StemCell Therapy

Happiness is significantly determined at birth.

Or so says psychotherapist Susan Zinn, who runs an eponymous therapy practice in Santa Monica, California.

Close to 40% of human happiness is a result of good genes, Zinn told Insider this month. The claim is backed by research published in 2016 in the Journal of Happiness Studies.

[Genetic] influencesaccount for 3240% of the variation in overall happiness, the studys authors wrote in its abstract.

For example, having a specific variation of the gene 5-HTTLPR, according to a separate 2011 study, was found to likely contribute to humans having higher life satisfaction.

Having joyous DNA doesnt promise people a contented life, though. More than half of the factors which determine happiness levels relate to nurture, not nature, Zinn said.

[Its] completely possible to rewire our brains for happiness, said Zinn. You have a choice. Its no different than deciding what to wear or what food to order. When it comes to happiness, theres a lot we can do about it.

What determines a happy existence, lucky genes or not, breaks down into three main parts: How satisfied you are with your life, how engaged you are with daily activities from your relationships to your job and how much purpose you feel you have.

For those seeking to lead happier lives, Zinn recommends dropping the pursuit for perfection and instead focusing energy on volunteering, laughing, feeling grateful, eating well, exercising and connecting with a higher power or otherwise tapping into spirituality to find more purpose.

One survey this year found that acting spontaneously can also be a key to happiness. Another study identified enjoying short-term pleasures as a good strategy for achieving peace of mind.

In addition to good genes, having money has also been found to be correlated with increased happiness despite the old adage.

Americans as a whole, however, are nationally bummed out more than they have been in close to 50 years. Comparatively, Hawaii has been found to be the happiest state.

See the original post:
Nearly half of happiness is genetic, so most of us are doomed - New York Post

This entry was posted on November 7, 2020 at 5:54 am and is filed under Genetics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |