New Study Reveals One Daily Activity Linked to Happiness
Spending quality time or conversing with a friend daily could enhance your well-being, according to a paper published by SAGE Journals.
Scientists identified seven common types of communication. They are; meaningful talk, catching up, joking around, listening, showing care, valuing others and their opinions, and offering genuine compliments.
Communication is Key to Achieving Happiness
In a study, over 900 people were asked to engage in one communication activity per day. These participants were then asked to self-evaluate and report their feelings of anxiety, stress, connection, and loneliness.
The results proved that those who communicated throughout their day reported higher happiness and well-being than those who avoided their friends that day.
The study further suggests that we can improve our overall well-being when we make time for high-quality conversation.
Professor at the University of Kansas, Jeffrey Hall, said, “We can change how we feel on any day through communication.”
“This means the more that you listen to your friends, the more you show care; the more you take time to value others’ opinions, the better you feel at the end of the day,” the friendship expert explained.
Happiness is not a function of what you achieve. It's a function of how you spend your time.
Success is a temporary thrill. Happiness lies in doing daily activities that bring you joy.
There's always a new mountain to climb. You don't have to anchor your emotions to the summit.
— Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant) April 24, 2022
Alison Gopnik, a psychologist, explained in the Wall Street Journal recently that in 2020, scientists conducted a different sort of phone location data study. This was done to track how far people went and how they felt afterward.
“The researchers examined the GPS data with a measure known as Roaming entropy.” This data focused on how people felt about different locations and how they affected their moods.
There were strong indications that the more one moved about in a day, the more the chances of having a better day, but not vice versa.
“So it seems wandering makes you happy, not just that when you’re happy, you wander more,” Gopnik writes, summing up the results.
Gopnik, specializing in developmental psychology, has written many excellent books on this subject. She closed the article with a plea to free teens from the shackles of “overprotective parents” and just let them roam around and be kids.
This would make a good argument when you compare kids who stay indoors with their peers. They often battle loneliness and depression.
Some people believe that having activities like playing a team sport, yoga with friends, and visiting the park could also help. These activities all have something in common: human presence and interaction, which one cannot ignore.
Friendship has its Advantages.
The study increasingly highlighted the merits of friendship as necessary. Research has shown that Americans – especially men – have fewer friends than ever. While teenagers are experiencing record-high levels of poor mental health.
With such results, Dr. Dave A. Chokshi declared “an epidemic of loneliness” last year amid reports that sad feelings are rising following pandemic-related lockdowns.
The outgoing New York City health commissioner Dr. Dave has expressed his worry. He is urging people to do more regarding the issue.
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