Ten signs of happiness published by ONS

The survey will ask people about their relationship with their husband or wife

People are to be asked how satisfied they are with their husband, wife or partner, under government plans to measure the country's happiness.

The Office for National Statistics has published a list of 10 indicators of wellbeing, including health, education, income, work and trust in politicians.

A three-month consultation will now begin before a final list is published.

David Cameron's "happiness index" is intended to complement other measures of the state of the UK such as GDP.

The list of national wellbeing indicators was drawn up following a five-month debate involving 34,000 people on the question "What matters to you?"

Statisticians narrowed that down to 10 areas, including seven relating to personal wellbeing and three wider indicators - governance, the economy and the environment.

Top of the list of measures in the ONS consultation document is individual happiness.

Among the questions likely to be asked are: "Do you feel your life is worthwhile? How satisfied are you with your husband, wife or partner?"

Question shortlist

Are you satisfied with life?
Are you satisfied with your husband, wife or partner?
How satisfied are you with your mental and physical health?
Are you happy in your job?
Do you feel involved in your neighbourhood?
Are you happy with your personal income?
Are you satisfied with your education?
Data on how many voted and trust in Parliament will also be measured
Statistics on the economy will also be included
As will environmental factors, including greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants

People would also be asked about job satisfaction and whether they feel they achieve a balance of work and leisure activities.

On neighbourhoods, people's involvement in their local area and sense of belonging, as well as feelings of personal safety, would be considered.

Other areas explored are people's financial situation and whether they are happy with their household income.

There would also be questions about education from an individual's own education to the importance of learning new things and satisfaction with the standard of the national education system.

More general areas included are what percentage of the population voted and how many trust Parliament, the state of the economy and the environment - the latter measured in part using greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants.

After the consultation exercise, which ends in January, statisticians will consider scrapping indicators from the shortlist or adding new ones. A summary of people's views will be published next spring.

The programme, launched a year ago, aims to provide a better understanding of how society is doing, and could help form coalition policy in the future.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15535717

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Report: Surprise, being happy each day = longer life

Growing old happily adds longevity, study finds

GROWING OLD happily can lead to a longer life, new research has shown.

A five-year study of almost 4,000 middle-aged and elderly people found those who felt the most positive during the course of a single day tended to live longest.

Overall, the happiest and most content older people had a 35 per cent reduced risk of dying compared with the least cheerful. The scientists took account of factors such as age, gender, depression, health and lifestyle that might have influenced the results.

A total of 3,853 individuals aged 52-79 were recruited for the research, part of a long-running investigation called the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Each was asked to rate his or her feelings of happiness, contentedness and excitement at four timed “moments” over the course of one day. These would then be scored. Researchers then monitored participants for five years, noting how many died during this time. Results have been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Higher scores were seen to coincide with a gradual increase in lifespan. People in the bottom third of the ratings had a death rate of 7.3 per cent compared with 4.6 per cent for those in the middle bracket and 3.6 per cent at the top. Initially, the most positive people seemed 50 per cent less likely to die. This figure was later reduced to 35 per cent.

The authors, led by Prof Andrew Steptoe from University College London, were unable to say whether happiness actually extended lifespan or was a marker for other factors that helped people live longer.

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2011/1101/1224306841007.html

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Happy people have lower death rate, study finds

In a study of older people in England, happy people were less likely to die… (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

October 31, 2011|By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times / for the Booster Shots blog

Yet another study suggests that happiness is good for your health.

Epidemiologists at University College, London, reported their results Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

Andrew Steptoe and Jane Wardle examined data collected in a single day by the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, a large survey in England. A subset of 3,853 people, ages 52 to 79, were asked to record the extent to which they felt happy, excited, content, worried, anxious and fearful on a 1 to 4 scale at four times during the day: upon waking, 30 minutes after waking, at 7 p.m. and again upon going to bed.

Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/31/news/la-heb-happy-people-health-death-20111031

Wednesday, November 9, 2011