Studies consistently show that happiness has an independent and powerful impact on physical health. So, with the GWI recently launching the Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease, the organization traveled to the United Nations in NYC on March 20, to get the latest insights from the annual World Happiness Report. A couple key findings: if you’re seeking happiness, you might want to emigrate to a Nordic nation – and the U.S. has taken an “alarming” recent dive in happiness.
Must-Reads from the Wellness World (Week of February 27, 2018)
“Everyone is Miserable – Here’s What We can Do About It” – Fast Company, February 16, 2018
This is a review of a new book (Lost Connections) that explores how modern societies may be creating a world of unhappiness. The author (Hohann Hari) questions the prevailing wisdom about depression and wonders whether the current epidemic is not connected to how we’ve chosen to construct the world around us. He concludes that: “If you are depressed and anxious, you are not a machine with malfunctioning parts. You are a human being with unmet needs. The only real way out of our epidemic of despair is for all of us, together, to begin to meet those human needs – for deep connection, to the things that really matter in life.”
Must-Reads from the Wellness World (Week of February 13, 2018)
Yale’s Most Popular Class Ever: Happiness – The New York Times, January 26, 2018
Yale’s new course on “Psychology and the Good Life” is proving extremely successful, with one in four students enrolling in it (while half of undergraduates seek mental health care from the university during their time there). According to Laurie Santos, who teaches the course, the things Yale undergraduates often connect with life satisfaction – high grades, a prestigious internship, a good-paying job – do not increase real happiness. By contrast, if students end up showing more gratitude, procrastinating less, increasing social connections, there’ll be a radical change in culture.
Must-Reads from the Wellness World (Week of January 16, 2018)
A Striking Stat: The U.S. spends almost twice as much on healthcare (as a percentage of its economy) than other advanced industrialized countries: $3.3 trillion, or 17.9% of GDP each year.
Video: Solve for Happy – Engineering Happiness
At the recent Global Wellness Summit, Mo Gawdat, Chief Business Officer at the super-elite Google [X] engineering team, explained how he “solved for happy.” Despite having achieved amazing success (and spurred later by the terrible death of his son), Mo decided to attack his profound unhappiness like the scientist he is: creating a research-based algorithm for happiness.
Find out what the secrets are.
Wellness Investors: The Future is Outdoor Exercise & Reconnecting People with Nature
Ours are paradoxical times: on average globally, we’ve never had it so good (life expectancy, income per capita, etc.) and yet addiction, depression, anxiety and suicide rates are all up. The
scientific explanation: we produce too much dopamine (the instant “reward” neurotransmitter, whether delivered through sugar or social media) and not enough serotonin (the “contentment” neurotransmitter). We confuse pleasure and happiness.
Read more about how this leads to a prediction that people’s desire to reconnect with nature (at wellness retreats, etc.) and to exercise outside will grow powerfully.
