harvard research study on happiness

What the Longest Study on Human Happiness Found Is the Key to a Good Life

The Harvard Study of Adult Development has established a strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being. The question is, how does a person nurture those deep relationships?

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T urn your mind for a moment to a friend or family member you cherish but don’t spend as much time with as you would like. This needn’t be your most significant relationship, just someone who makes you feel energized when you’re with them, and whom you’d like to see more regularly.

How often do you see that person? Every day? Once a month? Once a year? Do the math and project how many hours annually you spend with them. Write this number down and hang on to it.

For us, Bob and Marc, though we work closely together and meet every week by phone or video call, we see each other in person for only a total of about two days (48 hours) every year.

How does this add up for the coming years? Bob is 71 years old. Marc is 60. Let’s be (very) generous and say we will both be around to celebrate Bob’s 100th birthday. At two days a year for 29 years, that’s 58 days that we have left to spend together in our lifetimes.

Fifty-eight out of 10,585 days.

Of course, this is assuming a lot of good fortune, and the real number is almost certainly going to be lower.

Since 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has been investigating what makes people flourish. After starting with 724 participants—boys from disadvantaged and troubled families in Boston, and Harvard undergraduates—the study incorporated the spouses of the original men and, more recently, more than 1,300 descendants of the initial group. Researchers periodically interview participants, ask them to fill out questionnaires, and collect information about their physical health. As the study’s director (Bob) and associate director (Marc), we’ve been able to watch participants fall in and out of relationships, find success and failure at their jobs, become mothers and fathers. It’s the longest in-depth longitudinal study on human life ever done, and it’s brought us to a simple and profound conclusion: Good relationships lead to health and happiness. The trick is that those relationships must be nurtured.

From the June 2009 issue: What makes us happy?

We don’t always put our relationships first. Consider the fact that the average American in 2018 spent 11 hours every day on solitary activities such as watching television and listening to the radio. Spending 58 days over 29 years with a friend is infinitesimal compared with the 4,851 days that Americans will spend interacting with media during that same time period. Distractions are hard to avoid.

Thinking about these numbers can help us put our own relationships in perspective. Try figuring out how much time you spend with a good friend or family member. We don’t have to spend every hour with our friends, and some relationships work because they’re exercised sparingly. But nearly all of us have people in our lives whom we’d like to see more. Are you spending time with the people you most care about? Is there a relationship in your life that would benefit both of you if you could spend more time together? Many of these are untapped resources, waiting for us to put them to use. And, enriching these relationships can in turn nourish our minds and bodies.

Y ou don’t have to examine scientific findings to recognize that relationships affect you physically. All you have to do is notice the invigoration you feel when you believe that someone has really understood you during a good conversation, or the tension and distress you feel after an argument, or how little sleep you get during a period of romantic strife.

In this sense, having healthy, fulfilling relationships is its own kind of fitness—social fitness—and like physical fitness, it takes work to maintain. Unlike stepping on the scale, taking a quick look in the mirror, or getting readouts for blood pressure and cholesterol, assessing our social fitness requires a bit more sustained self-reflection. It requires stepping back from the crush of modern life, taking stock of our relationships, and being honest with ourselves about where we’re devoting our time and whether we are tending to the connections that help us thrive. Finding the time for this type of reflection can be hard, and sometimes it’s uncomfortable. But it can yield enormous benefits.

Many of our Harvard Study participants have told us that filling out questionnaires every two years and being interviewed regularly have given them a welcome perspective on their life and relationships. We ask them to really think about themselves and the people they love, and that process of self-reflection helps some of them.

Read: 10 practical ways to improve happiness

This is a practice that could help anyone. Looking in the mirror and thinking honestly about where your life stands is a first step in trying to live a good life. Noticing where you are can help put into relief where you would like to be. Having some reservations about this kind of self-reflection is understandable. Our study participants were not always keen on filling out our questionnaires, or eager to consider the larger picture of their life. Some would skip difficult questions or leave entire pages blank, and some would just not return certain surveys. Some even wrote comments in the margins of their questionnaires about what they thought of our requests. “What kinds of questions are these!?” is a response we received occasionally, often from participants who preferred not to think about difficulties in their life. The experiences of the people who skipped questions or entire questionnaires were also important, though—they were just as crucial in understanding adult development as the experiences of people eager to share. A lot of useful data and gems of experience were buried in the shadowed corners of their lives. We just had to go through a little extra effort to excavate them.

