
Things You Can Do That Will Make You Happier - rblion
http://www.social-consciousness.com/2013/10/ten-simple-things-you-can-do-today-that-will-make-you-happier-backed-by-science.html
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joshsharp
It really bugs me that people can rip content wholesale from someone else's
blog, add a tiny attribution at the bottom, and consider it fair game.

For reference, this is actually a Buffer blog post:
[http://blog.bufferapp.com/10-scientifically-proven-ways-
to-m...](http://blog.bufferapp.com/10-scientifically-proven-ways-to-make-
yourself-happier)

~~~
d23
And how about that bullshit that gets copied into my clipboard when I then try
to copy and paste a section? I was trying to do a simple temperature
conversation from the celcius temp mentioned in the article, and this is what
went into my search bar:

"13.9°C Read more at: [http://www.soxxxxonsciousness.com/2013/10/ten-simple-
things-...](http://www.soxxxxonsciousness.com/2013/10/ten-simple-things-you-
can-do-today-that-will-make-you-happier-backed-by-science.html) Follow us on
Facebook:
[http://www.facebook.com/Soxxxonsciousness"](http://www.facebook.com/Soxxxonsciousness")

Edit: Broke the links so that no one would accidentally give them more views.

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therobot24
I think the long commute tip is accurate overall, however can be mitigated.
Before going back to grad school, my job required a long commute (easily 60
minutes each way). Getting up early bothered me, but the drive to work was
fine as local radio morning shows were pretty good (though over the course of
only 4 years of this commute, schedules changed removing 3 nationally
syndicated shows, and 2 local shows before just setting on NPR...FM radio
seems to be a cruel world). However, driving home was the worst...just the
worst, even when listening to music off of my mp3 player, if i was running
late to leave by even a few minutes the commute home could take an extra 15. I
was much more stressed at the end of each day just from driving, and by the
time i made and ate dinner i'd only really have ~2 hours to relax before
having to go to bed to get up and start again. The unhappiness timeline:

\- Stress turned into a general depression that my weekdays were robotic
(sleep, wake, drive, work, drive, eat, sleep)

\- I found myself becoming a more aggressive driver (more stress = wanting to
get home faster)

\- My general attitude was changing for the worse

\- I started to alienate my significant other

A friend suggested i read a book for some reason and i picked up the audio
copy to kill some time on the drive home. This turned out to be a life
changer. Instead of focusing on getting home as soon as i could, i was
relaxing on my drive. Happiness timeline:

\- I found myself sitting in my driveway to hear the end of a chapter

\- Getting home didn't mean i needed to retreat to the study for time to
unwind

\- I started driving slower and less aggressive (even letting people cut me
off, etc)

\- My relationship with my SO improved

\- I felt smarter. My usual reading list is text book chapters to better
understand a concept, but i really felt like i was a generally smarter person
by including non-fiction.

\- Most important is that i didn't feel like i was wasting time. Driving
became a hobby in some sense, as opposed to a delay of when i can start/end my
day.

By the end of my tenure i sometimes looked forward to my commute, only so i
could keep listening. Of course audio books may not be your game, but the
thesis is that if you find some way to make you feel like you're not wasting
your time then you'll most likely not mind the commute (for example, my mom
calls her mother, my grandmother, everyday on the commute home).

~~~
svmegatron
If you like singing, your commute is an _awesome_ time to practice. Make a mix
of some challenging/fun sing-along songs and just go for it.

And like so many things, if you sing for an hour a day (30 minutes each way!)
you will get a LOT better at it.

~~~
warfangle
Just, please not on public transportation!

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gadders
There was a guy at London Bridge Station last week singing show tunes at the
top of his voice. Not sure if it was an undercover camera show or a mental
health issue.

~~~
switch007
why just those two options? someone singing out loud might just be happy, not
mentally ill. It's not a term I use lightly in the UK: see the mental health
act.

~~~
gadders
I'm not judging, but London is full of "vulnerable" people.

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alex_h
Brain-scan heatmaps are such pseudoscientific rubbish in this context. Am I
supposed to be happier with an active brain like the one pictured after
exercise? or with a quiet brain like that one pictured after meditation?

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nilkn
I grew up in a small town and was never bothered by driving around. In fact, I
enjoyed it. I liked driving to and from high school.

Now that I live in a big city and the traffic is exponentially worse, I find I
hate driving. This is just me, of course, but my driving experience is
completely ruined in big cities most of the time. I can never quite get used
to how aggressively people drive and just how bad the traffic can become. The
city I'm in also has almost no public transportation.

It's not the time that bothers me. It's the manual driving and dealing with
traffic. I spent a semester in Russia while in college and had about a 30
minute commute to class via the metro and I was never bothered by the time
involved at all. I hardly even noticed the impact of the time spent commuting,
though I admit that might have been influenced somewhat by the perpetual
feeling of magic one experiences when studying abroad.

Anyway, in my case I decided to just rent an apartment in walking distance of
the office and it was one of the best decisions I've made. If you're the sort
of person who doesn't mind fighting traffic twice a day, I'm actually jealous
of you--I could get a full house for the cost of my apartment if I moved to a
suburb.

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jljljl
>> Move closer to work – a short commute is worth more than a big house

Ah yes, a simple thing I can accomplish today!

