The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded that 38.4 million Americans live with diabetes. The United States Census Bureau reports that 36.8 million live in poverty. Meanwhile, Worldometer states that 1.2 million have died from the coronavirus. An estimated 59.3 million adults in the U.S. suffer from mental health issues, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
The world is full of struggles – chronic illness, poverty, increased death rates, and psychological distress. These numbers paint a stark reality, but do not really tell the full story. Despite the challenges people face daily, the pursuit of happiness remains a universal human goal. What makes some people feel content, even in difficult circumstances, while others struggle to find joy?
Scientists argue it is not just about avoiding sadness, but also understanding how people’s bodies and minds are wired for joy. And the answer, as researchers in positive psychology have found, may lie in the science of happiness.
What is the science of happiness?
Happiness is not just a feeling – it is a complex interaction between the brain, body, and environment. Researchers in positive psychology investigate neural signals, hormones, and behaviors that contribute to overall well-being.
Former American Psychological Association president Martin E.G. Seligam and Claremont Graduate University psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi officially introduced positive psychology in 1988, and from then on, the specific attention paid to a human’s positive characteristics and strengths has created a template for thriving rather than simply surviving. According to Harvard Medical School’s “Positive psychology” article, “Positive psychology is otherwise known as the science of human flourishing, the search for satisfaction and contentment that’s within everyone’s reach. Positive thoughts and positive attitudes — what we call positive thinking — can lead to direct, positive health outcomes.”
Health
Although social media trends such as “self-care Sundays” or “75 Hard” may seem silly, diet and exercise play important roles in one’s happiness.
Nourishing the body with a balanced and healthy diet offers many benefits for improved mood. This is not to say that eating ice cream or enjoying a favorite fast food meal every so often is going to lead to depression, but making sure that those foods are not the only thing the body consumes is what matters. Fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and protein all factor into gut health and provide necessary vitamins and energy to the body.
“[Diet] is a big chunk of our mental health. What we put in our bodies directly correlates to how we think, how we act, how we go about our days, how we sleep, and how we perform athletically. It is key to make sure that what we put in our bodies is nourishing us and giving us everything we need energetically,” Ohio-based nutritionist and wellness coach Danielle Miranda said.
The brain-gut connection essentially scientifically validates “feeling a pit in your stomach” or the “butterfly flurry” sensation, as researchers have found the enteric nervous system controls back and forth connection from the stomach to the brain, according to John Hopkins Medicine.
Temporarily feeling hungry, angry, or restless can often be solved with a nutritious meal that provides stamina and energy. Targeting specific balances in nutrients such as iron plays a key role in well-being.
“Iron is key. [It] not only helps with anemia, it helps with performance. And it’s not just any kind of iron, we need ferric iron. You really only get ferric iron through animal protein, so ground beef or smoked fish,” Miranda said.
Additionally, replenishing enzymes and avoiding their depletion offer benefits to the body.
“Enzymes are crucial for gut health, and what a lot of people don’t know is that enzymes actually start in the mouth. It helps with digestion, chewing your food properly, [and] swallowing. You want to eat your food, allow [it] to break down and digest properly, and then drink your liquids anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour later, so you’re properly breaking down your food with your enzymes,” Miranda said.
Working out allows the body to release endorphins, the “feel-good” hormones in the body’s systems that reduce pain or stress and, in turn, give us better contentment. According to the Cleveland Clinic, endorphins are a type of neurotransmitter that act as a messenger for the brain’s opioid receptors and carry signals across the nervous system. Exercising essentially sets off pain and stress sensors, and the constant production of endorphins to fight off those signals during a workout leads to a “healthy high” that leaves the mind and body feeling better than before.
This natural boost in mood and energy is why many people report feeling more balanced and motivated after consistent exercise. For some, the connection between physical health and overall well-being is undeniable.
“My life is absolutely better when I exercise regularly. I’ve noticed definite changes in how I function based off of my diet. Taking care of the biological component of our lives is incredibly important,” West Chicago High School social worker Jeff Anderson said.
Mindset
Exercising not only the body but also the brain in healthy ways severely impacts one’s views of the world and overall happiness. Positive self-talk and making sure to nourish the mind with joyful thoughts can make or break one’s outlook on life.
“When you change your thoughts and start saying, ‘You know what, not everybody’s perfect, ’ you start feeling more positive about yourself. If you start looking at the way you think about the thing, you shift your feeling and vibration about the thing, and then your thoughts and emotions start elevating, and you’ve pointed them in a positive direction,” Alison Landmichl of Glendale Heights, who trained to be a life coach, said.
Although changing one’s mindset is a crucial step in the process, actually feeling and connecting with that mindset is more important.
