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Fitness & Health

14th Jul 2017

Here are the reasons why today is officially the happiest day of the year

Feeling happier than usual today?

Conor Heneghan

happiest

Are you feeling it on the happiest day of the year?

It’s Friday, the weather has been promised good for the weekend and thousands will be heading along to Longitude in Marlay Park; those are just some the reasons why you might be feeling a little chirpier than usual today.

If you’re not, well then you should be because today, July 14, it turns out, is officially the happiest day of the year.

Why? There are a number of factors, all of which have been considered in a formula created by psychologist Dr. Cliff Arnall, who you may know as the man that determined in 2005 that Blue Monday, the third Monday in January, was the most depressing day of the year.

Arnall, formerly of Cardiff University, has teamed up with Jurys Inn to derive a similarly light-hearted formula this time around to arrive at the conclusion that today is the happiest day of the year.

The formula measures everything that makes us happiest – including health, mindfulness, emotional connectedness, authenticity and family fun – which were identified as the core human fundamental elements that bring us happiness. As part of the calculations, these factors were tallied up and divided by uncertainty, which can negatively impact our emotional being.

Smack bang in the middle of summer, the happiest day of the year is ideally placed for holidays, spending time with our friends and family, and switching off from stress.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Arnall said: “The formula is designed to prominently highlight the key features of personal happiness and to allow people hearing about the formula to build and maintain their happiness over the long term.

“We hope that the Happiest Day 2017 is very much a springboard to be used to reach deeper levels of happiness which can be maintained and sustained throughout a person’s life.”

You heard the man. Now go enjoy it while it lasts.

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Topics:

Health