XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
   Health
 Aging
 Asian Health
 Events
 Fitness
 Food & Nutrition
 Happiness
 Men's Health
 Mental Health
 Occupational Health
 Parenting
 Public Health
 Sleep Hygiene
 Women's Health
 
   Healthcare
 Africa
 Australia
 Canada Healthcare
 China Healthcare
 India Healthcare
 New Zealand
 South Africa
 UK
 USA
 World Healthcare
 
   Latest Research
 Aging
 Alternative Medicine
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
 Cardiology
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Epidemiology
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
 Medicine
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Physiotherapy
 Psychiatry
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Sports Medicine
 Surgery
 Toxicology
 Urology
 
   Medical News
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
 
   Special Topics
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate
Search

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 1:55:25 PM

Happiness Channel
subscribe to Happiness newsletter

Health : Happiness

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Money is not the key to happiness
Dec 27, 2005 - 5:22:00 AM, Reviewed by: Dr. Priya Saxena

�Individuals usually get richer during their lifetimes � but not happier�

 
Money is not the key to happiness, argues an editorial in this week�s BMJ - but family networks and having a full life outside work may do the trick.

�Individuals usually get richer during their lifetimes � but not happier� says the author.

Research from Mexico, Ghana, Sweden, USA and the UK shows that despite vastly different levels of wealth, citizens of these countries report similar levels of satisfaction. And most advanced nations have seen almost no change to individuals� happiness levels over the last 50 years, despite a huge hike in income.

This may be because people don�t experience wealth without comparing it to others, says the author: �As we realise one set of aspirations, it seems we immediately trade up to a more expensive set, to which we transfer our hopes for happiness.�

Happiness also affects health, as demonstrated in the former Soviet Union where people are �among the unhappiest in the world� and their life expectancy is dropping.

However, one can improve one�s chance of happiness by being married, says the author. Married people live on average three years longer and have better health and wellbeing than the unmarried. Well developed family, social and community networks � �social capital� � also have a positive effect.

Work is key to individual satisfaction, adds the author. Scant control over workload or decision-making correlates with lower happiness levels. And �make sure you�re not working so hard that you�ve no time left for personal relationships and leisure�, says the author.

The happiness of its citizens should be the business of government, with ministers as answerable on happiness levels as they are on a nation's gross domestic product (GDP), he concludes.
 

- British Medical Journal
 

Happiness: Get happy � it�s good for you, BMJ

 
Subscribe to Happiness Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 



Related Happiness News


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us