Review Article
Interesting finding: Research shows that genetic factors count for 35-50% of our happiness. It is believed that most of this effect comes from genes that code mood and emotional regulation.
Study title: Individual Differences In Cognitive Emotion Regulation: Implications For Subjective And Psychologica...
Interesting finding: Adaptive and effective emotion regulation strategies have been found to be positively correlated with subjective well-being and happiness.
Study title: Determinants Of Happiness In Undergraduate University Students
Interesting finding: The old adage about money not buying happiness is only true if you already have enough of it; for others, financial security is an important contributor to happiness.
Study title: Productive Activities and Psychological Well-Being Among Older Adults
Interesting finding: If we want to fight off depression and maintain mental well-being throughout our life span, it’s important to find ways to contribute to the world around you instead of giving in to the allure of laziness and inaction.
Study title: Emotional rescue: the role of emotional intelligence and emotional labour on well-being and job-stre...
Interesting finding: Individuals who are more in touch with their own emotions and the emotions of others experience less stress and greater levels of well-being.
Study title: Being kind to yourself has mental and physical benefits
Interesting finding: Being kind to ourselves has mental and physical benefits. For instance, practicing self-compassion exercises can lower the heart rate, which boosts our immunity.
Study title: Neural mechanisms mediating optimism bias
Interesting finding: When we’re optimistic and focus on abundance in the future it does create a neurological response that increases happiness in the emotional center of our brain.
Study title: Successful pursuit of personal goals and subjective well-being.
Interesting finding: There’s a positive feedback loop between progress and happiness. Making progress on your goals makes you feel happier and more satisfied with life. In turn, positive emotions motivate you to work on your goals and stay on task.
Interesting finding: Our happiness and our health are strongly correlated. In other words, not focusing on how to be happy could have negative implications on your health.
Study title: Physical Order Produces Healthy Choices, Generosity, And Conventionality, Whereas Disorder Produces...
Interesting finding: People who are in a more organized environment are more likely to choose healthier snacks than those in a disorganized environment.
Study title: Consistent Routines May Ease Bipolar Disorder
Interesting finding: Having structured routines can have a significant positive impact on your mental health, including improving bipolar disorder and preventing substance abuse.
Interesting finding: People who lack structure in their life may be more likely to suffer from stress, poor sleep, poor eating, worsened physical condition and procrastination.
Study title: Science Says Having A Regular Bedtime Is Healthy For Adults, Too
Interesting finding: Having a good routine can improve your quality of rest, which in turn can positively affect your mental sharpness, performance, emotional well-being, and energy level.
Study title: High Self-Esteem Buffers Negative Feedback: Once More With Feeling
Interesting finding: College students who based their self-worth on external sources, such as appearance and approval from others, have higher levels of drug and alcohol use.
Study title: Authentic Happiness: Using The New Positive Psychology To Realize Your Potential For Lasting Fulfill...
Interesting finding: People who have identified the things they’re good at and actively pursue them experience more positive emotions, increased engagement, and higher levels of well-being.
Study title: Looking For Adolescents' Well-Being: Self-Efficacy Beliefs As Determinants Of Positive Thinking And...
Interesting finding: Self-efficacy is proven to predict happiness and positive thinking in adolescents, an age group that is notorious for their lack of optimism.
Study title: The Interplay Between Motivation, Self-Efficacy, And Approaches To Studying
Interesting finding: University students with high levels of self-efficacy are more likely to adopt a deep and strategic approach to studying, which will lead to improved results.
Study title: On The Constructive Episodic Simulation Of Past And Future Events
Interesting finding: Our thoughts about the future are based on past experiences, but it’s important to let go of the past to make room for new possibilities.
Study title: Buffering Role Of Locus Of Control On Stress Among The College/University Teachers Of Bahawalpur
Interesting finding: People with an internal locus of control perform better academically and are more effective learners, and are more resistant to stress.
Published by: Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences
Interesting finding: Positive self-talk has been regarded as a “skill” that can change even young children’s perspectives and impact how they deal with circumstances that involve themselves and others.
Study title: Subjective Well-Being And Its Sub-Scales Among Students: The Study Of Role Of Creativity And Self-Ef...
