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What makes life worth living? And, what does data from happiness research tell us?

Data shows Connecticut is the second happiest state in the country, after Hawaii, with a poverty rate that’s under 10 percent, a life expectancy of 80.4 years, and median household income of more than $100,000, according to research by NiceRx – which also took into account adult depression levels. In another study by WalletHub, Connecticut tied third with California for the lowest adult depression.

But researchers who study happiness say variation across places — the happiness levels between states or even countries with similar socio-economic variables – is far less than the variation between happiness levels from one person to the other.

So, what makes us happy? And what does data show to help us become happier?

This hour WWL, we hear from happiness experts, including Laurie Santos of Yale University and the Happiness Lab podcast, and Cassie Mogilner Holmes of UCLA.

GUESTS:

Matthew Killingsworth: Director of trackyourhappiness.org and Senior Fellow, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Maggie Downie: Owner of Personal Euphoria Pilates & Fitness, Health & Wellness Expert on NBC CT Live, Author of Keep Moving: Take Steps to Relieve Pain & Improve Your Life 

Dr. Hansa Bhargava: Chief Medical Officer, Medscape, Forbes Columnist, and Author of Building Happier Kids – Stress-busting tools for Parents, American Academy of Pediatrics  

What makes life worth living? And, what does data from happiness research tell us?
Data shows Connecticut is the second happiest state in the country, after Hawaii, with a poverty rate that&rsquo;s under 10 percent, a life expectancy of 80.4 years, and median household income of more than $100,000,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nicerx.com/happy-nations/">according to research</a>&nbsp;by NiceRx &ndash; which also took into account adult depression levels. In another&nbsp;<a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/happiest-states/6959">study by WalletHub</a>, Connecticut tied third with California for the lowest adult depression.
But researchers who study happiness say variation across places &mdash; the happiness levels between states or even countries with similar socio-economic variables &ndash; is far less than the variation between happiness levels from one person to the other.
So, what makes us happy? And what does data show to help us become happier?
This hour WWL, we hear from happiness experts, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being">Laurie Santos</a>&nbsp;of Yale University and the Happiness Lab podcast, and Cassie Mogilner Holmes of UCLA.
GUESTS:
<a href="http://www.mattkillingsworth.com/">Matthew Killingsworth</a>:&nbsp;Director of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.trackyourhappiness.org/">trackyourhappiness.org</a>&nbsp;and Senior Fellow, The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
Maggie Downie:&nbsp;Owner of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.personaleuphoria.com/">Personal Euphoria Pilates &amp; Fitness</a>, Health &amp; Wellness Expert on NBC CT Live, Author of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.maggiedownie.com/keep-moving-book/">Keep Moving: Take Steps to Relieve Pain &amp; Improve Your Life&nbsp;</a>
Dr. Hansa Bhargava:&nbsp;Chief Medical Officer, Medscape,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/hansabhargava/?sh=2344cdaa60f0">Forbes Columnist</a>, and Author of&nbsp;<a href="https://shop.aap.org/building-happier-kids-paperback/">Building Happier Kids &ndash; Stress-busting tools for Parents, American Academy of Pediatrics&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>

Produced by Connecticut Public, 'Where We Live' puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Produced by Connecticut Public, '<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/about">Where We Live'</a> puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Where We Live is a call-in talk show about who we are in Connecticut and our place in the world.

Where We Live

Produced by Connecticut Public, '<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/where-we-live/about">Where We Live'</a> puts Connecticut in context. Host Catherine Shen brings us fascinating, informed, in-depth conversations and stories beyond news headlines.  We start local, but we take time to explore domestic and international issues and consider how they impact us personally and here at home.

Data shows Connecticut is the second happiest state in the country, after Hawaii, with a poverty rate that’s under 10 percent, a life expectancy of 80.4 years, and median household income of more than $100,000, according to research by NiceRx – which also took into account adult depression levels. In another study by WalletHub, Connecticut tied third with California for the lowest adult depression. So, what makes us happy? And what does data show to help us become happier?

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