Do you ever wonder what counts for happy well adjusted individuals? The studies in this book [image error] reveal the following factors:



1) Social connections - less lonely individuals reported being happier than their lonelier counterparts (no surprise here)

2) Household income - this is associated with happiness, but higher income does not increase levels of happiness. Interestingly enough higher levels of happiness predicted a stronger potential for higher income in the near future.

3) Age - people actually get happier as they grow older. This has to do with the aging of the brain's amygdale that regulates the emotional responses and as a result older people just don't get too worked up about what may be otherwise stressful condition, resulting in less stress over the little things. Additionally, knowing that they have less time on earth causes older people to focus more on the more important things of life - like building the social connections with other.



Quite fascinating read.




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Loneliness Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection [image error]