~~~
vacri
Some would even argue that on a daily timescale, the act of commuting _is_
moving closer to work...

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casca
1\. Exercise more – 7 minutes might be enough

2\. Sleep more – you'll be less sensitive to negative emotions

3\. Move closer to work – a short commute is worth more than a big house

4\. Spend time with friends and family – don't regret it on your deathbed

5\. Go outside – happiness is maximized at 13.9°C (57°F)

6\. Help others – 100 hours a year is the magical number

7\. Practice smiling – it can alleviate pain

8\. Plan a trip – but don't take one

9\. Meditate – rewire your brain for happiness

10\. Practice gratitude – increase both happiness and life satisfaction

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picto
The short commute is nice, for sure, but you can't just uproot and move at the
drop of a hat. There's a (not so) secret trick I use to deal with my long
commute: public transportation. I live about 30 miles from my work in the city
center and there's a commuter bus park and ride that cuts out my need to drive
entirely. The benefits I've found so far:

\- I save a ton of money I'd otherwise be spending on gas.

\- By not having to worry about actually driving in traffic, I've found that
I'm not stressed and in a bad mood by the time I get to work.

\- I have time to myself to read, work on side projects, or take a quick nap.

\- I stay on a consistent work schedule

\- I get regular morning exercise by walking from the downtown bus stop to and
from my office about 5 blocks away

When I tell people I take the bus, they're usually surprised and tend to ask
"Well...how much longer does that take?". The response is always the same:
"The same amount of time it would take to drive, only I don't pay for gas and
I'm not stressed by traffic". Honestly, I'd recommend it to anyone.

~~~
MaulingMonkey
Getting a near-by-bus job in your field isn't necessarily a drop of a hat
thing either, although generally still easier than moving. I've been in the
position of choosing a half hour drive or a two hour bus ride -- from
experience I prefer the former.

This is partly up to differing values as well: Not all side projects are bus-
portable, and for myself a consistent work schedule is a drawback. I'm also
fortunate enough to covet few physical possessions, making moving easier for
me than others, although it still took me a year to get around to moving right
next to my current workplace.

Similarly, some people find some physical work vs personal life separation to
be important, to better do the same separation emotionally -- they would find
my 60 seconds by normal walking pace commute intolerably close.

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graue
> _3\. Move closer to work – a short commute is worth more than a big house_

I disagree with this one. It's possible to live _too_ close to work. If the
commute is less than 15 minutes or so, or perhaps more to the point, if it
isn't far enough to _feel_ like a separate place, I'm less happy. I need the
separation.

I've experienced this both in college — I was happier when I moved across the
river from most of my classes and classmates — and recently at a job, where it
was about a 7 minute bike ride to work. You'd think that's ideal, but I felt
trapped, like my home was nothing but an extension of the office.

One of my happiest times, in fact, was when I had an 11 mile bike commute (or
an hour and 15 minutes on two trains). It wasn't very practical, and was
logistically difficult (and I was often late), but I felt amazing.

I've never owned a car, though, so maybe the guideline about shorter commutes
is correct if you drive. I've always either walked, biked (exercise) or taken
the train (opportunity to read, meditate, relax).

~~~
Steve44
>> I disagree with this one. It's possible to live too close to work. If the
commute is less than 15 minutes or so, or perhaps more to the point, if it
isn't far enough to feel like a separate place, I'm less happy. I need the
separation.

I totally agree with this. I once lived a 20 minute walk from work and that
was great. When I moved closer and as a 2-3 minute walk I really didn't like
it. I'm not too sure why, possibly it didn't give my brain time to adjust to
the two modes.

The brain 'down time' is quite enjoyable and very important to forming
thoughts and plans I think.

~~~
finnw
Even if there is a route that takes 2-3 minutes to walk, what is to stop you
deliberately taking a longer route?

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arjie
A little bit related, but taking public transport has improved my life quite a
bit. I now have 25 minutes a day where I do nothing but read. It's been
terrific.

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corey
Lukeprog wrote a great and well researched blog post on being happy:

[http://lesswrong.com/lw/4su/how_to_be_happy/](http://lesswrong.com/lw/4su/how_to_be_happy/)

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mmaia
> Sleep more – you'll be less sensitive to negative emotions

For individuals with depression that might not be the case:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_deprivation#Treatment_for...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_deprivation#Treatment_for_depression)

~~~
evli
As someone with depression, lack of sleep is pretty much a symptom.

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Tichy
"Plan a trip – but don't take one"

Advice like that makes me doubt the science a bit. As well as the famous
result that people are happier without children. It's certainly interesting to
measure such things and ponder what it means, but perhaps the results should
make them wonder if they have been measuring the wrong thing.