Interesting finding: A 2014 study among university students found a significant relationship between creativity and subjective, emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
Study title: Creative Occupations And Subjective Wellbeing
Interesting finding: People with creative occupations like town planners, architects, and graphic designers showed higher levels of well-being compared to those with non-creative professions like bankers, insurance agents, and accountants.
Study title: Towards A Theory Of Minimalism And Wellbeing
Interesting finding: People who identify as minimalists report positive changes to different aspects of their lives such as autonomy, competence, mental space, awareness, and positive emotions.
Study title: Lying Less Linked To Better Health, New Research Finds
Interesting finding: An experiment studied the difference between participants instructed to tell the truth and others with no such instruction. Those who avoided lies found that their mental health, physical health and relationships were significantly improved.
Study title: Power Posing: Brief Nonverbal Displays Affect Neuroendocrine Levels And Risk Tolerance
Interesting finding: The act of power posing – adopting open, expansive poses that signal power – for only 1 minute decreases the stress hormone cortisol and increases feelings of power and tolerance for risk.
Study title: Relation Of Resilience Whit Sport Achievement And Mental Health In A Sample Of Athletes
Interesting finding: A 2010 study conducted on a sample of athletes showed that resilience was positively associated with sport achievement and psychological well-being.
Study title: Elderly Viewers' Responses To Televised Portrayals Of Old Age: Empathy And Mood Management Versus So...
Interesting finding: Lonely people receive a mood boost from watching lonely characters on TV because this allows them to engage in self-enhancing downward social comparisons.
Study title: How Do Thoughts And Emotions Affect Health?
Interesting finding: People who were asked to ruminate on the good things that happened to them were healthier and happier, would sleep better, and even engage in exercise more.
Study title: A Meta-Analysis Of The Facial Feedback Literature: Effects Of Facial Feedback On Emotional Experienc...
Interesting finding: Our facial expressions can have a small impact on our feelings and mental state, but the effect isn’t big enough to facilitate a meaningful and lasting change in our happiness levels.
Study title: Student Perceptions Of Responsibility For Their Own Learning And For Supporting Peers’ Learning In A...
Interesting finding: Developing personal responsibility positively contributes to one’s well-being, self-esteem, and psychological health by empowering individuals to take ownership over behaviors and actions.
Study title: Finding Silver Linings: A Preliminary Examination Of Benefit Finding In Youth With Chronic Pain
Interesting finding: Adolescents with chronic pain report better mental health, less pain, and a higher quality of life after intentionally looking on the bright side.
Study title: On bad decisions and deciding badly: When intention–behavior inconsistency is regrettable
Interesting finding: Research has found that when you make a bad decision it is a sign you are not acting consistently with your definition of good behavior.
Interesting finding: Experiencing awe and feeling physically smaller than an entity before us keeps us humble. It allows us to see our strengths and weaknesses in a more balanced, accurate way.
Study title: Development of emotional stability scale
Interesting finding: Emotionally stable people tend to have a balanced way of perceiving life’s problems, equipping them with the perspective they need to endure all sorts of hardship.
Study title: Self-expansion motivation improves cross-group interactions and enhances self-growth
Interesting finding: When you seek self-expansion you will experience more quality interactions and develop more meaningful interpersonal relationships.
Study title: Life satisfaction linked to the diversity of nature experiences and nature views from the window
Interesting finding: Exposing yourself to new environments significantly enhanced life satisfaction relative to those who never changed their surroundings.
Study title: Enhancing Undergraduate Student Success in STEM Fields through Growth-Mindset and Grit
Interesting finding: Students are more likely to succeed in their studies if they cultivated a growth mindset and became comfortable with the idea of being challenged.
Study title: Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is r...
Interesting finding: Individuals who use self-affirmations have more activation in areas of the brain involved in processing our sense of self and our orientation towards our future.
Study title: Consequences of Repression of Emotion: Physical Health, Mental Health and General Well Being
Interesting finding: Individuals who repress their emotions are more likely to experience negative physical, mental health, and general well-being issues.
Study title: Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in 2 epidemiologic cohorts of men and women
Interesting finding: Being hopeful is linked with an 11 to 15 percent longer life span, with hopeful people being more likely to live to the age of 85 and beyond!
Study title: Behavioral and neural correlates of delay of gratification 40 years later
Interesting finding: Children who exhibit better self-discipline are more likely to be successful as adults regardless of their IQ score or socioeconomic background.
Study title: Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is r...
