--- title: Things That Make You Happier: 8 Research-Backed Tips description: Give five hugs a day canonical: https://time.com/3950042/things-make-you-happier/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-11T04:01:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:35:00.908Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 8 Things That Make You Happier, Backed by Research og:description: Give five hugs a day og:url: https://time.com/3950042/things-make-you-happier/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 8 Things That Make You Happier, Backed by Research twitter:description: Give five hugs a day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 8 Things That Make You Happier: Backed by Research ## Video: The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life [Watch (HLS stream): The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/orlnwhNb.m3u8) (7:08)  _Published 2014-05-23. Here's how the people of Ikaria, Greece reach old age_ by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jul 11, 2015 4:01 AM UTC by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jul 11, 2015 4:01 AM UTC Wouldn’t you love a real list of things that make you happier? Here’s what scientific research says will work: ## **1) Thank Someone** First thing in the morning, [send an email thanking or praising someone](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/what-are-quick-little-things-you-can-do-to-in/). (Texting is fine, too.) ## **2) Spend Money — On Someone Else** Harvard professor Michael Norton, author of [Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451665067/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1451665067&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20), explains how spending money on other people can generate more happiness than spending on yourself: ## **3) Give 5 Hugs** People assigned to give or receive hugs 5 times a day ended up happier than the control group. From Sonja Lyubomirsky’s very interesting book, [The How of Happiness](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143114956/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0143114956): --- > “” --- ## **4) Do Stuff You’re Good At** People who deliberately exercised their signature strengths on a daily basis — those qualities they were uniquely best at, the talents that set them apart from others – became significantly happier for _months_. Via [The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307591549/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307591549): --- > “” --- This has been shown [repeatedly](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-any-of-this-make-yourself-happier-stuff) in research studies. ## **5) Do 5 Little Nice Things For Others** Via [The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307591549/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0307591549): --- > “” --- ## **6) Create Something To Look Forward To** [Make plans to do something fun](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/what-7-activities-does-harvard-happiness-expe/): --- > “” --- ## **7) Spend Time With Friends** Having a better social life is the happiness equivalent of [making an extra $131,232 a year](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/01/what-are-your-relationships-worth-in-dollars/): --- > “” --- ## **8) Before Bed, Write Down Three Good Things That Happened Today** This technique has been proven [again](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/was-grandmom-right-about-counting-your-blessi) and [again](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-are-quick-little-things-you-can-do-to-in) and [again](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-any-of-this-make-yourself-happier-stuff). Here it is, explained by its originator, University of Pennsylvania professor [Martin Seligman](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439190763/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1439190763). Via [Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439190763/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1439190763): --- > “” --- **Join over 190,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/02/checklist-8-day-happier/)**_._** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3950042/things-make-you-happier/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3950042/things-make-you-happier/"},"headline":"8 Things That Make You Happier: Backed by Research","datePublished":"2015-07-11T04:01:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:35:00.908Z","description":"Give five hugs a day","url":"https://time.com/3950042/things-make-you-happier/","keywords":["Psychology","Happiness","emotion"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3950042/things-make-you-happier/","name":"8 Things That Make You Happier: Backed by Research"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Island That Holds the Secret to Long Life","description":"Here's how the people of Ikaria, Greece reach old age","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/orlnwhNb/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-23T20:32:12.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/orlnwhNb.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3950042/things-make-you-happier/","duration":"PT7M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3950042/things-make-you-happier/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```