Dan Ariely pointed out that for example mountaineering seems to be all misery,
but people seek out the experience again and again. I wouldn't be surprised
that with their technology, the happiness researchers would conclude that
mountaineering does not bring happiness at all. Like if they ping the
mountaineer every ten minutes to ask "how happy are you right now on a scale
of 1 to 10" all they would see might be misery.

Also Nassim Taleb noted in "antifragile" that a happiness researcher he knows
who is famous for the "more money doesn't bring more happiness" result is
himself very keen on being paid well for his speaking gigs.

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aaron695
Some hits, some misses

Obvious miss - "8\. Plan a trip – but don't take one" ??

"Don't regret it on your deathbed" \- this is a lame feel good idea that
directly contradicts most theory.

Live in the moment not (totally) for the future, aka your death bed. You're
alive today, live now.

What makes you happy on your death bed doesn't make you happy today.

The point goes on to make a kinda miss. Friends top family for happiness and
are more commonly what people have more control over.

~~~
TillE
> Obvious miss - "8\. Plan a trip – but don't take one" ??

The "but don't take one" part seems unfounded. This is closer to the point:

"One study found that people who just thought about watching their favorite
movie actually raised their endorphin levels by 27 percent."

I've found myself feeling good just thinking about something fun or exciting I
plan to do. Little things, even just a particularly interesting book I was
going to read. Or thinking about parts of a fun side project.

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DanBC
It is not clear that exercise is an effective treatment for depression.

[http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD004366/exercise-for-
depressi...](http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD004366/exercise-for-depression)

> Exercise is moderately more effective than no therapy for reducing symptoms
> of depression.

> Exercise is no more effective than antidepressants for reducing symptoms of
> depression, although this conclusion is based on a small number of studies.

> Exercise is no more effective than psychological therapies for reducing
> symptoms of depression, although this conclusion is based on small number of
> studies.

> The reviewers also note that when only high-quality studies were included,
> the difference between exercise and no therapy is less conclusive.

> Attendance rates for exercise treatments ranged from 50% to 100%.

> The evidence about whether exercise for depression improves quality of life
> is inconclusive.

EDIT: Exercise is good. Don't stop exercising. But don't tell people that
exercise alone is a treatment for depression.

~~~
hrkristian
Had it been, I'd have known by now, but it does help, especially I'd say long
runs (>10km).

Interestingly, while sleep depravity makes me more irritable and more prone to
feel anger as the article says, it also increases my positive emotions by a
substantial amount, purely anecdotal of course.

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d2vid
"as we get older, particularly past middle age, we tend to grow happier
naturally." Sounds like literal survivorship bias.

~~~
alan_cx
Indeed. I have the theory of middle aged madness. Around that point in life
the responsibilities are huge and stress mounts up. Kids, career, mortgage,
and so on. Loads of things seems like threats to all that, and the middle aged
get all finger pointy and scared. Once you get past that, as you say, you
survived and relax.

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foobarbazqux
What is happiness? There are hundreds of things that count as happiness.
Release of endorphins? Connection with others? Work/life balance? Sense of
purpose? Sense of community? Satisfaction? Calmness? Serenity? Being in the
zone? Joy? I tend to use happiness as a catch-all word for positive
experiences.

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holri
Actually commuting with the bicycle makes me more happy. Because it combines
several of his positive points (exercise, be outside etc.) and avoids the
stress of driving a car in heavy traffic.

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MarcusVorenus
In my opinion the most important thing you can do for happiness is to have
purpose. If you don't have a cause you are willing to dedicate your life to,
something that you will give it your all to see realized, then you are not
really living, you are just surviving, and when you reflect upon your life
you'll feel emptiness.

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shire
10\. Practice gratitude – increase both happiness and life satisfaction

This is true. A lot of us ungrateful in life sometimes and we forgot the
little things like family, friends and having some basic things we need in
life to survive.

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eshwarramesh
[http://i.imgur.com/5Tzwgtb.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/5Tzwgtb.jpg)

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jbgh2
Stop reading HN and go outside :)

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ca98am79
glad to see meditation on the list - adding it to may daily routine has had a
subtle yet profound impact on the quality of my life.

~~~
shire
I've always wanted to try this any tips?

~~~
InclinedPlane
Find a good set of audio tracks (I like bodhipaksa, but there are many) and
set aside some time.

Even if it doesn't seem to have much effect on the first try, keep going, it
takes time to learn.

The key is that you're learning a new skill, like running, catching a ball, or
riding a bike. When you learn those sorts of things you create a mostly sub-
conscious mental association between certain triggers and the response to
them. When you learn to meditate you create an association between some sort
of trigger and a state of relaxation. The trigger can be anything, often
people use a combination of posture and some sort of chant to help. For myself
it tends to be some combo of breathing out and relaxing my shoulders.

You can use the same technique to tap into other mental states but it may be
more difficult.

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sidcool
HN today seems all brain trainy and happinessy..

