New research shows that people can learn to be happy, but it is hard work

• Published date: 13 March 2024
• Author: JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

In fact, there is even a how-to course on "The Science of Happiness" offered since 2018 at the UK's University of Bristol, where researchers have conducted a first-of-its-kind study on the subject

Although many colleges that have offered psychoeducational courses teaching positive psychology interventions report benefits to mental well-being in the end, they have not investigated whether such beneficial effects are sustained long-term.

Mental well-being is a major concern among university students all over the world. In a large-scale survey of 37,500 students across 140 universities in the UK, 22% of students reported a current mental health diagnosis, and 88% reported feelings of anxiety.

The Bristol study found that students who attended the course enjoyed a significant improvement in their well-being, but the benefits are transient unless the habits learned on the course, such as gratitude, exercise, meditation, or journaling, are maintained over the long term.

Senior author and developmental psychology Prof. Bruce Hood said: "It's like going to the gym – we can't expect to do one class and be fit forever. Just as with physical health, we have to work continuously on our mental health, otherwise, the improvements are temporary."

The course—the first of its kind in the UK—does not involve exams or coursework, but it teaches students what the latest peer-reviewed studies in psychology and neuroscience say really makes us happy.

Well-being improvement in the course

Students who took the course reported a 10 %—15 % improvement in well-being. However, only those who continued implementing the course learnings maintained that improved well-being when they were surveyed again two years later.

Just published in the journal Higher Education under the title "Long‑term analysis of a psychoeducational course on university students' mental well‑being," the study is the first to track the well-being of students on a happiness course long after they have left it.

"This study shows that just taking a course—at the gym, a meditation retreat, or an evidence-based...