Scientists Identify Happiness Gene

What your whole life looks like under a microscope.
From KQED.

TGDaily reports that researchers have found a gene that controls the flow of serotonin to the brain, which in turn affects overall life satisfaction. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of the London School of Economics and Political Science conducted the study, wherein he examined genetic data from 2,500 participants of the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. De Neve specifically looked for variations of the 5-HTT gene.

This gene can have long or short variations, with the long forms being more efficient and therefore able to create more serotonin transporters in cell membranes. When De Neve's team looked at how satisfied participants were with their lives on a five-point scale (very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, or none of the above), they found that a whopping 70% of those with the efficient 5-HTT gene variation (long-long) were either very satisfied or satisfied, compared with just 19% of those with the inefficient version (short-short). Possessing even one long version of the gene allele can increase one's likelihood of being "very satisfied" by 8.5%.

Happiness has long been known to have a genetic component (such as in the work of Sonja Lyubomirsky, who says that happiness is 50% genetic), but this may be the first study to show a clear link between one single gene and life satisfaction. De Neve explains, "It has long been suspected that this gene plays a role in mental health but this is the first study to show that it is instrumental in shaping our individual happiness levels." While other genes may also have a role in happiness, De Neve says, "This finding helps to explain why we each have a unique baseline level of happiness and why some people tend to be naturally happier than others."

Casual Friday: "9 Easy Ways to Be Happier"

From Real Simple.

In my quest to do as little work as possible, sometimes it's nice to have a helping hand. Today I can get away with even less work than usual because Julia at The Thank You Project tipped me off to this article by Marcia Menter from Real Simple. It's a look at nine easy ways to be happier.

You should go to the actual article to look at the pretty pictures and read the explanations, but here's a summary of the list:

1. Cool yourself off. Cool temperatures apparently produce better moods than hotter temperatures (could have fooled me).
2. Remember happy times in your past. Nostalgia can be a great mood booster.
3. Don't obsess over past failures. This goes hand-in-hand with the previous tip.
4. Give away money. As I've said before, generosity toward others makes YOU feel happier.
5. Eat a snack around 2 p.m. This is the time of day when serotonin levels dip, and a snack can help.
6. Exercise. It boosts mood and helps your brain.
7. Limit your choices. This may be counterintuitive, but too many options at once can produce unnecessary stress.
8. Learn a new skill. This gives you variety and sense of accomplishment.
9. Make your bed. Eh? Well apparently doing little tasks like this can make you more satisfied throughout your day.

Anyway, it's a good, easy list with some stuff I've never read before. Also, I love getting tipped off because it means I don't have to scrounge around for something to post! If you'd like to make my job easier, go ahead and tip me off to interesting articles, books, or videos in the comments section or through email. See ya!

SPECIAL REPORT: Sony

Wow, that went pretty well! If I sound like I'm repeating myself, it's because the Sony screening was just as much of a success as the Vallejo one. And like Vallejo, you'll have to wait for video to see the good stuff.

Highlights include a live Q & A with the pregnant (!!!) Sonja Lyubomirsky and motivational speaker Michael Pritchard. Also, the picture quality was absolutely gorgeous, which I would hope for in a projection system tied directly to Sony's computer production. The film played just as well to the movie industry crowd as to the Vallejo crowd, with much laughter and standing ovation a-plenty.

And we sold out of DVDs again!

Kevin and Adrian setting up a video camera

Alex and Roko setting up a water pump

Setting up food tables for the reception

Adrian eating everything and ruining the party. No, I kid, I kid!

SPECIAL REPORT: Happy Movie Pre-Order!!

Buy buy BUY!!

Yes, I'm selling something, but hopefully that's okay because you'll like it. We at the Happy movie are selling a pre-release DVD for $19.99. Order now and get it in time for Christmas!

