When you’re feeling down, striking up conversations with strangers might be the last thing on your mind.
But such encounters can actually make you feel happier, research has suggested.
It’s one of eight simple ‘happiness hacks’ devised by researchers at the University of Bristol.
Writing letters of gratitude, performing acts of kindness, and trying meditation are among other key measures found to improve mental well-being.
The other four checkpoints are about getting enough sleep, exercising, enjoying experiences and drawing attention to positive parts of the day, for example writing down ‘three good things’ that happened.
University of Bristol students who were taught ‘happiness hacks’ as part of a 10-week course were found to have better mental wellbeing two years later. But that was only if they kept using hacks
People only want experience the lasting benefits of happiness if they keep practicing the habits, the researchers said.
Students who were taught hacks as part of a 10-week course were found to have better mental well-being two years later.
But that was only if they kept using hacks.
The study’s co-author Dr. Sarah Jelbert, lecturer in psychological science, told MailOnline: ‘The intention was that by the end of the course the students have a well-rounded understanding of different factors that can contribute to their own well-being – rather than a to-do list of activities.
‘What we found was that as long as the students continued to practice something from the course, their high levels of well-being were maintained.
“But we didn’t have to be prescriptive about exactly what to do and when.”
While seven or more hours of sleep is ‘definitely something we recommend’, she added that ‘any individual student may need seven, eight or nine hours to feel well rested’.
They found that others continued to write their ‘three good things’ long after the end of the course.
Some instead returned to the activity ‘every now and then’, for example when they were going through ‘a period of stress’.
The University of Bristol’s ‘Science of Happiness’ course was launched in 2018 and was the first of its kind in the UK.
It is open to all students who have room in their schedule and involves no exams or coursework. Participants must attend lectures and workshops.
Students also learn that social media is not bad for everyone, but can be bad for those who focus on their reputation.
Lack of sleep also affects how well we like others, while walking in nature deactivates a part of the brain related to negative rumination, which is linked to depression.
The researchers analyzed feedback from 228 course participants in the academic years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.
They found that students who took the course reported a 10 to 15 percent improvement in well-being.
However, only those who continued to implement course learning maintained that it improved well-being when surveyed, up to two years after completing it.
Writing in the journal Higher Educationthey said that more than half (117) agreed that the course had a positive effect on their well-being, with only 19 participants disagreeing (8.52 percent).
Of the 113 students who admitted they still continued to hack, more than a third (37 percent) wrote letters of gratitude to others and made lists of things they were grateful for.
Other commonly reported techniques included were mindfulness and meditation (34 percent), exercise (21 percent), journaling (18 percent) and kindness (11 percent).
Professor Bruce Hood, a professor of developmental psychology in society and co-author of the study, said: ‘It’s like going to the gym – we can’t expect to do a class and be fit forever.
‘Just like with physical health, we must continuously work on our mental health, otherwise the improvements are temporary.’
He added: ‘A lot of what we teach is about positive psychological interventions that divert your attention away from yourself, by helping others, being with friends, gratitude or meditating.
“This is the opposite of the current ‘self-care’ doctrine – but countless studies have shown that getting out of our own heads helps get us away from the negative ruminations that can be at the root of so many mental health problems.”