Keys To Being Happy According To Science
Being happy, according to science, is possible. There is more and more evidence of this. Despite being a relatively young field of study, numerous studies have been published that suggest that human beings have the ability to achieve happiness, even in difficult circumstances.
In fact, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can feel very far from the concept of well-being. However, even in the most complicated situations in life we can find moments in which we celebrate our existence and feel closer to the idea of being happy.
What exactly is happiness?
Happiness is an abstract concept that many researchers have been studying for decades. Each of them has given its own definition and we can find dozens of them.
Some are focused on the experimentation of positive emotions and states, while others are more focused on the equivalence of happiness to the absence of fear or adversity.
A very interesting vision is the one proposed by engineer Mo Gawdat. This former Google worker lived through a particularly difficult situation: his son died in an operation for appendicitis due to medical negligence.
As a result of his own suffering, Gawdat established a mathematical formula in which he explained our unhappiness. According to his approach, happiness was equivalent to the events of our life minus the expectations of how they should be.
This means that we suffer when we reject what happens because we think it should be otherwise. For example, in the current situation of confinement, people who resist complying with the ordered measures suffer much more than those who accept what is happening.
And the same happens for any other difficult situation in life: not accepting that our partner has left us, a dismissal, an illness or the death of a loved one, turn the pain of the event into excessive suffering. Something that, without a doubt, takes us away from the concept of being happy according to science.
Effects derived from being happy according to science
According to the Expansion and Construction Theory of Barbara Fredrickson (1998, 2001), experiencing positive emotions facilitates more flexible behaviors and helps to have a broader repertoire of behaviors . Thus, we are better able to adapt better to the environment and function better in the different areas of life.
Some effects derived from experiencing positive affective states are the following:
- Our thoughts are more creative.
- We are more tolerant of ourselves and of others.
- Our responses are more adaptive.
- We better counteract negative emotions.
- We are more altruistic.
- We tolerate physical pain better.
- We are more resilient in the face of adversity.
Positive emotions have a strong stress-absorbing effect (Fredrickson, Mancuso, Branigan & Tugade, 2000), as has been shown by various laboratory studies on, for example, cardiovascular reactivity (Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998).
Furthermore, science has found that positive and negative emotions are not mutually exclusive, but rather are relatively independent (Avia and Vázquez, 1998). Thus, we can feel negative emotions in situations that seem positive, and conversely, experience positive emotions in especially difficult moments such as anxiety or traumatic situations.
How to be happy according to science?
Although throughout life we live complicated situations, human beings can do a lot to get away from suffering. Here we describe some proposals to get happier according to science:
Experience gratitude
Being grateful for everything positive that happens to us is a highly recommended practice in our day to day life, and especially the worse the situation we experience.
Research shows a direct relationship between gratitude and prosocial behaviors, positive emotions, life satisfaction, optimism, hope, vitality, and subjective perception of happiness (McCullough, Emmons & Tsang, 2002).
In addition, being grateful is associated with a lower risk of developing psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety or substance use (Bono & McCullough, 2006).
Therefore, in times of crisis and major difficulties, incorporating gratitude into our lives can mark a significant improvement in our emotional state.
Enhance our sense of humor
The sense of humor is attributed numerous psychological benefits such as feelings and states of joy, well-being and satisfaction, stress reduction and prevention of depression.
It also has important physical effects such as increasing pain tolerance and improving the immune and cardiovascular system. In addition, on a social level, it improves our communication with others and helps community harmony.
Therefore, it is important to incorporate moments of distraction thanks to humor. Recovering our favorite series, rewatching that movie with which we cannot stop laughing, listening to a funny podcast or reading a chapter of a book that makes us smile, can be of great help. ⠀
Listen to music
The Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of a 1996 Austin music therapy study. Stimulating music increases the release of endorphins and decreases the need for medications.
Endorphins act on our central nervous system motivating us and providing us with energy, which helps us to be happier and more optimistic.
Thus, we can create a playlist with our most animated favorite songs to listen to while doing physical activity or cleaning tasks, for example. Without a doubt, a daily dose of happy music will make us feel better.
Practice mindfulness
The mindfulness means being present in the here and now. By focusing our attention on each activity we do, it is much easier for us to stop listening to our negative thoughts that often bombard our head.
To practice mindfulness we don’t need to be a Zen teacher. We just have to concentrate as much as possible on what we are doing. Let’s take an example:
- If we are cooking a food, the idea is to focus on the action we are taking: observe it, notice its texture with the fingertips, the smell it gives off, the sound it generates when touched or how its consistency changes when cooking it.
The practice of mindfulness can be applied to almost any daily activity and is an interesting tool to reduce anxiety according to multiple studies.
Increase enjoyable activities
Without the neural mechanisms of the motivation and reward system, our species would have starved and not perpetuated. If something gives us pleasure, it is very likely that we want to do it again.
Thus, we can practice many pleasant activities that will bring us happiness: taking a hot bath if we are cold or a refreshing shower if it is hot, learning something new, singing, writing, painting or dancing would be some examples.
The activities that are positive for us activate a circuit of neurons that produce the sensation of pleasure and reduce our stress level significantly. Therefore, in difficult times it is important to dedicate some time of the day to perform any of these actions.
Plan activities
As Eduardo Punset commented in his book The Journey to Happiness , the expectations of a highly desired situation far exceed the happiness of the event itself. That is to say, that happiness is hidden in the waiting room of happiness.
This is due to what scientists call the reward circuit. This circuit, which alerts the springs of pleasure and happiness, is activated especially during the search and not so much during the act itself, contrary to what might be expected. Dopamine is activated with the simple expectation of pleasure, even if it does not materialize later.
In this way, thinking about eating our favorite ice cream, getting the job of our dreams, planning an idyllic vacation or imagining a conversation with someone we like, will often provide us with greater satisfaction than the act itself.
Being happy according to science: what should we remember?
Generating positive moods in complex situations is not an easy task. However, if we follow the actions described, we can approach a significant sense of well-being.
It must be remembered that the most negative emotions have a function and their reason for being. They would not exist if they had not been adaptive to us throughout evolution. The important thing is to learn to listen to what they want to convey to us in order to understand them, go beyond them and, finally, leave them behind.
However, sometimes those negative emotional states don’t go away so easily. Although we apply all the behaviors described in this article and many others that we know, such as practicing physical activity, reading or talking with a good friend, the discomfort persists.
Therefore, if despite putting everything on our side, we feel that negative emotions overcome us and we do not know how to manage our unease, it is important to consult a specialist. A clinical or health psychologist specialized in this type of case can help us to remedy avoidable suffering.
