Happiness is Contagious

Happiness Is Contagious
Social Networks Affect Mood, Study Shows

By Salynn BoylesWebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Dec. 4, 2008 -- Could happiness be contagious?

New research from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego suggests that happiness is influenced not only by the people you know, but by the people they know.
The study showed that happiness spreads through social networks, sort of like a virus, meaning that your happiness could influence the happiness of someone you've never even met.
Sadness spreads too, but much less efficiently, says study co-author James H. Fowler, PhD, of the University of California-San Diego.
"We have known for a long time that there is a direct relationship between one person's happiness and another's," Fowler tells WebMD."But this study shows that indirect relationships also affect happiness. We found a statistical relationship not just between your happiness and your friends' happiness, click here for the rest of this fascinating article!

Fatigue Be Gone Food for thought. Right now pick up the phone and call a friend who makes you feel happy. Notice how that feels in your body ... don't you feel more energized when you are speaking with him/her? How long does that good vibration last? Next notice how your energy level feels around someone who doesn't make you feel happy.

Journal on this ... what did you uncover and discover about yourself. How can you use this information to have a more enjoyable day-to-day life, feel more energized and have more fun this Christmas season?