In the research for my book, I’ve been reading a lot about the science behind happiness. I especially enjoyed Richard Wiseman’s 59 Seconds; Think A Little, Change A Lot. Partly inspired by the research he quotes from and based on the feedback I got after the previous post Describing Your Best Possible Future, I would like to share with you three more ways to increase your happiness that are backed by scientific research.

Buy experiences instead of goods

According to psychologists Leaf Van Boven and Thomas Gilovich, experiences make people more happy than goods. To verify their hypothesis, they conducted two experiments. In the first experiment, they asked people about an object or experience they had bought in order to improve their happiness, and how effective it had been. The second was to ask one group to think about an object and another group to think about a holiday. They were both then asked to mark their current mood on an 8-point scale.

There was clear proof that those who had thought of experiences instead of possessions were much happier. They believe the reason behind this is that one gets used to objects easily, and that the self-esteem from objects soon disappears. On the other hand, we tend to remember the positive elements in positive experiences, and often forget about the negative aspects that were part of the positive experience (a plane delay, a flat tire, the hang-over the day after).

Give

Research shows over and over again that people who give are significantly happier than those who keep most of what they have for themselves. Elizabeth Dunn from the University of British Columbia found that people who got spent their work bonus on others were more happy than those who invested the money in themselves. To proof that giving makes people happy, rather than concluding that happy people simply give more, two groups of randomly selected people were given envelopes with money. One group was asked to spend it on themselves, the other group was asked to spend it on others. Those who spent the money on family and friends were more happy than those who bought luxury goods for themselves. Neuro-scientists have even proven that there is a natural connection in our brain that links giving to happiness!

Change your physical state

Countless scientists have come to the conclusion that changing your physical state or appearance has a significant influence on your performance and emotions. Not only did they ask people to do math tests in various positions (laid-back, sitting up, standing, etc.), they also asked them how they felt while doing it. The conclusions were stunning; those who were asked to sit up or stand performed better, and actually felt better and happier! Your emotions can often be read from your appearance, why not the other way around! So, change your physical state even though you don’t feel well – a good chance you feel much better!

Photo by nosheep