The Science Of Happiness

Happiness might seem like an odd subject for science to study. Can things as personal as joy, contentment, and fulfillment really be measured and analyzed? While people may have different ideas about what kinds of happiness are most important, researchers have identified certain factors that seem to be associated with happiness in the majority of people. In this article, we’ll examine the things that science says are most likely to make us happy.

Some of our happiness appears to be determined by genetics or by other factors that are at least partly out of our control. However, new research in the field of positive psychology suggests there are some things that almost anyone can do to make themselves happier, such as practicing gratitude, reducing stress, building stronger relationships, and getting exercise. Keep reading for a deeper look at the science of happiness.

How does science define happiness?

According to this definition, your happiness is a combination of well-being and the belief that you are leading a meaningful life. Both your rational mind and your emotions have a role to play. 

Some researchers attempt to distinguish between two kinds of happiness:

1. Hedonic happiness, the experience of pleasure and pleasant emotions

2. Eudaimonic happiness, the happiness that comes from understanding and satisfying personal values, as well as finding meaning and/or purpose in life

How is happiness measured?

For the most part, researchers assess happiness through self-report, meaning by asking people whether they believe they are leading a happy and meaningful life. This can be worded in different ways depending on the study. For example, one group of scientists might ask about the level of satisfaction people feel in their own lives, while others might ask participants to rate their “level of well-being.” Ultimately, though, all these queries point toward the same question: How good do you feel about your life?

Some readers might feel that this doesn’t sound very scientific. Is relying on self-reports an accurate way to get information about happiness? There’s some debate about this question in psychological circles, but scientists haven’t yet come up with a better way to rate subjective qualities like happiness.

Happiness may also be measured differently depending on what culture they come from. Emiliana Simon-Thomas, a science director at the Greater Good Science Center, believes that cultural context is inextricably linked to the way we think about happiness. A person’s self evaluation from one part of the world may vastly differ from someone else's in a different part of the planet; this can be important when we discuss what happiness is and how it should be measured.

As psychology professor Daniel Gilbert has pointed out, self-reports of happiness can tell us a lot even if they can’t measure an individual’s precise happiness level. Gathering large numbers of happiness reports can give us insight into what, on average, makes people think they’re happy. Also, it’s not clear that there’s a difference between thinking you’re happy and actually being happy.

The neuroscience of happiness

Another way to look at happiness scientifically is to see how it affects your brain and body. Neuroscience isn’t advanced enough yet to know whether someone is happy just from a brain scan, but researchers are making strides in learning about the physiological side of positive emotions.

Sense pleasure and reward

Researchers have identified a few deep-seated “pleasure centers” of the brain, including:

• The nucleus accumbens, a small cluster of neurons in the lower forebrain. It seems to be important in distinguishing between liking and disliking specific sensations.

• The ventral pallidum, which sits below the nucleus accumbens and communicates with the sense processing centers in the thalamus.

• The ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brainstem, the region linking the brain and the spine, which also controls basic vital functions like breathing and heartbeat. The VTA seems to be involved in habit formation, feelings of love, and orgasm.

Enjoyment and making happy choices

Another region that appears to be important in happiness is the orbitofrontal cortex, located at the very front of the brain. This area seems to play a role in more complex decisions about pleasure, such as seeking out new sensations. It also shows activity related to behavioral decisions and may be important when you’re trying to figure out what course of action will make you happiest.

Personal satisfaction

Many of the brain structures discussed above are part of, or engage with, the brain’s default mode network. This is a large and complex set of connected neurons that may play a significant role in complex processes like:

• Engaging in self-reflection

• Recalling personal history

• Thinking about other people’s perspectives

• Managing close relationships

• Planning for a happier future

Parts of the default mode network may be crucial for the eudaimonic happiness that comes from fulfilling values, achieving goals, and finding meaning in life.

What can science tell us about how to be happy?

For many positive psychology researchers (and probably many readers), one of the most important questions about happiness is “what will make me happy?” While some may search for a single fundamental finding or answer to satisfy this question, it's likely that happiness will look different for different people. That said, science has learned some practical lessons about what does and doesn’t correlate with happiness in the general population.

Healthy lifestyles make you happier

Better health is generally linked to greater happiness. However, even if you have health problems, the available research strongly suggests that regular exercise may make you feel better about life. Even as little as 10 minutes per week could raise your overall happiness.

A report in Forbes noted that healthy food choices seem to have similar effects. You may have a lower risk of depression and higher subjective well-being if you:

• Avoid fried or processed foods

• Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and fiber

• Choose seafood and lean red meats over fatty meat

Close friendships promote happiness

Social connections appear to be one of the strongest predictors of how happy a person is. However, this doesn’t mean that you need to have hundreds of friends to lead a satisfying life. Researchers found that the quality of social connections was more important for happiness than their quantity.

Money can buy happiness, but only a little

Research shows that more money can increase happiness to a certain degree. However, the results are nuanced and show that the increase can vary according to a person’s emotional well-being.

Happiness is surprisingly stable over time

Each major moment and event in our lives can have a big effect on our happiness. Positive changes, like getting married or landing a dream job, can make us happier, while negative events like injuries or the deaths of loved ones can make us sad. However, happiness researchers have discovered that these effects on our happiness often don’t last very long, and over time, most people return to about the same level of well-being they had before.

It’s possible to choose to be happier

The effect described above is often called hedonic adaptation, meaning that as we become used to our life circumstances, their effect on our happiness level often fades away. It’s a little like the process of becoming used to a persistent odor or the background noise of traffic.

This doesn’t have to mean that your happiness can’t change, though. It may simply mean that changing your mindset could do more to make you happier than changing your life circumstances.

For instance, research suggests that participants might reduce hedonic adaptation by:

1. Deliberately reflecting on the good things that have already happened to them

2. Seeking out a variety of different experiences

This makes sense in light of findings that show a strong relationship between gratitude and happiness. Simple actions such as journaling about things that make you thankful may help you feel a stronger sense of well-being. As you begin to experience more gratitude, you may find that you are more likely to recognize random acts of kindness from others in everyday life, which may boost your happiness.  

Other experiments suggest that simply trying to be happier can boost happiness, especially when paired with small activities aimed at making you feel better, such as listening to upbeat music. If you make a conscious effort to look for happiness in life, you may be more able to find it.

You can also take courses relating to the science of happiness, like the one offered by the Greater Good Science Center. Students who take the eight-week course are taught ways to explore the roots of a meaningful life in an effort to understand what makes a person happy. While the course does cost $169 for each verified track, there is a free audit option available as well. The course at the Greater Good Science Center may help a person focus on ways to choose happiness through the details provided by scientific studies and life-improvement lessons.

Therapy may help you choose happiness

While studying psychological course materials and making lifestyle changes can be helpful, there may be other ways to increase the happiness we have in our lives. One way that may be effective is online therapy. This method allows you to work with mental health professionals remotely, so you don’t have to limit your search to therapists who practice in your area. This can make it much easier to find the right therapist for you. It may also be easier to get in the habit of attending therapy since you don’t have to commute to your sessions. With BetterHelp, you can participate in therapy sessions via audio or video chat, in addition to contacting your therapist in between sessions via in-app messaging.

Research into the benefits of online therapy has repeatedly found that it can be affordable, convenient, and effective. A study published in JMIR Mental Health concluded that internet-based therapy was effective for both anxiety and depression.