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How to be happier: Five Swedish studies that can actually help

While no quick fix can instantly make you happier, these Stockholm University studies may help to turn that frown upside down.

Published: 23 November 2018 19:51 CET
How to be happier: Five Swedish studies that can actually help
Photo: Simon Paulin/imagebank.sweden.se

It’s hard not to feel a bit blue when the sun sets in the middle of the afternoon. So it comes as no surprise that we’re all desperately seeking ways to become happier. Don’t waste your time with the pseudoscience clogging up your Facebook feed – take a leaf out of these five Stockholm University studies that have been scientifically proven to boost your mood.

Give a little

Being richer doesn’t necessarily mean being happier (but it can help). A new Stockholm University study has found that unselfish people – that is, those who have a desire to help others because they care about their welfare – have the highest salaries. The findings show that contrary to the belief that selfish people earn more (as a result of their selfish ways), selflessness is more likely to pay off. The study also found that the most unselfish people are likely to have the most children.

Find out more about research at Stockholm University

“The result is clear in both the American and the European data,” says Kimmo Eriksson, researcher at the Centre for Cultural Evolution at Stockholm University and co-author of the study. “The most unselfish people have the most children and the moderately unselfish receive the highest salaries. And we also find this result over time – the people who are most generous at one point in time have the largest salary increases when researchers revisit them later in time.”

Lie in on the weekend

We all know “I’m going to have an early night” is actually code for “I’m going to lie in bed staring at my smartphone”. Yet many of us still complain we aren’t getting enough sleep (go figure).

Those of you who are missing out on your eight hours’ may already be feeling less than spritely. But that’s the least of your worries. Researchers have found that adults under 65 who are getting fewer than five hours a sleep a night are at a higher risk of early death. Yep, not getting enough sleep is something to lose sleep over.

Even so, all is not lost.

A Stockholm University study found that lying in for a few extra hours on the weekend can counter that risk entirely. Researchers collected data from more than 38,000 adults over a 13-year period and found that catching up on sleep on the weekends really does cure all manner of ills. In fact, people who sleep less during the week but catch up on sleep at the weekend are no more at risk of early death than people who regularly get six or seven hours a night. So don’t feel guilty about your late-night scrolling habit (just get some extra shuteye on Saturday!).

Can’t sleep? Pitch up a tent

Photo: Lucas Günther/imagebank.sweden.se

Here’s another one for you chronic insomniacs.

The effect of sleep loss on mood can be profound. From feeling less friendly and empathic to having difficulty concentrating and struggling to be positive, sleepless nights can really take their toll. And that’s just the mental side effects; lack of sleep may also contribute to the risk of diabetes and obesity.

A study co-authored by Stockholm University’s John Axelsson has found that just a single weekend of camping can reset your circadian rhythm (otherwise known as your body clock). Spending even a couple of days living by the natural light-dark cycle can have a rapid effect, quickly combating seasonal depression and circadian sleep-wake disorders.

If you really want to go the extra mile, you can try camping in the winter, when the effects may be even more powerful. That is, if you survive a night outdoors in Sweden during the winter…

Quit procrastinating

We’ve all been there. You’re in the midst of doing something important when suddenly you’re watching a documentary about kittens instead.

Procrastination is an “everyday phenomenon”, says researcher Alexander Rozental, but that doesn’t stop procrastinators feeling anxiety and shame. In extreme cases, it can even pose a health risk if people continuously put off exercise or a visit to the doctor. The good news is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can significantly help.

Photo: Magnus Liam Karlsson/imagebank.sweden.se

To develop the therapy, Rozental and his team at Stockholm University used methods like goal setting, removing obstacles and rewarding success. The student volunteers were split into two groups with which two methods were tested: one, a weekly, internet-based therapy, and the second, fortnightly in-person sessions. All volunteers improved after the eight-week trial and all noted improvements in academic performance, a reduction in anxiety and increase in well-being.

Find out more on Stockholm University’s website

Win the lottery

'How to be happier’ is the million dollar question. As it turns out, a million dollars is also the answer. A new study, co-authored by Stockholm University’s Robert Ostling and Erik Lindqvist, suggests that winning the lottery really does cheer people up. Who’d have thought?

Thousands of Swedish lottery winners took part in the survey and, shock horror, they’re happier than people who haven’t won the lottery. What’s more, the ones who won hundreds of thousands of dollars are happier than those who won mere tens of thousands. And to add salt to the wound, lottery winners are still happier than lottery losers twenty years after discovering they have the winning numbers.

Hey, lottery winners! What was that we were saying about generosity…?

This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio and sponsored by Stockholm University.

RESEARCH

ANALYSIS: Why are Denmark’s politicians criticising university researchers?

The Danish parliament has recently adopted a controversial text asking universities to ensure that "politics is not disguised as science". The Local's contributor Sophie Standen examines why Denmark's politicians are criticising university researchers.