Interesting finding: Individuals who use self-affirmations had more activation in areas of the brain involved in processing our sense of self and our orientation towards our future.
Study title: Gratitude across the life span: Age differences and links to subjective well-being
Interesting finding: Levels of gratitude change across a life span, with older adults being found to have the greatest gratitude compared with younger people and middle-aged adults.
Study title: Feeling young at heart may help you live longer
Interesting finding: There is a relationship between self-perceived age and cardiovascular death rates. Researchers hypothesize that feeling more youthful leads to better health habits, such as exercising and eating healthy.
Study title: The Wick in the Candle of Learning: Epistemic Curiosity Activates Reward Circuitry and Enhances Memo...
Interesting finding: As we increase our knowledge base, our curiosity seems to dissipate. Adults tend to feel that they “know most things” and lose that keen interest as their understanding broadens.
Study title: Resilience, Self regulation, and Letting go
Interesting finding: People who learn to let go and become appropriately careless are better at self-regulating and more resilient in the face of challenges.
Study title: The emotionally intelligent decision maker: emotion-understanding ability reduces the effect of inci...
Interesting finding: People with high levels of emotional intelligence can compartmentalize their emotions and recognize them as irrelevant to the decision-making process.
Study title: Effects of proactive decision making on life satisfaction
Interesting finding: Proactive decision-making fosters a greater belief in one’s abilities and increases satisfaction with one’s decision and with life more generally.
Study title: Perfectionism, Fear Of Failure, And Affective Responses To Success And Failure: The Central Role Of...
Interesting finding: The fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment plays a central role in the relationship between perfectionism and fear of failure.
Study title: Students Under Lockdown: Comparisons Of Students’ Social Networks And Mental Health Before And Durin...
Interesting finding: Those who worry more about the health of their family and friends are more likely to experience depression and higher stress levels.
Study title: Rumination As A Vulnerability Factor To Depression In Adolescents In Mainland China: Lifetime Histor...
Interesting finding: Higher levels of rumination are associated with a greater likelihood of experiencing both a current depressive episode and a past history of depressive episodes.
Study title: Why Ruminators Won'T Stop: The Structural And Resting State Correlates Of Rumination And Its Relatio...
Interesting finding: Ruminating over negative thoughts is associated with volume reductions in brain areas that are related to cognitive control processes.
Study title: Worrying And Rumination Are Both Associated With Reduced Cognitive Control
Interesting finding: Both worrying and rumination are associated with reduced cognitive control, making it more difficult for high-worriers and high-ruminators to switch between internal representations in working memory.
Study title: The Neural Correlates Of Worry In Association With Individual Differences In Neuroticism
Interesting finding: People who score higher on neuroticism worry more in daily life and generate more worry-related thoughts after being presented with a worry-inducing sentence.
Study title: Neuroticism is associated with reduced oxygenation levels in the lateral prefrontal cortex following...
Interesting finding: Neurotic people tend to have lower oxygen levels in their lateral prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain plays a role in a variety of cognitive processes.
Study title: Apa Survey Finds Feeling Valued At Work Linked To Well-Being And Performance
Interesting finding: Employees who feel valued in the workplace report higher levels of engagement, satisfaction, and motivation than those who feel underappreciated by their employers.
Study title: Cynicism And Disrespect: A Vicious Cycle
Interesting finding: If we perceive our treatment from someone as disrespectful, it can lead us to cast a generalized and negative view out into the world.
Study title: What Is A Good Friend: A Qualitative Analysis Of Desired Friendship Qualities
Interesting finding: People look for trustworthiness, honesty, communication and similarity in a friend, while attractiveness and physical proximity (for example, living next door) are less important.
Study title: Do Romantic Relationships Promote Happiness? Relationships’ Characteristics As Predictors Of Subject...
Interesting finding: Romantic relationship variables, like relationship length and cohabitation, explained 21% of the variance in life satisfaction, with relationship satisfaction being a significant predictor.
Study title: Being In A Romantic Relationship Is Associated With Reduced Gray Matter Density In Striatum And Incr...
Interesting finding: Being in a romantic relationship is associated with increased subjective happiness and reduced gray matter density within the right dorsal striatum.
Study title: Stereotypes Of Singles: Are Singles What We Think?
