There are a few obvious but sometimes forgotten stimuli that we can pay attention to in order to be happier. One of the most important is listening to music. This is a primal stimulus that has been a part of all cultures for thousands of years, bringing people together at weddings, funerals, music festivals, and flash mobs. As the philosopher Nietzsche pointed out, we listen to music with our entire bodies, moving muscles automatically in response to it by dancing, tapping our feet, or just bobbing along. It is a powerful way to open up the mind, and it most strongly affects the brain region associated with positive emotions and memory in a way that no other input to our happiness production process can.
Music therapy has been used in the treatment of heart disease, stroke, post-traumatic stress disorder, and kids with mood disorders and behavioural problems. People with Alzheimer’s disease who cannot respond to language respond to music; it can also prevent tics in people with Tourette’s syndrome. The British Armed Forces are now using music as a successful intervention for treating trauma in war veterans. Listening to music even reduces cognitive dissonance: children forced to play with one toy instead of another devalued the other toy less when listening to music than when in silence. A bit of music therapy could help to make you a little happier, too, and it’s certainly cheaper than retail therapy.
I have long been grateful to my own parents for creating an environment where music could be enjoyed, and I would love my own kids to grow up to be as aroused by music as I continue to be. Music really was my first love. I was basically into pop and disco as a primary school kid, soul as a secondary school kid, indie music at university and in my early twenties, dance in my late twenties and early thirties, and all of the above for the last decade. I have spent a considerable amount of money on records, CDs, and going to gigs, and it has all been money well spent.
So when you have finished reading this, dig out a favourite song, play it and pay attention to it, and see how good it makes you feel, both when it’s playing and afterward. Download a music app onto your phone or put a waterproof radio in the bathroom. What about defaults? Dig out an alarm clock radio or leave the stereo on in your car after you turn it off so it turns on the next time you hop in. And commitment? Put “music time” in your diary or set aside some “music money” for concerts or guitar lessons. Last, what about social norms? You can prioritise being with people in your life who love music or have a get-together to listen to music with friends.
Don’t underestimate the effects of humour, either. Twenty minutes of watching a comedy reduces stress levels by about the same amount as twenty minutes on a treadmill. One hour of watching a funny video is enough to increase infection-fighting antibodies in the bloodstream for twelve hours, as well as activate “natural killer cells,” which selectively target infected and tumorous cells. Laughter also promotes muscle relaxation: people who are about to receive an electric shock report being less anxious beforehand if they listen to a funny tape first. You might consider having a quick laugh before an injection or job interview.
Humour has also been used successfully to reduce perceptions of loneliness and pain in older people. It’s a way of dealing with life’s trials and tribulations, evident in hospital workers and first responders, who joke as a way to help them handle highly stressful situations. Humour also promotes social integration. Fathers are more likely to get involved in Sure Start (an early-intervention program for children) when Sure Start workers have a good sense of humour.
We have already seen, quite obviously, that laughter can make you feel happier. But it is far from obvious to remember this simple fact. Again, apply design principles. I encourage my friends at work to set up amusing out-of-office replies so I am primed to laugh when I see them in my in-box. For defaults, prerecord your favourite comedies and stock up for dismal days. Commit to watching them with friends. Simply being around people who share your sense of humour is a recipe for laughter.
Although we each find different things funny, humour, like music, is pleasurable for everyone I cannot think of generically purposeful activities in the same way, but it goes without saying that you must be interested in what you are doing—and interested while you are doing it, not just in the achievement of the end point.
Happiness by Design is available on Amazon UK and Amazon US.