Finland was recently ranked, for the fifth year in a row, as the world’s happiest country. Trust in others in society plays a large role in what makes people there – and elsewhere – happy.
They say to improve your mood you should fake a smile and roll with the crowd. But research suggests the more pressure you feel to be happy, the worse you’ll end up feeling.
Compared to people who aren’t as good at math, people who are better at math are more happy when they have high incomes and less happy when they have lower incomes.
Research shows that people with more flow in their lives had a higher sense of well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientists are beginning to explore what happens in the brain during flow.
Ignoring negative emotions by trying to be positive all the time — called toxic positivity — can have consequences for mental health. Experiencing negative emotions is inevitable and essential.
A new study using music streaming data to measure national mood underlines how much stock markets are governed by emotion rather than rational calculation.