You can learn how to be happy but staying happy is a matter of routine, a new study shows.
The findings, based on the experience of students taking the ‘Science of Happiness’ course at Bristol University, reveal that while taking the course provides a ‘wellbeing boost’, being able to enjoy a better mood longer term means fusing the ‘evidence-informed habits’ it teaches into your regular routine. These habits include: journaling, gratitude, exercise and meditation.
“It’s like going to the gym – we can’t expect to do one class and be fit forever,” said Professor Bruce Hood. “Just as with physical health, we have to continuously work on our mental health, otherwise the improvements are temporary.”
Psychological interventions
The Science of Happiness course has no exams or coursework – providing an instant shot of happiness for students, and digs into the ‘latest peer-reviewed studies in psychology and neuroscience’ to find out what ‘really makes us happy’.
Students said they experienced a 10 to 15% boost in their feelings of wellbeing while taking the course but two years after finishing – of those surveyed, this was only the case for students who had continued the routines they had learned.
Prof Hood said: “This study shows that just doing a course – be that at the gym, a meditation retreat or on an evidence-based happiness course like ours – is just the start: you must commit to using what you learn on a regular basis.
“Much of what we teach revolves around positive psychology interventions that divert your attention away from yourself, by helping others, being with friends, gratitude or meditating.
“This is the opposite of the current ‘selfcare’ doctrine, but countless studies have shown that getting out of our own heads helps gets us away from negative ruminations which can be the basis of so many mental health problems.”
Seven Lessons for Living Well
Professor Hood has now condensed the popular course into a new book: ‘The Science of Happiness: Seven Lessons for Living Well’ which lays out an ‘evidence-informed roadmap to better wellbeing’.
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