“Let that feeling of love and appreciation well up in your heart, and now your whole body is experiencing this feeling of being happy. So it starts with your mindset, but it has to translate to your heart and your feelings,” Landmichl said.
Setting aside time in the day to zone in on these thoughts and emotions – such as meditation – brings everything full circle.
“Meditation makes a huge difference. Just taking time to quiet your mind and not worry about the past or think about what’s going to happen in the future, and just come into the present moment and be still,” Landmichl said.
Similarly, daily affirmations and gratitude remind people of everything to be happy for in their lives.
“Nothing in this world will make you happy if you yourself are not happy, and it’s being able to be at peace with your past, the things you have, [and] the things you don’t have. It’s really an unconditional level of gratitude, therefore, you will not be ungrateful for anything, and you’ll be able to forgive people easier. You’ll be able to accept things as they are [and] be able to receive things with greater appreciation,” Miranda said.
Social life
“Pay attention to your surroundings”: overheard, but not overrated. Who someone chooses to surround themselves with is a key component in the amount of joy they experience.
Oftentimes people are compelled to hang out with others and occupy themselves with social activities. In some cases, this longing for connections leads to lifetime friendships, but in others, it can lead them down the wrong path. Having friends and family who offer support and companionship not only grows one’s confidence in their social life but also within themselves.
However, relationships do not have to be limited to close friends. Studies show that volunteering or engaging in the community can significantly boost happiness as well. Acts of kindness, such as making someone laugh or cheering up someone’s mood, release oxytocin, a hormone linked to bonding and well-being. Furthermore, these interactions allow people to see how they offer benefits in others’ lives, which can create a sense of pride, or as Thrive Global puts it, “connecting with others is inherently more rewarding”.
“I would 100% encourage people to get themselves around healthy, mature, loving people as much as possible,” Anderson said.
On the flip side, becoming close to generally negative and toxic people can quickly turn one’s life around. Constantly questioning if you are doing something wrong, feeling uncomfortable in situations, or not being able to freely be yourself in a relationship can lead to insecurity and irrational decision-making.
“I stopped having bad friends who brought me down and made me feel sad, and that made me realize that having a small group of friends is better than a big group of toxic people. Toxic people only make you feel worse about yourself, but having good friends makes you a better version of yourself,” high school sophomore Olivia Zurko said.
Finding balance in alone time is also important in friendships and relationships. Being able to thrive independently without relying on others and taking breaks from long periods of social battery allows the body to catch up and rest to prevent being overworked.
Stanford University’s student affairs page states, “We can start to complexify the experiences of being with people, and being on our own, gently abandoning our assumptions about what each of these can bring us…spending time alone is often a deeply meaningful way to connect with ourselves, learn about who we are, what we want, and restore our energy to be present in our world.”
Experimentation
In an attempt to test the theories of happiness, West Chicago Community High School seniors Lauren Dusing and Michaela Miller were tasked with attempting to better their well-being. The contents of this experiment included:
- Completing 30 minutes of daily exercise
- Eating fruit or vegetables and some sort of protein every day
- Refraining from eating out,
- Writing daily gratitude
- Recalling positive interactions with peers.
Over the course of five days, participants tracked their moods after engaging in activities linked to happiness—such as exercise, diet, social interactions, and mindfulness. The results? Listen to their podcast to find out.
“At the start, I felt very excited, motivated to try, and I was very open-minded about the week going well,” senior participant Michaela Miller said.
Considering that both subjects lead very busy lives in activities such as school band, schoolwork, and jobs, some aspects of the experiment were trickier to complete.
“My main challenge was making time to work out every day when I had work or school events. Also, when I did work out on those days, I wasn’t always mentally wanting to be there. Not dining out all week was also kind of tough,” Miller said.
Despite possibly conflicting schedules between previous commitments and the experiment, the participants gained more knowledge on their happiness by trying out this new way of living.
“My biggest takeaway from the experience was that it’s important to make time for healthy habits that make my body and mind feel good. I might not always want to work out, but I know that taking 30 minutes to stretch or walk will make my body happy. Some days might seem terrible, but if I take 5 minutes to journal gratitude, it truly puts into perspective how many positive days and moments I do have,” senior participant Lauren Dusing said.
Similarly to her podcast and experiment partner, Miller found written daily affirmations to be especially pleasant.
“At the end, I felt like I’d been really productive and that I gained more appreciation for the life that I have, and I found that I really enjoyed the gratitude journaling,” Miller said.
While changes in health-based factors such as a healthy diet and exercise help increase mood, other thought-based techniques like daily gratitude and surveillance of peer relationships can also generate large amounts of joy. On the journey of self-discovery and an enjoyable life, people may begin incorporating the science of happiness into their lives, intentionally or not.
