W4Y thought it would be interesting to find what makes you happy – so send us a list of three things that make you happy or when you are at your happiest. Tell us what makes you happy and find out what makes others happy.
There has been lots of research carried out about this important subject – there was even a television series about it recently.
Did you know that if you are generally a happy person you are likely, in the future, to suffer less in the way of physical illness than those who are unhappy? It’s true; experts are now investigating the health benefits of happiness.
According to research Britain is less happy than in the 1950’s – despite the fact that we are three times richer. So extra wealth does not equal extra happiness. The proportion of people saying they are ‘very happy’ has fallen from 52% in 1957 to just 36% today. This lowering of levels of reported happiness has also been seen in America.
The results of research also suggest that our levels of happiness change throughout our lives. It would appear that males are slightly happier on average than females in their teens, but females bounce back and overtake males in later life.
It would appear that contentment is a very important ingredient for being happy. Contentment is about accepting things as they are and/or having peace of mind. Family and good friends are also important to our levels of happiness.
