Living Well: Much positive energy goes into studying happiness

Now, some situations simply bring full-out misery, such as parents facing the death of a child. It's a hurt that lasts a lifetime. But happiness researchers will tell you that even the grieving parent typically returns to his or her approximate level of happiness in about six months to a year, even though the pain may never subside

David Lykken is a researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. He pioneered the set-point theory of happiness, holding that genetics accounts for about half the variance about why some people seem inherently happy and others do not. His work is grounded in his landmark study of twins in different life circumstances but with nearly identical reports of personal happiness.

"Trying to be happier is akin to trying to be taller," said Lykken in his research paper.

The study appears to challenge my hypothesis about being miserable. Maybe some people are simply hard-wired to be pessimistic?

Well, during a phone interview a few years later, Lykken admitted his happiness-tallness line was a "smart aleck remark."

"It got a lot of media play," said Lykken. "Now I would like to recant the claim. Many personality traits will, in fact, develop from your unique human experiences, though it is all still elicited from your genetic makeup."

Lykken now says we can adjust our level of contentment by knowing what keeps us happy and what brings us down. He suggests that simple pleasures such as gardening, reading a good book or making soup from scratch can "stretch" our happiness.

We've all been drilled on the axiom that money can't buy happiness. Yet a new Associated Press poll found that U.S. adults making $75,000 or more per year are twice as likely to report being "very satisfied" with their lives than individuals making $25,000 or less. The same poll said married people are happier than single folks, and anyone with a college degree skews higher toward life contentment than the less educated.

More from The AP: whites tend to be happier than non-whites, Republicans are more satisfied than Democrats.

Academic research tosses out some other findings: Women are happier than men, though the gap is closing in recent years. Happiness is U-shaped in that we are happiest at our youngest and oldest lifeline points -- and most unhappy at age 40.

And -- my take -- generalizations are dangerous territory when our hearts and souls are the focal point.

Researchers such as Lykken and David Myers of Hope College in Michigan have devoted professional careers to measuring and defining happiness. Ed Diener at the University of Illinois is another pioneering behavioral scientist in the area. They have consistently found two things.

One is that money, when statistical variables are carefully controlled, doesn't strongly predict happiness. There may be some prediction value -- sort of a down payment -- but it doesn't go anywhere near far enough to explain why one executive is happy and her down-the-hall counterpart with the same privileges and salary is less content. Or why one family struggling to make ends meet still has joyous holidays and another struggles.

The second thing that happiness researchers consistently discover is ... most people are happy. Hey, I'm happy that we actually have people studying happiness with such fervor, rigor and healthful focus.

"In any representative national survey, only one in 10 Americans will report being not very happy," said Myers, a "product of Seattle public schools" who has been a cheerful presence at aptly named Hope College for more 35 years. "Plus, research shows if you were to randomly interrupt someone moment-to-moment, the person would report many more positive emotions than negative emotions."

Myers and Diener completed an analysis of 1.1 million individuals from people around the world. They standardized life-satisfaction scores, ranging from 1 (totally miserable and life is terrible), to 5 (neutral), to 10 (off-the-charts very happy).

"The typical human being, anywhere on the planet, is a 7," said Myers.

Myers said "biological wisdom" is a factor for happiness. Building on Lykken's theory that gardening or reading stretches positive emotions, Myers said making it a point to be involved in pleasurable activities each day fortifies the neurological system because stress and anxiety "is less likely to capture your attention."

What's more, optimism or looking for the positives can help sort and relieve the stress in our lives. Studies show positive emotions can encourage healthy immune systems.

"They define an emotional background against which negative emotions, in response to threats, gain signal value," said Myers. "When something goes awry, the stone in the emotional shoe alerts the organism to act to alleviate the negative mood."

Myers said positive emotions can foster sociability in a person, which fuels happiness.

"The one question I would ask to make a guess about personal happiness is, 'Do you have soul-mate friends?' " said Myers. "If someone is married, I would ask, 'Are you married to your best friend?' Answering yes to either question means the person's whole life is likely to be happy."

Bob Condor writes every Monday about health and quality of life. He is editor of the Seattle-based Evergreen Monthly, which covers health, environment, food, social good, spirituality and personal growth (visit www.evergreenmonthly.com). Send e-mails to bobcondor@aol.com with any questions or ideas for the Living Well column.

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