10 Science-Backed Strategies for Boosting Happiness When You’re Stressed

1. Spend more time with family and friends

Supportive relationships contribute to happiness by facilitating emotional and practical support, companionship and a sense of belonging, and bring many other benefits. The Harvard Study of Adult Development even suggests that close and supportive relationships (with spouses, family, friends, community members) are the single biggest factor keeping people happy throughout their lives.[1]

2. Prioritize regular exercise

Exercise stimulates the release of endorphins and other neurotransmitters that act as mood lifters. It also brings plenty of other benefits like improved memory, motivation, and physical health that drive increased happiness. Even small amounts of exercise can have an outsize effect on happiness.[2]

3. Get enough good-quality sleep

Sleep deprivation takes a big toll on your health and happiness. Getting enough good quality sleep boosts mood, improves memory, increases our ability to concentrate and strengthens the immune system.[3]

4. Spend time with positive people

Happiness is contagious. Our brains contain mirror neurons that mimic what we see other people expressing. So when you need a boost of happiness, connect with those who express an upbeat attitude and positive emotions.[4]

5. Spend time outside

Spending time outside generally has a positive impact on mental well-being. Whether it’s a walk down the street, sitting under a tree, or a hike in the mountains, connecting with nature has been shown to reduce stress, boost mood, and increase overall happiness.[5]

6. Cultivate a perspective of abundance and an attitude of gratitude

Counting your blessings and expressing gratitude does more than improve your mood. People who regularly write down a few positive things about their day, for example, are healthier, more energetic, less stressed and anxious, get better sleep. The key here seems to be making gratitude a regular habit, so think about creating a small gratitude ritual that works for you.[6]

7. Spend money on experiences instead of things

People report feeling happier when they spend their money on experiences rather than objects. We tend to habituate to new possessions fairly rapidly, whereas we remember experiences for a longer period of time and our brains can re-live them, making the positive emotions associated with these experiences last longer.[7]

8. Do kind things for others

Find ways to perform small, random acts of kindness during your day. These acts can be very simple, from making your partner coffee to complimenting someone.[8]

9. Drink less alcohol

Drinking alcohol initially makes most people feel happier in the moment and then significantly worse over time. Regular drinking has a number of negative effects on health, including increasing baseline cortisol levels and experiences of stress and anxiety. This means if you regularly drink alcohol, you feel less happy and more stressed in general, even when you’re not drinking.[9]

10. Spend time doing something creative

A wide variety of different creative activities like writing, painting, playing music, and crafting boost your happiness. Creative pursuits can be anything which make use of your talents or interests. You may be able to follow your passions an exercise creativity in your work, but it’s always to have a creative or fun hobby outside of work, too.[10]

Our happiness challenge for you…

Pick one thing on this list you can do today, then do it.

Also, what is something on this list you don’t do regularly, but might like to experiment with this month?

Links and References

[1] For more on this see Dr Robert Waldinger’s 2015 TED Talk on the subject.

[2] For more on this, the Mayo Clinic discusses 7 benefits of regular physical activity and watch Dr Wendy Suzuki’s TED Talk on the Brain-Changing Benefits of Exercise.

[3] For more on the science of sleep, visit the Huberman Lab Sleep Hygiene resource section.

[4] Dr. Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, researchers at Harvard and The University of San Diego, found that happiness spreads through social networks like emotional contagion. Each additional happy friend increases a person’s probability of being happy by about nine percent.

[5] Learn more about the benefits of being “nurtured by nature” in this American Psychological Association article.

[6] Find out more about research on gratitude and happiness on PositivePsychology.com.

[7] Find out more about the research on “Why You Should Spend Your Money On Experiences, Not Things” in this Forces article.

[8] Watch Dr Sonja Lyubomirksy discuss her research on happiness and its causes

[9] For more on what alcohol does to your body, brain & health, listen to this episode of the Huberman Lab Podcast.

[10] For more on the research and practice of creativity and how it can boost happiness, visit this Forbes article on How To Be More Creative And Boost Happiness: 6 Ways To Get Inspired.