One of these people was a man we’ll call Sterling Ainsley. (We are using a pseudonym to protect his confidentiality as a study participant.)

S terling Ainsley was a hopeful guy. He graduated from Harvard in the 1940s and then served in World War II. After he left the service, he got a job as a scientist and retired in his 60s. When asked to describe his philosophy for getting through hard times, he said, “You try not to let life get to you. You remember your victories and take a positive attitude.”

The year was 1986. George Vaillant, the then-director of the study, was on a long interview trek, driving through the Rocky Mountains to visit the study’s participants who lived in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Sterling had not returned the most recent survey, and there was some catching up to do. He met Vaillant at a hotel to give him a ride to the diner where Sterling wanted to do his scheduled interview. When Vaillant buckled himself into the passenger seat of Sterling’s car, the seat belt left a stripe of dust across his chest. “I was left to wonder,” he wrote, “the last time somebody had used it.”

Sterling was technically married, but his wife lived far away, and they hadn’t slept in the same room in years. They spoke only every few months.

Read: The six forces that fuel friendship

When asked why they had not gotten a divorce, he said, “I wouldn’t want to do that to the children,” even though his kids were grown and had children of their own. Sterling was proud of his kids and beamed when he spoke of them, saying they were the most important thing in his life. But he rarely saw them and seemed to prefer to keep his relationships with them thriving mostly in his imagination. Vaillant noted that Sterling seemed to be using optimism to push away some of his fears and avoid challenges in his life. Putting a positive spin on every matter and then pushing it out of his mind made it possible for him to believe that nothing was wrong, he was fine, he was happy, his kids didn’t need him.

He didn’t travel to see his son’s new home abroad, because he didn’t “want to be a burden”—even though he’d been learning a new language to prepare for the trip. He had another child who lived closer, but he hadn’t visited in more than a year. He didn’t have a relationship with his grandchildren, and he wasn’t in contact with any friends.

When asked about his older sister, Sterling seemed startled. “My sister?” he said.

Yes, the sister he had told the study so much about when he was younger.

Sterling thought about it for a long time, and then told Vaillant that it must have been decades since he last spoke with her. A frightened expression came over his face. “Would she still be living?” he said.

Sterling tried not to think about his relationships, and he was even less inclined to talk about them. This is a common experience. We don’t always know why we do things or why we don’t do things, and we may not understand what is holding us at a distance from the people in our life. Taking some time to look in the mirror can help. Sometimes there are needs inside of us that are looking for a voice, a way to get out. They might be things that we have never seen or articulated to ourselves.

This seemed to be the case with Sterling. Asked how he spent his evenings, he said he spent time with an elderly woman who lived in a nearby trailer. Each night he would walk over, and they’d watch TV and talk. Eventually she would fall asleep, and he would help her into bed and wash her dishes and close the shades before walking home. She was the closest thing he had to a confidant.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if she dies,” he said.

Listen to Robert Waldinger in conversation with Arthur Brooks and Rebecca Rashid on "How to Build a Happy Life":

L oneliness has a physical effect on the body. It can render people more sensitive to pain, suppress their immune system, diminish brain function, and disrupt sleep, which in turn can make an already lonely person even more tired and irritable. Research has found that, for older adults, loneliness is far more dangerous than obesity. Ongoing loneliness raises a person’s odds of death by 26 percent in any given year. A study in the U.K., the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, recently reported on the connections between loneliness and poorer health and self-care in young adults. This ongoing study includes more than 2,200 people born in England and Wales in 1994 and 1995. When they were 18, the researchers asked them how lonely they were. Those who reported being lonelier had a greater chance of facing mental-health issues, partaking in unsafe physical-health behaviors, and coping with stress in negative ways. Add to this the fact that a tide of loneliness is flooding through modern societies, and we have a serious problem. Recent stats should make us take notice.

In a study conducted online that sampled 55,000 respondents from across the world, one out of every three people of all ages reported that they often feel lonely. Among these, the loneliest group were 16-to-24-year-olds, 40 percent of whom reported feeling lonely “often or very often.” In the U.K., the economic cost of this loneliness—because lonely people are less productive and more prone to employment turnover—is estimated at more than £2.5 billion (about $3.1 billion) annually and helped lead to the establishment of a U.K. Ministry of Loneliness.

Read: Why do we look down on lonely people?