Published: 9 June 2021 17:13 CEST
ANALYSIS: Why are Denmark's politicians criticising university researchers?
Populist politicians have singled out courses at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) for following a so-called 'woke' agenda. Photo: Bjarke MacCarthy/CBS

What has happened? 

On the 1st of June, a majority in the Danish parliament adopted a written declaration that aimed to combat ‘excessive activism in certain humanities and social science research environments’.

The initial debate was led by Morten Messerschmidt from the Danish People’s Party (DF) and Henrik Dahl from Liberal Alliance (LA). The declaration was then voted through, with all of the major parties in favour, including the governing Social Democratic party.

What does the controversial declaration say? 

The declaration stated that the Danish parliament expects that university managements will ensure the self-regulation of scientific research, so that ‘politics is not disguised as science’.

However, it also asserted that Danish parliament has no right to determine the method or topic of research in Danish universities, and stressed the importance of free and critical debate in the research community.

Who is upset by it? 

The adoption of this position by Danish parliament has proven extremely controversial for many academics and researchers, with over 3,200 Danish and international researchers signing an open letter denouncing the stance adopted by the Danish government.

The authors of the letter stated that ‘academic freedom is under increasing attack’, and described the developments as ‘highly troubling’.

Furthermore, in another open letter to the Minister for Higher Education and Science, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, published in the Politiken newspaper, 262 Danish university researchers complained that they were facing increasing occurrences of personal intimidation and harassment due their research.

What is concerning university researchers and professors? 

Professor Lisa Ann Richey, a professor at Copenhagen Business School, told The Local that the parliament’s move was “illiberal” as “it doesn’t support freedom”. 

Richey, who has been a professor in Denmark for more than 20 years, was one of co-organisers of the open letter, and a co-signatory of the letter published in Politiken.

“I am one of the international recruits who finds the Danish research environment a great place to work,” she said. “We have a strong university system and good research environments. One of the things we are risking here is that reputation, and also the possibility of recruiting internationally.”

She said that in her opinion, academia in Denmark was self-policing due to the exhaustive peer-review process and oversight by university authorities. 

“There are lots of checks and balances within academia, and sometimes it doesn’t seem like that because they [the politicians] have no idea how many evaluations we go through,” she said. “We have peer reviews, student reviews, and university assessments to ensure quality in research.” 

Is there a populist campaign behind the statement? 

Richey complained that long before the parliamentary statement, prominent populist politicians “came out on social media calling out particular courses”. 

“They did this to a course I taught in, saying now even CBS has become part of this ‘woke agenda’,” she complained. “This statement about politics dressed up as science, it’s meant to intimidate. We need university leadership to support us and we need everyone to recognise that this is a threat towards academic freedom and also to make sure that we don’t expose individuals”

Anders Bjarklev, the rector of the Danish Technical University (DTU), and president of the rector’s college for Danish universities, echoed this sentiment. Writing on social media, he has called the position adopted by parliament, ‘an attack on research freedom’. 

“When subjects are singled out by politicians, such as gender studies or post-colonial studies, then academics get worried because much of our funding is from the government,” he told The Local. 

“I am also worried that academics will be scared to take part or publish research in these subjects”.  As rector of DTU, he says he is “not sure what we could do differently”, as academics at the university “always want to ensure the highest quality standard of research”.

What has the government said to defend itself? 

In an interview with the Politiken newspaper, Bjørn Brandenborg, the Social Democrat’s spokesperson for higher education and science, insisted that despite the statement, there was “no general distrust of universities” on the part of the government. 

“The Danish parliament has a right, like all other citizens, to have an opinion on research results”, he continued, while stressing that “the Danish parliament will not become involved in decisions over what is researched in Danish universities”.

In his view, he said, the text voted on by the parliament was “completely unproblematic”, as  “all it says is that universities should take responsibility for the quality of their research”.

This adopted stance by the Danish government has shaken the arms-length principle of trust between Danish research institutions and the Danish government. Many have denounced the politicians who have singled out specific researchers on social media as examples of political activism within research in Denmark.

In a statement to Politiken, the minister responsible for Higher Education and Science in Denmark, Ane Halsboe-Jørgenson, remarked that the 3,241 researchers that had signed the open letter had “reached the wrong conclusion” about the adopted declaration.

She insisted that the Danish government is “fighting for research freedom”, while also remarking that she thinks “we politicians must stay far away from judging individuals and individual research areas”.

What will happen next? 

For Professor Lisa Ann Richey, “now, when major political parties are part of this, making a ‘non-problem’ a problem, then it’s really time that we [academics] have to respond.”

“Our work is important and it is not acceptable behaviour to try and bully individual researchers and to police research environments,” she continued. “This is something that will be moving forward now that universities have spoken out officially”. 

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