Facts about Happiness

1. 08

   Optimistic individuals aged 50 and older had 23 percent lower rates of heart disease compared to pessimistic counterparts in a 2019 Boston University longitudinal study of 70,000 participants.

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2. 07

   People who practice meditation for just 10 minutes daily report 23 percent higher life satisfaction scores than non-meditators, according to a 2018 Johns Hopkins meta-analysis of 47 studies.

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3. 06

   The three-day Pushkin House study in 2021 demonstrated that acts of kindness increase happiness levels by 33 percent more than neutral activities in both giver and witness participants.

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4. 05

   Exercising for 30 minutes three times weekly increases happiness levels as much as a $25,000 salary increase, according to a 2020 University of Vermont study analyzing 1.2 million adults.

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5. 04

   Spending money on experiences rather than possessions produces 9 percent greater life satisfaction according to 2003 research by psychologists Thomas Gilovich and Leaf Van Boven.

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6. 03

   Dopamine surges when pursuing goals produce 25 percent more happiness than dopamine released upon achieving them, according to neuroscience research on reward anticipation.

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7. 02

   A 2019 Harvard Study of Adult Development found that people with strong relationships lived 10 years longer on average than isolated individuals.

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8. 01

   Bhutan's government measures Gross National Happiness instead of GDP, prioritizing citizen well-being over economic growth since 1972.

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