Being happy might be easier than you think, but it requires vigilance, new research has found.
Long-term happiness may stem from learning a set of techniques and applying them every day for an extended period of time, according to a new paper in the journal Higher Education.
In the paper, researchers from the University of Bristol in the U.K. who have developed a "Science of Happiness" course reveal that students who applied the lessons taught in the classes over the long term were happier overall than those who stopped shortly after the course.
"It's like going to the gym; we can't expect to do one class and be fit forever. Just as with physical health, we have to continuously work on our mental health; otherwise, the improvements are temporary," senior author Bruce Hood, a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Bristol, said in a statement.
The course itself—launched in 2018—taught the students a number of evidence-based happiness-improvement tips. These included:
- Talking to strangers
- Using social media less frequently
- Spending time in nature
- Getting enough sleep
- Giving gifts to others
- Meditation
- Journaling
- Practicing optimism and gratitude
- Being kind to others.
These tips are based on how these actions affect the brain and bodies: loneliness can impair our immune systems; gift-giving can activate the brain's reward centers; and optimism is linked to life expectancy.
"There are many, but they generally fall into two types of tips. One set are designed for immediate application such as acts of kindness, journaling, gratitude letters, savoring and so on. The others are practices that require sustained effort over time, including meditation, exercise and sleep hygiene," Hood told Newsweek.
In the new paper, the researchers found that there was a 10 to 15 percent increase in well-being for those who had taken the course. However, students who practiced these tips in the long-term experienced greater long-term happiness, too.
"We found that the previous mental well-being benefits reported by students in the immediate post-course period associated with taking the Science of Happiness initially disappeared in the longer-term follow-up conducted 1-2 years later even though just over half (52 percent) said they thought the course had improved their mental well-being, and most (94 percent) said they would recommend the course to others," the authors wrote in the paper.
"However, approximately half of the students (51 percent) reported that they had continued to engage in various recommended activities including writing letters of gratitude to others, meditation, exercise, journaling and kindness," the authors added.
"When we compared these students to those who had not maintained engagement in happiness-boosting activities, we found a clear benefit of the continued use of activities over time on scores of mental well-being. Students who reported continuing to use 'happiness hacks' showed a significant increase in well-being from pre-course to long-term follow-up, whereas those who did not showed no change over time."
The paper reveals that students who persisted in doing activities that the course advised them to do to improve their happiness, including practicing gratitude, exercise, meditation, and journaling, were happier two years on from the course than those who hadn't.
"This study shows that just doing a course—be that at the gym, a meditation retreat or on an evidence-based happiness course like ours—is just the start: you must commit to using what you learn on a regular basis," Hood said.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about happiness? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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