In Japan, 32 percent of adults expected to feel lonely most of the time during 2020. In the United States, a 2019 study suggested that three out of four adults felt moderate to high levels of loneliness. As of this writing, the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which separated us from one another on a massive scale and left many feeling more isolated than ever, are still being studied.

Alleviating this epidemic of loneliness is difficult because what makes one person feel lonely might have no effect on someone else. We can’t rely entirely on easily observed indicators such as whether or not one lives alone, because loneliness is a subjective experience. One person might have a significant other and too many friends to count and yet feel lonely, while another person might live alone and have a few close contacts and yet feel very connected. The objective facts of a person’s life are not enough to explain why someone is lonely. Regardless of your race or class or gender, the feeling resides in the difference between the kind of social contact you want and the social contact you actually have.

I t never hurts —especially if you’ve been feeling low—to take a minute to reflect on how your relationships are faring and what you wish could be different about them. If you’re the scheduling type, you could make it a regular thing; perhaps every year on New Year’s Day or the morning of your birthday, take a few moments to draw up your current social universe, and consider what you’re receiving, what you’re giving, and where you would like to be in another year. You could keep your chart or relationships assessment in a special place, so you know where to look the next time you want to peek at it to see how things have changed.

If nothing else, doing this reminds us of what’s most important. Repeatedly, when the participants in our study reached old age, they would make a point to say that what they treasured most were their relationships. Sterling Ainsley himself made that point. He loved his older sister deeply—but he lost touch with her. Some of his fondest memories were of his friends—whom he never contacted. There was nothing he cared more about than his children—whom he rarely saw. From the outside it might look like he didn’t care. That was not the case. Sterling was quite emotional in his recounting of his most cherished relationships, and his reluctance to answer certain study questions was clearly connected to the pain that keeping his distance had caused him over the years. Sterling never sat down to really think about how he might conduct his relationships or what he might do to properly care for the people he loved most.

Sterling’s life reminds us of the fragility of our connections, and it echoes the lessons of science: Relationships keep us happier and healthier throughout our life spans. We neglect our connections with others at our peril. Investing in our social fitness is possible each day, each week of our lives. Even small investments today in our relationships with others can create long-term ripples of well-being.

This article is adapted from Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz’s new book, The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness .

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Harvard research reveals the #1 key to living longer and happier.

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The top insight from the Harvard study is that close relationships and social connections are ... [+] crucial for our well-being as we age.

The longest study ever conducted on human happiness has revealed some fascinating insights about what really leads to health and fulfillment over a lifetime. I had the opportunity to find out more from the director of the 80-year Harvard Study of Adult Development, Dr. Robert Waldinger , as Chester Elton and I interviewed Bob on the Anxiety at Work podcast.

Dr. Waldinger is professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of the important new book “ The Good Life .” For more than 80 years, researchers like Bob have tracked the lives of people as part of this study. The project has followed participants from adolescence into old age, collecting data on their physical and mental health, jobs, relationships, and more.

Here’s what Dr. Waldinger says are foundational elements leading to happiness and a good, long life:

Relationships are Key to Health and Happiness

The #1 insight from the Harvard study is that close relationships and social connections are crucial for our well-being as we age. Having supportive and nurturing relationships is a buffer against life’s stresses and protects overall health. According to Dr. Waldinger, good relationships "keep us healthier and happier." People with more robust social connections showed lower rates of diabetes, arthritis, cognitive decline, and other chronic conditions. The researchers hypothesize that close relationships act as "stress regulators"—they help our bodies calm down and return to equilibrium after being revved up by challenging events.

Don't Just Let Friendships Happen, Be Proactive

More than 40 percent of adults say they feel lonely some or all of the time. The participants who actively cultivated relationships over their lifetimes reaped rewards. But they didn’t just let things happen. They made plans with friends, reached out to people, and joined community and social groups. These folks weren’t just posting online and hoping for “likes”; as Dr. Waldinger observed, "The people who were most successful at this didn’t just leave it to chance." He noted that they intentionally nurtured their in-person social connections.

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Marriage Has Its Ups and Downs But Provides Lifelong Support

The study found that marital satisfaction was important to long-term happiness but does often follow a U-shaped curve over time. People are happiest when first getting together, and then satisfaction declines when children come along, rebounds when kids leave home, and drops again if adult children return to live at home. Overall, though, having a supportive spouse through life’s journey provided tangible mental and physical health benefits. Marriage offers partners emotional support through stressful events and can help build resilience.

