fasthowto.com

Happiness Research

A recent study by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center finds the percent of Americans reporting they are “not too happy,” to be the highest percentage in the survey since 1972. Though the remainder of the respondents to the General Social Survey, which was released in February of this year, said they were “very happy” (32 percent) or “pretty happy” (54 percent).

“There’s an increase of discontent, uncertainty, anxiety and anger that’s a product of changes in the economy” says W. Doyle Gentry, author of Happiness for Dummies. But, Gentry also says “a rise in the number of people who describe themselves as “not very happy” does not mean they are necessarily unhappy people.

“Part of what’s going on has to do with semantics” Gentry said. “Happiness is a state of mind that is independent of other states of mind like anger, anxiety and so forth. People tend to think if I’m not happy, then I’m unhappy.”

Another researcher says the fact that more people may be less happy today isn’t an indication that we are living in an unhappy society because we can adapt. The concept of this sort of adaptation is called Hedonic adaptation and that means people adapt and get used to things.

For instance say you suddenly have less money. What happens is though you get used to that. Our daily life is not determined by the size of our savings account.

Researchers also found happiness is contagious. A study released in the British Medical Journal concluded that happiness spreads readily through social networks of family members, friends and neighbors. Knowing someone who is happy makes you 15.3 percent more likely to be happy yourself.

The late Dr. Richard Carlson author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff said staying in the present moment is the key to being happy. If you stay in the present you don’t worry about the future or waste time regretting the past. Dr. Carlson also explained that generally happy people experience unhappiness but they know that the feeling will pass and so they are not overly concerned with a low mood. If you try to analyze why you are unhappy you will just feel worse.

So here are some suggestions to get happy right now:

5 Ways To Get Happy Now

Laugh - Tell a joke, play a joke or watch a funny show. Laughter really is the best medicine. When I need to laugh I go to a Misheard Song Lyrics site and laugh at what people think the song is saying.

Color Yellow - Yellow is a visual pick me up. The sun is yellow and did you know lack of sunlight and vitamin D can cause you to feel sad? Put natural spectrum light in your home to simulate sunshine during winter months.

Spend time with friends - Getting out and interacting with other people does wonders for your mood.

Smell something good - Good smells can trigger good moods. Grapefruit and orange scents are energizing. Buy sweet smelling flowers or scented candles.

Make a list - Count your blessings. You will find you have many things to be grateful for.

Check out our post on our sister site Curepure.com regarding Happy Food

feel better,happy food,happiness research,human happiness,richard carlson

Technorati Tags: feel better, happy food, happiness research, human happiness, richard carlson

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!