How to be happy — 50 science-backed ways to be happier
Are you looking for some ideas or inspiration to help reduce anxiety, cope with the stresses of modern life or lift your mood?
Positive Psychology is a fairly new sub-field within the study of psychology. It is the study of happiness and looks at how people can live a more fulfilling, satisfying and meaningful life. There has been an explosion of research over the past couple of decades, and one thing is absolutely obvious: you can practice happiness.
Happiness is not about being in a constant state of joy, or about being on a constant high all the time. It’s about positivity and mental wellbeing. It’s enjoying the good times and being able to bounce back from the bad times. It’s grieving when we need to grieve and being resilient when we need resilience.
Take a read below of the top 50 science-backed activities you can incorporate into your life that are proven to help you be happy. Try one or try them all. Try them once or make them a part of your daily, weekly or monthly habits.
But remember, as author Stephen Covey said, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” So, if you want to be happier or reduce stress, anxiety and negative emotions, pick a few of the below options that work for you, and schedule them into your weekly planner.
50 tips for how to be happy
1. Get a pet or interact with animals
The research shows that interacting with pets increased cortisol levels, making you happier.
Having a growth mindset means you never stop learning. Now research shows that it also impacts how you see the world and makes you more likely to thrive in life.
Science shows that once you smile, feedback loops go back to the brain which reinforce feelings of joy and happiness.
4. Be authentic to yourself and your truth
Humanistic psychologists have shown that as their clients become more authentic, they become happier and their psychological wellbeing increases.
There are many changes you can make to your life to impact your happiness levels, and one of them is moving closer to work or finding a way to reduce your commute time. It turns out that having a bigger house doesn’t make up for having a longer commute.
Holidays are great, we all know that — take them whenever you can. But did you know that the biggest boost in your happiness comes not from the vacation itself, but from the act of planning the vacation?
7. Take your lunchbreak and get outside in the sun
A recent study shows that spending time by the sea makes people happier. It also showed that just being outdoors makes you happier — preferably in a non-urban environment, but hey, we’ll take what we can get!
There is substantial research into the benefits of close social bonds, but this study looks at the economic impact of having a happy marriage, and a good social life. The results? Good relationships and social bonds not only make you happier, they also make you richer!
9. Meditate
There are many types of meditation, and they all help with happiness. Research shows that participants report feeling more positive emotions and more energetic.
10. Eat lots of fruit and vegies
There is increasing research linking a healthy body to a healthy mind, including this study that showed eating more fruit and vegies led to an increase in motivation and vitality.
11. Discover your purpose or meaning
This one is a no-brainer. Many, many studies have shown that having purpose or meaning is key to happiness. But how do you find your purpose? Check out this article for some inspiration.
12. Do some gardening and plant a tree
Not only does being around trees increase our mental wellbeing, it also has a positive impact on our immune system! Who knew?
Give yourself a break! Constantly aiming to be better is exhausting and focusing on what’s ‘wrong’ or needs improvement can lead to negative self-talk. So make sure you balance things out with some self-love and positive talk, or even better, work to stop judging yourself altogether.
14. Be social
Humans are genetically wired to be social animals, after all there is strength in numbers! So make sure you take the time to be social, even if you’re busy or introverted. You could meet a friend for coffee or organise a group to have dinner.
Let’s be clear: money doesn’t buy happiness (as long as you have enough to cover your basic needs). But you can use money to pay someone else to do the things you don’t like and free up some time for you to do things that will bring you joy.
I’m so sad to see this one on the list, but not only is sugar bad for our waistlines, it may also increase our long-term risk of mental health disorders according to this study. Best to limit sugar to special occasions if you can.
17. Find happy people to be around
Sometimes we need to protect ourselves and cut toxic relationships out of our lives. But, have you stopped to consider the impact your partner’s happiness has on your life? Research shows that people with happier partners live longer! A thought worth considering when you’re dating. If that ship has sailed, then why not do something nice for your partner to bring a smile to their face once you’ve finished reading this article?
18. Find time for your close friends
Life gets busy, we know, but it’s important to keep your relationships strong, particularly as you age. This recent study shows that having just one strong friendship is enough to stave off mental decline as we age.
19. Find or create moments of awe in your life
Studies show that experiencing moments of awe makes us more generous and patient, and helps you deal with stress better.
This is a tried and tested hypothesis and it’s true: how you see the world impacts your mental wellbeing. Or put another way, your beliefs affect your emotional experiences. Why not try this little trick to bring some more positivity into your life?
We know that being social is important, so family mealtime is a no brainer, we have to eat so why not do it together? But what you may not know is that eating together benefits your kids’ mental and physical health. So, try to prioritise at least one family meal per day where you put phones and distractions away and be present with each other!
You might think that people who are self-deprecating have lower self-esteem, but this study shows it’s the opposite, and people who make fun of themselves are in fact happier and better socially adjusted.
23. Learn to forgive your mistakes and accept yourself
It’s one thing to practice positive self-talk, but why not take it even further and forgive yourself altogether and accept your faults. In this study, acceptance was the habit that was most strongly linked to life satisfaction.