Interesting finding: While people in a relationship are more satisfied with their relationship status, there’s no significant difference in the overall life satisfaction between single people and people in a relationship.
Study title: Looking To Happy Tomorrows With Friends: Best And Close Friendships As They Predict Happiness
Interesting finding: Not all friendships are created equal when it comes to happiness: quality trumps quantity, meaning that it’s better to have a few close relationships than many less close ones.
Study title: Loved And Lost Or Never Loved At All? Lifelong Marital Histories And Their Links With Subjective Wel...
Interesting finding: Elders who have been married to the same person for most of their lives are only slightly happier than those who have been single or in various relationships.
Study title: Social Rejection Shares Somatosensory Representations With Physical Pain
Interesting finding: When people look at a picture of their ex-partner after a recent break-up, brain areas that support the sensory components of physical pain become active.
Study title: The Roles Of Identity Development And Psychosocial Intimacy In Marital Success
Interesting finding: Couples who were married and didn’t have a sense of individual identity were more likely to experience decreased stability and decreased satisfaction in their marriage.
Study title: The relationship of dispositional compassion with well-being: a study with a 15-year prospective fol...
Interesting finding: People who have a compassionate disposition (meaning the ability to show concern and sympathy for others’ misfortunes) display both better mental and physical health over a lifespan.
Study title: Love relationships: Attachment style and the investment model.
Interesting finding: If you are anxiously attached to each other, then both individuals in the relationship are less likely to experience satisfaction and a greater sense of commitment.
Study title: Loving Freedom: Concerns With Promotion or Prevention and the Role of Autonomy in Relationship Well-...
Interesting finding: If each individual in a relationship embraces autonomy and self-direction, then both parties are more likely to experience satisfaction in the relationship.
Study title: Social and emotional support and its implication for health
Interesting finding: People who have a strong network of friends are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors such as eating healthy foods, exercising regularly, and successfully quitting smoking.
Study title: Relationship sabotage: an attachment and goal-orientation perspective on seeking love yet failing to...
Interesting finding: Consistently engaging in self-sabotaging behaviors may make it difficult to maintain healthy and committed romantic relationships.
Study title: Self-disclosure and liking: A meta-analytic review
Interesting finding: There is a clear relationship between self-disclosure and likability. When you share more about yourself with others, they tend to like you more.
Interesting finding: Individuals who spend time giving to others perceive that they have more time available and this positively influences their overall stress levels.
Study title: The doormat effect: when forgiving erodes self-respect and self-concept clarity
Interesting finding: When you constantly forgive someone and allow them to take advantage of you this will negatively impact your sense of self-respect.
Study title: Feeling loved in everyday life linked with improved well-being
Interesting finding: Those who experience love in their everyday interactions have higher levels of well-being that manifest in feelings of optimism and a sense of purpose.
Study title: Effects Of Self-Talk Training On Competitive Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, Volitional Skills, And Performa...
Interesting finding: The intervention of negative self-talk leads to less anxiety and higher self-confidence, self-optimization, self-efficacy, and performance.
Study title: Voice As A Mediator Of Mothers’ And Daughters’ Feminist Attitudes And Psychological Outcomes: An App...
Interesting finding: Research shows that self-assured daughters of feminist women are more likely to voice their opinions and stand up for themselves in their relationships.
Study title: Self-Esteem, Self-Confidence, Anxiety And Claimed Self-Handicapping: A Mediational Analysis
Interesting finding: Self-esteem and confidence usually go hand in hand: research on athletes has shown that people with lower self-esteem have lower self-confidence.
Study title: Gene Linked To Optimism And Self-Esteem
Interesting finding: Although there is some evidence that self-esteem is partly regulated by a certain gene, it is mostly affected by environmental factors.
Study title: Rude Color Glasses: The Contaminating Effects Of Witnessed Morning Rudeness On Perceptions And Behav...
Interesting finding: If people witness someone do something rude they are less likely to perform well on work-related tasks and they are more likely to avoid the rude person.
Study title: The More You Judge The Worse You Feel. A Judgemental Attitude Towards One'S Inner Experience Predict...
Interesting finding: Being judgmental doesn’t only cause us to make wrong assumptions or assessments; it can also negatively affect our mental wellbeing.
Study title: When Words Hurt: Affective Word Use In Daily News Coverage Impacts Mental Health
Interesting finding: A study from 2018 showed that more negative language in the media led to a significant increase in participants’ mental and physiological issues.
