Science-Backed Strategies To Increase Your Happiness

Happiness is associated with lower blood pressure, a stronger immune system, a healthier heart and longer life expectancy. Happy people tend to be more productive, make better decisions, have stronger relationships and show greater resilience.

Where does your overall happiness rank on a scale of one to five? What would make you happier? If you’re thinking of true love, the perfect body or more money, you may be focusing on the wrong things. Science and research tell a different story.

Happiness is Within Our Control

Genetics can play a large role in happiness, as can life circumstances. However, a significant share of our happiness — about 40 percent — is within our control. The reality is that happiness is easier to achieve than our brains believe. It’s not the winning lottery ticket, but the small, everyday habits that build our happiness.

Linda Lindsey, LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, CEAP, with ProMedica Employee Assistance Program, helps people rethink happiness. She explains that the brain tends to cling to its own version of the truth. “Our brains don’t like to let go of what they believe,” Linda says. “They hang on to it.”

Money, for instance, is a topic that frequently comes up with happiness. Linda is quick to clarify that money does matter, to a point. “We need our basic needs met — food, clothing, shelter,” she says. “That foundation is important.”

Beyond that, however, additional income has surprisingly little impact on long-term happiness. Even dramatic financial changes, such as winning the lottery, don’t lead to sustained increases in well-being. Linda explains, “A year after winning the lottery, people return to the same level of happiness they had before.”

One of the biggest challenges to happiness comes from comparison. Social media, in particular, fuels a constant measuring of our lives against others. Scrolling and comparing doesn’t create happiness. Neither does buying impressive things. “Awesome stuff feels good for a moment,” she says, “but it doesn’t last.”

Science-Backed Strategies for Happiness

So, what does have a long-term impact on our happiness? Science and research point to gratitude, connection, activity and the ability to savor moments.

Increasing Your Gratitude

Increasing gratitude can be the best place to start. Linda encourages people to write down five things they’re grateful for each night. Even if the list seems basic, this can improve your happiness and well-being.

But you must pick up a pen and paper. “You have to take the time to write them down, not just think about them” Linda says.

Over time, this practice begins to redirect your attention. For example, Linda often finds herself noticing moments of gratitude earlier in the day. This helps her be fully present and grateful during everyday activities.

Writing about a specific experience or a person you’re deeply grateful for can be especially powerful. “When you write about an experience,” Linda says, “You trick your brain into believing it’s happening right now.” That emotional boost can last for days or even weeks.

Spreading Kindness and Connection

Acts of kindness also help us feel happy. Simple gestures — buying someone a coffee, paying for ice cream, or offering help — create a ripple effect. “Spending five dollars on someone else brings more happiness than spending five dollars on yourself,” Linda says. Giving, it turns out, is one of the most reliable ways to feel good.

Social connection is another non-negotiable, especially as loneliness has become an epidemic. Isolation has similar risks to smoking. It’s linked to heart disease, depression, and issues with memory and thinking.

Humans are made for relationships, and our happiness depends on them. This is important for those who may spend more time alone, such as older adults and those who work from home. And yes, even introverts need connection, too.

Staying Active, Together

What’s good for the body is also good for the mind. Movement reduces stress hormones and increases feel-good chemicals like serotonin and endorphins. It also improves the quality of sleep. Those who are physically active tend to take fewer anti-depressant and anxiety medications.

If you want to boost the effects of exercise, find a workout buddy or exercise class. When it’s shared, movement can create social connection, making a larger contribution to happiness.

Exercising outdoors can also increase its benefits. Getting daily sunshine — just 10 to 15 minutes a day — can help improve mood and sleep. Those who enjoy morning exercise also tend to avoid the common afternoon crash.

Savoring Moments

Finally, Linda encourages people to slow down and savor the moment. Sharing a meal or immersing yourself in a project can turn everyday moments into lasting experiences. When we engage emotion, memory and connection, experiences becomespecial moments we can remember later to increase our happiness at any time.

Plan an enjoyable activity, plan a vacation, host a dinner or share something you’re looking forward to. You can also surround your workspace with photos that spark joy and special memories.

Putting Happiness into Practice

Many people know what they should do to feel happier, but the brain often resists those ideas because they seem too simple. Happiness, Linda explains, doesn’t come from knowing — it comes from doing.

One of her favorite metaphors comes from pop culture. Linda refers to what she calls the “GI Joe fallacy,” borrowed from the cartoon’s famous line: Knowing is half the battle. “That sounds nice, but it’s not true,” she says. “Knowledge doesn’t produce change; practice does.”

Linda’s advice is not to do everything at once. “Find a good fit and take a small step,” Linda says. “Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, ‘This won’t work for me.’” Happiness, she reminds us, isn’t something to wait for; it’s something to practice.

“If you want to be happy, you have to live happy,” Linda explains. “That means practicing habits — big and small — that fill your day with gratitude, connection, movement and savored moments. And, it means trusting that those things will make a difference.”

Linda Lindsey

Linda Lindsey, LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, CEAP, is an employee assistance professional with more than 30 years of experience. She is a trained and qualified DOT Substance Abuse Professional and a certified employee assistance professional, with extensive experience in providing human resource training and consultation in various corporate, industrial and health care settings. Learn more about Linda and the ProMedica EAP team.