Take Care of Your Body for the Long Haul

The Harvard study found that participants who exercised regularly and maintained their physical health throughout their lives were more able to thrive well into old age. One of the centenarians profiled in the research offered this advice: "Take care of your body like you're going to need it for 100 years."

Other researchers have come to similar conclusions about the essential role relationships play in wellbeing. Social neuroscientist John Cacioppo found that loneliness activates the body’s stress response and can lead to chronic inflammation. His research highlights the balancing role relationships play in regulating our nervous system. Likewise, behavioral economist Arthur Brooks has studied the intersection of happiness, relationships, and purpose. He validates the Harvard study’s finding that "taking care of our relationships" is critical, and that "our connections with others are nourishment for body, mind and soul."

As a practicing Zen Master, Dr. Waldinger brings a unique perspective on the role relationships play in wellbeing. He noted that his Zen training, which focuses on studying the self and seeking enlightenment, offers a complementary window into human experience alongside his Harvard research that has examined the lives of others. He summarizes his findings in this way: "Loneliness kills. Social connections are as important to our long-term health as diet and exercise."

While many ingredients go into a fulfilling life, the Harvard study clarifies that relationships are foundational. So, who have you connected with today?

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What is the key to finding happiness? The Harvard community explores the physical, mental, social, and spiritual aspects of living a life filled with joy.

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The Leadership and Happiness Laboratory

The Leadership and Happiness Laboratory conducts research and creates resources for leaders to learn the science of happiness, apply it in their own lives, and share it with others.

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Managing Happiness

What if you can will yourself to be happy? This free online course gives participants data-backed strategies to make themselves happier.

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The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness

What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A  good  life? According to the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize.

What makes a life fulfilling and meaningful? The simple but surprising answer is: relationships. The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying, and overall healthier lives. In fact, the Harvard Study of Adult Development reveals that the strength of our connections with others can predict the health of both our bodies and our brains as we go through life. The invaluable insights in this book emerge from the revealing personal stories of hundreds of participants in the Harvard Study as they were followed year after year for their entire adult lives, and this wisdom is bolstered by research findings from this and many other studies. Relationships in all their forms—friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups—all contribute to a happier, healthier life. And as  The Good Life  shows us, it’s never too late to strengthen the relationships you have, and never too late to build new ones. Dr. Waldinger’s TED Talk about the Harvard Study, “What Makes a Good Life,” has been viewed more than 42 million times and is one of the ten most-watched TED talks ever.  The Good Life  has been praised by bestselling authors Jay Shetty (“Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz lead us on an empowering quest towards our greatest need: meaningful human connection”), Angela Duckworth (“In a crowded field of life advice and even life advice based on scientific research, Schulz and Waldinger stand apart”), and happiness expert Laurie Santos (“Waldinger and Schulz are world experts on the counterintuitive things that make life meaningful”). With warmth, wisdom, and compelling life stories,  The Good Life  shows us how we can make our lives happier and more meaningful through our connections to others.

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Managing Happiness

Happiness is within your control. write your own ending..

Managing Happiness is an online course from Harvard that encourages you to explore the science of happiness, allowing you to find your truest self.

What You'll Learn

What is happiness? What makes you happy?’ Can you get happier through study and effort? 

Maybe you have pondered these questions over the course of your life, but haven’t been able to come up with any definitive answers. Still, you’d like to think that happiness is something you can understand and manage, right?

This is a class that answers these questions and shows you how you can use the answers to build a happier life. It introduces you to the modern science of human well-being and shows you how to practice it. Unlike other happiness courses, Managing Happiness goes a step further and demonstrates how you can share the ideas with others, thus bringing more happiness and love to the world and supercharging your own well-being efforts.

Led by Harvard professor, author, social scientist, and former classical musician Arthur Brooks, this course will introduce cutting-edge survey tools, the best research, and trends in social science, positive psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy to help learners unlock the strategies to create a more purposeful life, full of long-lasting enjoyment and satisfaction. Managing Happiness uses philosophical and technical insights to challenge your assumptions about happiness — helping you break bad habits that hold you back and build good ones you can use for the rest of your life.

Happiness is a core competency for those that want to be in charge of their lives — both personally and professionally. The concepts learned in this course will lead to enduring improvements and lifelong learning. At the end of the course, you will take away key concepts and actionable insights to apply to your daily routines. People around you will notice the difference.

