http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=493&fArticleId=nw20080815072123242C196026
Be happy and thrive
Happiness does not heal, but happiness protects against falling ill,"
says Ruut Veenhoven of Rotterdam's Erasmus University in a study to
be published next month.
After reviewing 30 studies carried out worldwide over periods ranging
from one to 60 years, the Dutch professor said the effects of
happiness on longevity were "comparable to that of smoking or not".
That special flair for feeling good, he said, could lengthen life by
between 7,5 and 10 years.
The finding brings a vital new piece to a puzzle currently being
assembled by researchers worldwide on just what makes us happy - and
on the related question of why people blessed with material wealth in
developed nations no longer seem satisfied with their lives.
Once the province of poets or philosophers, the notions of happiness
and satisfaction have been taken on and dissected, quantified and
analysed in the last few years by a growing number of highly serious
and respected economists - some of whom dub the new field "hedonics",
or the study of what makes life pleasant, or otherwise.
"The idea that there is a state called happiness, and that we can
dependably figure out what it feels like and how to measure it, is
extremely subversive," says Bill McKibben in his 2007 book Deep
Economy: The Wealth Of Communities And The Durable Future.
"It allows economists to start thinking about life in richer terms,
to stop asking 'What did you buy?' and to start asking 'Is your life
good?'."
Growth in material wealth adds little to happiness once buying power
hits $10 000 (about R79 300) a year per head, according to such
research.
But happiness can be bolstered by friendship and human community, as
well as larger social factors such as freedom, democracy, effective
government institutions and rule of law.
In Veenhoven's findings, published in the Journal of Happiness
Studies, a scientific publication founded in 2000, the strongest
effect on longevity was found among a group of US nuns followed
through their adult life - perhaps reflecting the feel-good factor
from belonging to a close-knit stress-free community with a sense of
purpose.
While the lyrics from the Grammy-award 1989 "Be Happy" hit were
inspired by popular Indian guru Meher Baba, nowadays, in more than
100 countries, from Bhutan in the Himalayas to the US and Australia,
economists are working to put "happiness" indicators (a new kind of
quality-of-life index) into the measurement of growth.
Happiness itself, according to the specialists, is generally accepted
as "the overall appreciation of one's life as a whole", in other
words a state of mind best defined by the person questioned.
In his paper, Veenhoven first looked at statistics to see whether
good cheer impacted on the sick, but concluded that while happiness
had helped some cancer patients suffering from a relapse, in
general "happiness does not appear to prolong the deathbed."
Among healthy populations, on the contrary, happiness appeared to
protect against falling ill, thus prolonging life.
Happy people were more inclined to watch their weight, were more
perceptive of symptoms of illness, tended to be more moderate with
smoking and drinking and generally lived healthier lives.
They were also more active, more open to the world, more self-
confident, made better choices and built more social networks.
"For the time being we know that happiness fosters physical health,
but not precisely how," he wrote.
"Chronic unhappiness activates the fight-flight response, which is
known to involve harmful effects in the long run such as higher blood
pressure and a lower immune response."
To improve good cheer, he said, there needed to be more research on
the impact of residential conditions or on the long-term effects of
school on happiness. And studies on job-satisfaction failed to
address the question of life-satisfaction at work.
But these findings, he said, opened new vistas for public health.
Governments needed to educate people in the art of "living well",
helping to develop the ability to enjoy life, to make the best
choices, to keep developing and to see a meaning in life.
"If we feel unhealthy we go to a medical general practitioner," he
said. "If we feel unhappy there is no such generalist. We have to
guess."
"Professional guidance for a happier life is unavailable as yet. This
is a remarkable market failure, given the large number of people who
feel they could be happier."