Happy times!

Find out how to be happy!

Are you happy? If you aren’t, you need to move near friends who are. A new study shows that happiness is infectious and can flow through social groups. And the closer you are to someone happy, the happier you’ll be. The study was carried out by Harvard Medical School. The researchers discovered that a person’s happiness is dependent on the happiness of those around them. They collected data on 5,000 adults between 1971 and 2003. Participants were asked to identify their relatives, close friends, place of residence and place of work. They were also asked questions about whether they enjoyed life, and whether they felt hopeful about the future. The results were interesting. The researchers found that those who had happy partners had 8% higher chance of being happy too. And for those with happy children, this increases to 14%. And finally, those with a happy friend who lives less than half a kilometer away are 42% more likely to be happy. “most important from our perspective is the recognition that people are in social networks, and that the health and well-being of one person affects the health and well being of others”, one of the researchers explained. It makes sense that if people around you are happy, that might have an impact on your own happiness. So, in conclusion, the best thing is to have a happy friend who lives less than a kilometer away from you. Do you have one?

1)    What makes you happy? Make a list.

2)    Explain what the connection between happiness and friendship is.

3)    How happy do you feel today?

4)    When was the last time you were unhappy?

5)    Why is it important to be happy?