Stories related to: happiness

Little bundles of joy may be making Americans less happy than expected, Newsweek reports. Parents are about 7% less happy than the childless, one study says, while another concludes that "no group of parents reported significantly greater emotional well-being than people who never had children." Yet our culture claims that kids are key to happiness. Are today's parents too busy and bleary-eyed to feel the love? More »

People around the world are getting happier, according to a new study. Researchers asked people in 52 countries how happy they were annually for an average of 17 years, and the world's happiness index has risen substantially, reports LiveScience. The team speculates that reasons include economic growth and increased social tolerance for women and minorities. More »

While the jury's still out on whether money can buy happiness, a higher gross domestic product certainly doesn't. In rich countries, well-being really does depend on non-material things like family stability, a friendly community, and job security—and economists should start incorporating quality-of-life issues into policy, John Cassidy writes in Portfolio. More »

Conservative people are happier than liberal ones, a fact explained by righties’ ability to rationalize society's socioeconomic gaps, a study finds. Conservatives are more likely to express sentiments like, “It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others.” Lefties are often left frustrated by status inequality, LiveScience reports. More »

Happiness really does come with age, researchers have discovered in one of the widest-ranging studies ever of happiness in America. Measures of happiness steadily climbed among study participants into their mid-60s. Levels dipped only slightly after that, and people in their 80s still tended to be happier than people under 40, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. More »

Trophy wives, take heart. A recent study shows that marriages fare better if the wife is more attractive than the husband. The University of Tennessee survey of 82 couples showed that men place a high premium on a woman’s beauty while women value a caring, supportive husband over chiseled looks, LiveScience reports. More »

The king of Bhutan decided 20 years ago to start measuring his people's well-being—dubbed Gross National Happiness—but he never quite figured out how to quantify the national mood. With the Bhutan's first democratic election on Monday, and modernization transforming the long-isolated country, a commission has been charged with devising with the first GHI index, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

Money can buy happiness after all, the Globe & Mail reports. A new study shows that people reported being happier if they spent money on others rather than themselves. "This work suggests that even making small alterations in how we spend money on a daily basis can make a difference in happiness," the lead researcher told the AP. More »

When self-described grouch Eric Weiner packed his bags and set off to find personal bliss, one might've expected him to head for tropical weather or lavish settings. Au contraire, CNN reports: Weiner’s favorite countries were frigid Iceland and underdeveloped Bhutan. He found the most content people were those who don't chase happiness—a jab at the American obsession that led his journey. More »