Register

Sign up and select 1 of 5 healthy habits linked to increases in happiness to work on

Record your daily report on whether you completed your habit each day

For every time you complete your habit, we will donate 10 cents to a nonprofit supporting mental health

Join Our Email List:

Receive the latest updates of happiness challenges and get happiness news straight to your mailbox.

Healthy Habits:

Physical Activity
  1. Task
    1. Work out (lift weights, run, play sports etc.) at least once during the day
  2. Why does this matter?
    1. A study conducted at the University of Michigan found that college students who participated in physical activity had 1.3 times the odds of being happy than peers who didn’t participate.
    2. Physical activity has long been known to reduce 
    3. Observational studies have found that compared to inactive people, the odds ratio of being happy was 20, 29 and 52 percent higher for people who were insufficiently active, sufficiently active, or very active, respectively
  3. Research
    1. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180404163635.htm
Social Interaction
  1. Task Options
    1. Meeting with a family member or friend 
    2. Writing a letter to yourself, a family member, or a friend
    3. Calling a family member or friend 
  2. Why does this matter?
    1. Social interactions are highly correlated with increased happiness. Good social relationships are the most consistent predictors of happiness. Psychology suggests that the human default is to be social. Theory says that humans have an innate need to form strong and positive social relationships.   
  3. Research
    1. https://medium.com/kaizen-habits/good-social-relationships-are-the-strongest-most-consistent-predictor-of-a-happy-life-742d234cc5d2
Personal Reflection
  1. Task Options
    1. Meditation
    2. Journaling/Writing Thank You Letters
  2. Why Does This Matter
    1. Spending time reflecting on yourself will help increase gratitude and mindfulness which has been attributed to being happier even months after the personal reflection.
  3. Research
    1. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200722170142/html
Nutrition
  1. Breakfast
    • Task
      • Eat breakfast every day
    • Why does this matter?
      1. Studies have found that measure of happiness is positively associated with eating breakfast. (P value <0.001)
      2. Breakfast consumption can positively affect cognitive function, particularly memory. In addition, breakfast eating is associated with less depression
    • Research
      1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40519-016-0261-0  
  2. Fruits & Veggies
    1. Task: Eat at least 4 servings of fruits and vegetables 
    2. Why does this matter?
      1. Studies have found a positive association with the measure of happiness and the amount of fruit and vegetable consumption (P values 0.02 and 0.045 respectively).
      2. It has been reported that flavonols present in fruit and vegetables  and docosahexaenoic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid) can improve cognitive function which may improve mood.
    3. Research/ Source
      1. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40519-016-0261-0
Sleep
  1. Task Option
    1. Sleep 7-10 hours each night
  2. Why does this matter?
    1. A study conducted by Ji-eun Shin1 and Jung Ki Kim2*found that sleep quality predicted the participants’ life satisfaction, even controlling for baseline variables
    2. researchers have found that adequate and quality sleep improves memory, increases people’s ability to concentrate, strengthens the immune system and decreases people’s risk of being killed in accidents.
  3. Research
    1. https://www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-action/sleep-deprivation
    2. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01589/full