Study title: A critical review of the literature on academic self-handicapping: theory, manifestations, preventio...
Interesting finding: Individuals who self-sabotage are less likely to succeed in academic environments, which can influence their overall career path and future life choices.
Study title: Feeling Good About Giving: The Benefits (And Costs) Of Self-Interested Charitable Behavior
Interesting finding: Happier people tend to give more. So by becoming happier, you are also becoming a more generous person who will continue to do more good.
Study title: A Multi-Method Examination Of The Effects Of Mindfulness On Stress Attribution, Coping, And Emotiona...
Interesting finding: Individuals who incorporate mindfulness in their lives are able to use healthier coping strategies when encountering stressors and experienced greater well-being.
Study title: The Protective Effects Of Mindfulness Against Burnout Among Educators
Interesting finding: Educators who practice mindfulness are far less likely to experience burnout compared to those who do not incorporate mindfulness practices.
Study title: Efficacy Of Rajayoga Meditation On Positive Thinking: An Index For Self-Satisfaction And Happiness I...
Interesting finding: Studies have shown the positive effects of mediation, and how those who practice meditation have an improved outlook, and as a result greater self-satisfaction and happiness.
Study title: A Breathing-Based Meditation Intervention For Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Following Inad...
Interesting finding: Meditation has been found to be an effective treatment for sufferers of major depressive disorder (MDD) with an inadequate response to antidepressants.
Study title: Mindfulness And Emotion Regulation—An Fmri Study
Interesting finding: A short mindfulness intervention can benefit emotion regulation on a neurobiological level – meaning that mindfulness can change how certain areas of the brain work.
Study title: Daily stress and the benefits of mindfulness: Examining the daily and longitudinal relations between...
Interesting finding: If we can become more present and mindful of the present moment, we will be better able to cope with any stressors that do come our way and we will experience greater levels of positivity.
Study title: Why Being Mindful May Have More Benefits Than You Realize: Mindfulness Improves Both Explicit and Im...
Interesting finding: Individuals who were more mindful and present were able to better regulate their mood than individuals who did not embrace mindfulness.
Study title: Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build conseq...
Interesting finding: A daily meditation practice increases our feelings of positivity, reduces our symptoms of illness, increases our connection with ourselves and others, and promotes our overall well-being.
Study title: Scientific Analysis of Mantra-Based Meditation and its Beneficial Effects: An Overview
Interesting finding: When we hum during our mantra or meditation practice, nitric oxide is released into the body, this helps muscle relaxation and blood flow.
Study title: Online Positive Affect Journaling In The Improvement Of Mental Distress And Well-Being In General Me...
Interesting finding: Through months of ‘positive affect journaling’, medical patients showed reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms, and increased resilience.
Study title: Choking under pressure: the neuropsychological mechanisms of incentive-induced performance decrement...
Interesting finding: When people write down their fears and worries about an upcoming high-pressure situation, it serves to boost their actual performance.
Study title: Passion Does Make A Difference In People’S Lives: A Look At Well-Being In Passionate And Non-Passion...
Interesting finding: Individuals who harmoniously engage in an activity that they’re passionate about experience greater levels of hedonic and eudaimonic happiness.
Study title: Purpose In Life And Its Relationship To All-Cause Mortality And Cardiovascular Events: A Meta-Analys...
Interesting finding: There's a lower risk of death for people with a high sense of purpose in life. Mortality is about one-fifth lower for people reporting a strong sense of purpose.
Study title: Self-Determination Theory: The Importance of Autonomy to Well-Being Across Cultures
Interesting finding: Acting in alignment with your own values and forming your own way of thinking is what leads to well-being no matter what your cultural background may be.
Study title: Purpose in life and reasons for living as mediators of the relationship between stress, coping, and...
Interesting finding: Individuals who are intentional about their reasons for living and their purpose in life are less likely to be stressed, depressed, and suicidal.
Study title: Which Values Make You Happy? It Might Depend on Where You Live
Interesting finding: When our values align with our country’s politics and social norms, we feel a greater sense of belonging and more profound happiness.
Study title: Does Education Affect Happiness? Evidence For Spain
Interesting finding: People with a higher education level have higher income levels and a higher probability of being employed, and thus, report higher levels of happiness.