24. Try yoga
Yoga is a mind-body practice that has risen in popularity over recent decades, and it has also recently been proven to help people with depression.
25. Get creative
Find a passion and get creative, you could try writing, dancing, acting, cooking, painting or any number of other creative pursuits. No matter what you choose, one thing is sure, being creative helps people deal with trauma and is helpful to both physical and mental wellbeing.
26. Have (a little bit of) chocolate
Studies into how eating chocolate impacts mood showed either an improvement in mood or a reduction of negative mood.
27. Get a dog
Having a dog has been proven to increase physical health — after all you have to take them for walks. But dogs are also good for mental health too. Studies show that owning a dog reduces a person’s risk of premature death by up to a third!
28. Be kind
Kindness increases happiness, energy, the love hormone (oxytocin), pleasure and it even increases your lifespan. It’s also really easy to practice and has recently started a global movement you can get involved in #RandomActsOfKindness
29. Attend a spiritual retreat
A study showed that people who attend spiritual retreats report greater psychological well-being and show retreats may increase levels of “feel-good” hormones in the brain.
30. Build your work friendships
Positive and warm relationships at work can make us feel happier and healthier, while also increasing productivity.
31. Take a break or limit overuse of social media
We’ve all heard the doomsday reports on the negative effects of social media. It turns out the key to social media is to be active in your use (not passive). When used actively to build or maintain social ties, social media can be a positive force, but beware of passively scrolling through feeds for hours — this can lead to liking yourself less and feeling envy. Also taking a week off can boosts well-being too. In the end, the research says to use social media wisely, deliberately and sparingly.
32. Take a moment to look at nature
On your way to work? Popping into the shops? Wherever you are, be sure to stop and smell the roses, or at least notice them. Research says that observing nature — wherever you may be — will make you feel happier.
33. Cook a new recipe for dinner
Cooking is a form of self-care and cooking for others is a way of nurturing people and sharing a meal is a great way to create deeper social bonds.
Research has shown that helping others through acts of charity or volunteer work can make you feel better and happier, but more recent research finds that simply wishing someone well may have a similarly positive effect on our moods.
35. Get active
A study that examined data from almost 34,000 people has found that as little as one-hour of exercise per week, regardless of intensity, can help to prevent depression. So, get out there and something, anything, for just an hour and you can reap the benefits!
36. Give up smoking
Sorry smokers, I know it feels like everyone is ganging up on you, and I don’t have good news for you either. Research shows that giving up smoking is linked to greater happiness and elevated mood.
37. Get enough consistent sleep
Recent research has suggested sleep should be considered a major public health concern, and shows that the effects of a good night’s sleep are as beneficial for our happiness and well-being as winning the lottery might be!
Music has not only been proven to help people with anxiety and depression, but it is also a major key to happiness, alleviating pain, keeping your brain healthy and improving mood.
39. Take control over your life
Developing greater control over your life can help you make important life decisions and feel less overwhelmed, stuck and lost. Read on for 7 ways to take control of your life.
40. Go for a hike in the mountains or a walk along the beach
Researchers have found that simply going for a leisurely walk can improve mood and boost subjective well-being, particularly for adults who are normally sedentary.
41. Go outside
The findings are in: the more green space in the neighbourhood, the happier people report feeling. Quite simply, if you want to feel better, just go outside.
42. Be generous
Research shows giving to others activates an area of the brain linked with contentment and the reward cycle. So, performing selfless acts makes you happier.
43. Get a cat
You either love ’em or hate ’em, but the benefits are clear, cats make our lives happier and healthier.
44. Join a choir or sing with friends
Music helps to synchronise our bodies and our brains, making it the perfect social glue. Participants in a sing-along reported feeling closer and more connected because of the experience of singing together.
Research has shown that volunteering is rewarding in and of itself, and helping others is a way to higher individual wellbeing.
46. Set some goals and work to achieve them
Research shows that people who are making progress toward or are achieving meaningful goals are happier. Whether they’re health and fitness goals, or family goals, or work goals, the key is to be making progress.
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. One tip that has shown results is to keep a gratitude journal.
48. Forgive others
Forgiving others is a great way to let go of negativity. Follow this guide to work through the 9 steps to forgiving someone.
49. Have sex with someone you love
A number of studies have shown that sex is a key ingredient of a happy marriage — producing and ‘afterglow’ that can last up to two days.
50. Chasing happiness can have the opposite effect!
Beware chasing happiness for the sake of happiness. The above tips are all great activities you can pursue that have been proven to increase happiness and/or decrease negative moods and feelings. But it’s worth pointing out in our last tip that simply chasing happiness is not the way to find it.
Conclusion
The research shows that you can’t chase happiness, but you can fill your life with new and novel experiences, preferably shared with friends and family, that bring meaning to your life and the lives of others. If you can find the balance between the activities that you choose, and those you must do (often your day job), you might just succeed in finding happiness.
“Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls — family, health, friends, integrity — are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.” — Gary Keller
