Recall a Pleasant Event And Boost Your Happiness

Want the secret to real happiness revealed? Here you go! According to researchers at the University of Hertfordshire in England, recalling something good that happened the day before may help make people happier.

They came to this conclusion after conducting a new experiment.

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The researchers said that volunteers who were asked to recall a pleasant event from the previous day were given an immediate 15 per cent boost in happiness.

They said that other techniques that helped to increase happiness included expressing gratitude, smiling and carrying out an act of kindness.

They added that people in a fifth group carried out a "control" technique, involving thinking about the previous day.

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Revealing their findings, the team said that 65 per cent of those recalling something happiness had a boost in happiness, compared to only half of those who just thought about the day's events.

They further revealed that an act of kindness led to a nine per cent boost in happiness, while being grateful for an aspect of life led to an eight per cent rise.

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Making an effort to smile and hold it made people six per cent happier, said the researchers. .

Professor Richard Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, said that more than 26,000 people tried recognised mood-boosting techniques during the online experiment.

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He revealed that the purpose behind setting up the "happiness experiment" was to send cheerfulness across Britain.

A nationwide publicity campaign was run, during which Prof Wiseman gave 30 radio interviews. It was hoped that the experiment might make Britain a happier place.

To find out, a "before and after" survey was conducted among a representative 2,000 people from across Britain, which showed a 7 per cent increase in overall cheerfulness after the experiment.

"The figure is statistically significant. 'I thought with a representative sample you wouldn't see a change, but we got a 7 per cent rise. There was no big improvement in the weather or anything in the news that could have accounted for it, and we looked for that. Who knows, but I like to think we might have cheered up the nation," the Telegraph quoted Prof. Wiseman as saying.

The researchers asked the subjects to carry out the tasks every day for a week, and report any changes in their happiness, as well as that of people around them.

"All of the techniques, including the control, resulted in a reported rise in happiness. 'However, thinking about one positive thing that had happened the day before appears to have been by far the most effective technique. Compared to those in the control group, this quick and simple procedure provided an additional 15 per cent boost in happiness," said Prof Wiseman.

Source-ANI
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