Study title: How Money Buys Happiness: Genetic And Environmental Processes Linking Finances And Life Satisfaction
Interesting finding: While income and wealth do contribute towards life satisfaction, it’s not the size of income, but rather the perceived financial situation and control over life that seem to make us happier.
Study title: Failing To Learn? The Effects Of Failure And Success On Organizational Learning In The Global Orbita...
Interesting finding: Organizations learn more from their failures than their successes and that the magnitude of the failure is actually a good predictor of future success.
Study title: Organizational Identity And Firm Performance: What Happens When Leaders Disagree About “Who We Are?”
Interesting finding: When individuals can't understand their identity at work, the organization experiences reduced levels of cooperation and their performance suffers.
Study title: Recovery after work experiences, employee well-being and intent to quit
Interesting finding: When you take the time to effectively recover after work, you are less likely to feel burnt out and more likely to experience job satisfaction.
Study title: Humble Leadership and Employee Resilience: Exploring the Mediating Mechanism of Work-Related Promoti...
Interesting finding: Employee resilience and motivation increases in response to humble leadership. It’s a simple way to encourage satisfaction and buy-in.
Study title: Problematic Interpersonal Relationships at Work and Depression: A Swedish Prospective Cohort Study
Interesting finding: Problematic interpersonal relationships in the work environment significantly increase the odds that a person develops depression.
Study title: The relationships of character strengths with coping, work-related stress, and job satisfaction
Interesting finding: People that develop a strong character and coping mechanisms are less prone to high stress in the workplace and experience greater job satisfaction.
Study title: Do you want me to be perfect? Two longitudinal studies on socially prescribed perfectionism, stress...
Interesting finding: Individuals who emphasized perfection in the workplace experienced significantly increased stress levels at work and were more likely to burn out.
Interesting finding: When our occupation provides personal meaning and fulfillment, we are more likely to adopt a positive self-image in our place of work.
Interesting finding: Productivity per hour drops sharply when you work over 50 hours per week. After 55 hours, the loss in productivity is so big that there’s no point to put in even more hours.
Study title: You’re offended, I’m offended! An empirical study of the proclivity to be offended and what it says...
Interesting finding: Individuals who were more easily offended demonstrated poorer task performance at work and had more negative attitudes as perceived by their supervisor.
Study title: Walking On Sunshine: Scoping Review Of The Evidence For Walking And Mental Health
Interesting finding: Walking alone or in a group can be used as a treatment for depression, and there is some evidence that walking can also prevent depression
Study title: A Systematic Review Of The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Happiness
Interesting finding: There is a significant increase in happiness even if you just exercise 1 day a week and that even 10 minutes may be enough to make you happier.
Study title: The Relationships between Physical Activity and Life Satisfaction and Happiness among Young, Middle-...
Interesting finding: People with moderate to high activity levels have significantly higher life satisfaction and happiness than those with lower levels.
Study title: The Rewarding Nature Of Social Interactions
Interesting finding: The dopamine we receive from someone retweeting a tweet or liking a social media post activates the same reward circuits in our brain as money, delicious food, and psychostimulant drugs.
Study title: The link between food and mental health
Interesting finding: There's a link between children who were brought up eating fast food, copious amounts of sugar-infused foods and drinks with an ADHD diagnosis.
Study title: Does Money Buy Happiness? A Longitudinal Study Using Data On Windfalls
Interesting finding: People who receive unexpected windfalls like a lottery win or an inheritance are happier in the year after receiving the money, but this effect doesn’t last.
Study title: Does Money Buy Happiness? A Longitudinal Study Using Data On Windfalls
Interesting finding: People who receive windfalls like winning a lottery also experience lower mental stress and report higher happiness in the following year.
💡 By the way: If you want to start feeling better and more productive, we've condensed the information of 100's of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here. 👇
Instantly Improve Your Mental Health For Free
Thrive under stress and crush your goals with these 10 instant tips for your mental health.
If there's a happiness study that you're missing from this list, please let me know in the comments below! I aim to keep this page as fresh and updated as I can!
Hugo Huijer Founder of Tracking Happiness
Hi! I'm from the Netherlands, love skateboarding, ran 5 marathons, with one of them in under 4 hours (3:59:58 to be exact). I consider myself to be a data junkie and have tracked my happiness for over 10 years.