If You're Happy and You Know It, Thank Your Friends

-You know, I really have to chuckle when science comes up with well-researched conclusions that most of us have already known all along. Here’s the latest: having happy friends can make you happy. In an extensive 20-year study, Harvard Medical School and UCSD researchers concluded that happiness is contagious but sadness isn’t.

What was really interesting about the study, though, is that they found a holographic effect with happiness. If something makes you happy, your friends, who may not even be around, have a higher chance of feeling happy, too. You’ve probably heard it explained from a metaphysical standpoint that your vibration is only as high as the “vibes” of those you spend the most time with.

So choose your friends wisely – the impact may be social, emotional and spiritual as well. And, in science’s defense, it’s nice to see objective evidence of things we know, deep down, to ring true.

Image: Shereen M