Worldwide surveys have consistently ranked the Scandinavian countries — with their generous family-leave policies, low crime, free health care, rich economies and, yes, high income taxes — as the happiest places on earth. But …
Happiness
How to Think Yourself into a Happy Place
Sometimes happiness is absolute: you land your dream job or the perfect girl. You’re psyched. But sometimes the situation isn’t so clear cut: you got the job you wanted, but not at the salary you’d hoped. Still happy?
Study: Having a Bad Job Is Worse than No Job For Mental Health
Maybe unemployment isn’t so bad after all. A new study says that, income notwithstanding, having a demanding, unstable and thankless job may make you even unhappier than not having a job at all.
Happy Teenhood Leads to Happy Adulthood … and Divorce?
Happiness research tends not to focus on the most sullen of subgroups (cue the jokes: Isn’t “happy teenager” an oxymoron?, etc.), but a new study finds that happiness and social adjustment during teenhood may be important …
Smoking Cessation Linked to Happiness, Elevated Moods
As if you needed another reason to give up smoking for good: Researchers have now determined that successfully quitting is not only linked to greater happiness, but also to elevated moods, contrary to the popular belief that …
5 Ways to Stop Stressing and Become Happier and More Confident
Stress is unavoidable, but there are ways to lessen the burden. Here, some proven methods from Dr. Martin Rossman, author of the new book The Worry Solution.
Could Watching Viral Videos Enhance Creative Thinking?
Why are workers prone to sending each other pictures of cuddly animals or viral videos that elicit stifled giggles in cubicles around the world?
Middle Age: It’s Not Downhill from Here — At Least in Terms of Mood
In what seems like an unrelenting year of bad news, the Economist has a lovely and uplifting feature headlined “The U-Bend of Life.”
Religion’s Secret to Happiness: It’s Friends, Not Faith
Religion can be good for your health, and especially your mental health, according to the latest studies, which show that church-goers are happier and more satisfied with their lives than those who don’t attend services. But …
How Feelings of Gratitude Breed Happiness and Well-Being
Why Spamming Your Friends With Cute Kitties Is Good Karma
Oh, hai! I’ll admit it upfront: I’m a sucker for cat pictures and videos. When the latest kitteh goes viral, you can bet it will turn up on my screen. But I’m hardly alone. These silly videos of cats, kittens and other things …
Were You Born This (Un)Happy, or Did You Marry Into It?
In the burgeoning field of happiness research, most scholars have favored the idea that a person’s level of happiness has a set point, like the float ball in a toilet tank.
How Much Happiness Can Money Buy? About $75,000 Worth
People say money doesn’t make you happy. Except, according to a new study by Princeton University researchers, it actually sort of does — at least up to about $75,000 a year. In an article published on Time.com on Monday, Belinda Luscombe reports: “The lower a person’s income falls below that benchmark, the unhappier he or she
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