Monday, December 8, 2008

Happiness is contagious, research finds

From the L.A. Times today.


"In a study published online today by the British Medical Journal, scientists from Harvard University and UC San Diego showed that happiness spreads readily through social networks of family members, friends and neighbors
Knowing someone who is happy makes you 15.3% more likely to be happy yourself, the study found. A happy friend of a friend increases your odds of happiness by 9.8%, and even your neighbor's sister's friend can give you a 5.6% boost.

Your emotional state depends not just on actions and choices that you make, but also on actions and choices of other people, many of which you don't even know," said Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, a physician and medical sociologist at Harvard who co-wrote the study."


Link to the complete article:
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-happy5-2008dec05,0,5056607.story

The old Sunday School song went, "Smile a while and give your face a rest!"

Mervi

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