How to be happy in yourself

In 1976, two American researchers, Ellen Langer and Judith Rodin, gave a group of elderly nursing home residents a plant to care for. Another group in the same home were given plants, but told that nurses would take care of them. Three weeks later, those who had cared for their own plants reported much higher levels of happiness than those who hadn't; 18 months later, their health and levels of activity had improved and, most significantly, fewer of those residents had died.

Happiness research has come a long way since that landmark study, but what it proved has been shown time and again: having control over our lives, working towards a goal and caring for others, even for plants, can make us happier – and even extend our lives.

Researchers have since hit upon a list of activities that improve our overall wellbeing. Many of them, such as gardening, have an almost instant effect: engaging in activities in which we can lose ourselves or, in psychological terms, achieve "flow"; taking up charitable work to make us less self-absorbed and more connected to the world around us; getting physical exercise; and focusing on pleasurable pastimes that use our key skills and create greater meaning in our lives.



How to be happy in yourself