This is Oscar-nominated filmmaker Roko Belic's latest documentary feature. It is a journey across 14 countries on 5 continents featuring interviews with extraordinary everyday people, as well as positive psychology superstars Ed Diener, Richard Davidson, Sonja Lyubomirsky, the people and leaders of Bhutan, and many more. Also features appearances by Daniel Gilbert and the Dalai Lama.

So head over to our buy page for more info. You can get special deals on three- and ten-packs if you have a lot of Christmas shopping to do. You can also try our "Award Winner" pack, which includes Happy, the Oscar-nominated Genghis Blues, and the multi-award-winning Indestructible, an inspiring documentary about an ALS patient who travels the world one last time. If you like T-shirts, you can also get those in children's or adult sizes.

And that's not all! Roko Belic, the man himself, will personally sign all pre-order DVDs of Happy! We won't stop until his signin' hand falls off! He has worked very hard on this film for four years, and now it's ready for release.

I have seen the film many times (I even transcribed it word-for-word) and I can attest to both its emotional power and its educational value for people learning about happiness science. It never loses its ability to move, especially when seeing it with a crowd (like I did in San Francisco).

So give it a try. This limited edition pre-order will end December 31. After that, you'll have to wait until the official release.

Casual Friday: Do Random Acts of Kindness!

From Drive.

Hello and good Friday to all you in Internet-land! Today I have a very important happiness tip:  give to other people! The concept may seem obvious, but scientific evidence backs it up. Doing things for other people makes you happier.

Sonja Lyubomirsky and her team studied this in 2004. She had a group of test subjects put quarters into strangers' parking meters. By measuring the test subjects' happiness levels before and after the quartering (and comparing them to those of a control group, of course), she found that performing kind acts really does make people happier. Some call it a "giver's high." It works even if the recipient of the kind act isn't aware that you did anything (or that you even exist)!

Interestingly, Sonja's tests show that the best way to perform kind acts is to do a bunch of them all in a single day, instead of spreading them out over a week. The reason may be that pushing yourself to do one act every day becomes too routine, while doing around five all at once is more spontaneous, which keeps things fresh and makes you more likely to be kind in the future.

So give kindness a try. It can be as simple as putting quarters in a stranger's parking meter!

(For more details on this experiment and many others, check out Sonja's book, The How of Happiness.)

Another Study Finds That Happiness Depends on Life Goals and Choices

What I imagine Melbourne University
looks like. From BUGBOG.

Hi! Sorry for the slow news day, folks, but today the only story seems to be this one from Australia's The Age. On weekdays I'm a slave to the news, so here it is! A new study by Bruce Heady of Melbourne University found that around 40% of people experience large fluctuations in happiness over their lifetime. These results may seem obvious, but the study is notable for being so large:  the researchers looked at 60,000 Germans over 25 years.

Altruistic and relationship-oriented goals were found to be the best at creating happiness, while materialistic goals created the most unhappiness. Some say that these results go against Sonja Lyubomirsky's findings that 40% of our happiness can be changed (with 50% determined by genetics and 10% determined by circumstances like economic status). The article doesn't go into much detail about just how much the respondents' happiness changed.

I don't have much more to say about this story, so how was your weekend? Me, I didn't do much, but it's finally raining in California! It's been so long. Also check out this Falling Sand Game. You might have seen it already, but at least it's something to do on a slow day.

Casual Friday: Happiness Fit

Do you think a lot of this happiness stuff is cheesy? That's okay:  so do I. And so does Sonja Lyubomirsky. Luckily, this doesn't mean we're walled off from the benefits of happiness science; it just means we need to find happiness activities that fit our personalities.

Sonja Lyubomirsky is one of the world's leading happiness researchers. In her book The How of Happiness, she includes a test for those of us who think a lot of positive psychology is cheesy:  "The Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic." This test asks you to assign number values to 12 activities shown to increase happiness. You can see a PDF version of the test here. Read the document for further instructions.

So give it a try. The test will give you ideas on how to meaningfully increase your happiness in the least cheesy way possible. This is important because if you're going to continue these activities over the long term, you shouldn't have to feel like a big cheesy idiot!