Catch a Winter Bug: Happiness
Harvard Study Reports Happiness is Contagious
Not that you needed it, but now you have one more excuse to indulge in the merriment of the holidays. A Harvard study recently published in the British Medical Journal confirms that happiness is contagious!
The more happy people you are surrounded by, the happier you will be! In fact, co-authors Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler found that having just one happy friend or family member increases your chances of being happy by about 9 percent. In comparison, they reported that having an extra $5,000 only increases happiness by about 2 percent. Happy friends are worth more than gold!
According to Fowler, “happiness has been shown to have an important effect on reduced mortality, pain reduction, and improved cardiac function. So better understanding of how happiness spreads can help us learn how to promote a healthier society.”
So, now it’s up to you to smile, laugh, chuckle, hop, dance, twinkle, beam, hug, and share your happiness with friends and family this holiday season and on into the new year. Your health depends on it!
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