The course will be delivered via  edX  and connect learners around the world. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explore diverse definitions of happiness and understand its function in everyday life
• Learn how genetic, social, and economic influences impact your happiness
• Apply the science of the mind, body, and community to manage emotions and behaviors for greater happiness
• Develop a happiness portfolio focused on your deepest goals and desires
• Recognize how success and achievement impact short versus long-term happiness
• Write your ending — build happiness strategies for your work and life at any age or stage

Your Instructor

Arthur C. Brooks is the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. Before joining the Harvard faculty in July of 2019, he served for ten years as president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the world’s leading think tanks.

Brooks is the author of 12 books, including the national bestsellers “Love Your Enemies” (2019) and “The Conservative Heart” (2015), as well as the forthcoming book “ From Strength to Strength ” to be published in February 2022. He is also a columnist for The Atlantic, host of the podcast “How to Build a Happy Life with Arthur Brooks,” and subject of the 2019 documentary film “The Pursuit,” which  Variety  named as one of the “Best Documentaries on Netflix” in August 2019. He gives more than 100 speeches per year around the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

Brooks began his career as a classical French hornist, leaving college at 19, touring and recording with the Annapolis Brass Quintet and later the City Orchestra of Barcelona. In his late twenties, while still performing, he returned to school, earning a BA through distance learning at Thomas Edison State College, and then an MA in economics from Florida Atlantic University. At 31, he left music and earned an MPhil and PhD in public policy analysis from the Rand Graduate School, during which time he worked as an analyst for the Rand Corporation’s Project Air Force.

Brooks then spent 10 years as a university professor, becoming a full professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in his seventh year out of graduate school and occupying the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business and Government. During this decade, Brooks published 60 peer-reviewed articles and several books, including the textbook “Social Entrepreneurship” (2008).

In 2009, Brooks became the 11th president of AEI, also holding the Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Free Enterprise. Under his leadership, the Institute more than doubled its annual revenues, deepened its outreach to leaders across the ideological spectrum, and expanded its research portfolio to include work on poverty, happiness, and human potential. During this period, he was selected as one of Fortune Magazine’s “50 World’s Greatest Leaders” and was awarded six honorary doctorates.

Originally from Seattle, Brooks currently lives in Needham, Massachusetts, with his wife Ester Munt-Brooks, who is a native of Barcelona. They have three children, Joaquim, Carlos, and Marina.

Ways to take this course

When you enroll in this course, you will have the option of pursuing a Verified Certificate or Auditing the Course.

A Verified Certificate costs $219 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate. 

Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums.  Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.

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"Happiness is not a destination. It's a direction." In this video, Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey reflect on mistakes, emotions, and contentment, sharing lessons from their new book.

• 12 Sep 2023

Successful, But Still Feel Empty? A Happiness Scholar and Oprah Have Advice for You

So many executives spend decades reaching the pinnacles of their careers only to find themselves unfulfilled at the top. In the book Build the Life You Want, Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey offer high achievers a guide to becoming better leaders—of their lives.

• 28 Aug 2023
• Research & Ideas

The Clock Is Ticking: 3 Ways to Manage Your Time Better

Life is short. Are you using your time wisely? Leslie Perlow, Arthur Brooks, and DJ DiDonna offer time management advice to help you work smarter and live happier.

• 21 Aug 2023

You’re More Than Your Job: 3 Tips for a Healthier Work-Life Balance

Younger workers are rejecting the idea of sticking with one employer for the long haul and are instead finding happiness by job-hopping and creating dramatically different boundaries with work. In a new book, Christina M. Wallace maps out a step-by-step guide to building a flexible and fulfilling life that includes rest, relationships, and a rewarding career.

• 15 Aug 2023

Why Giving to Others Makes Us Happy

Giving to others is also good for the giver. A research paper by Ashley Whillans and colleagues identifies three circumstances in which spending money on other people can boost happiness.

• 14 Feb 2023

When a Vacation Isn’t Enough, a Sabbatical Can Recharge Your Life—and Your Career

Burning out and ready to quit? Consider an extended break instead. Drawing from research inspired by his own 900-mile journey, DJ DiDonna offers practical advice to help people chart a new path through a sabbatical.

• 10 Jan 2023

How to Live Happier in 2023: Diversify Your Social Circle

People need all kinds of relationships to thrive: partners, acquaintances, colleagues, and family. Research by Michael Norton and Alison Wood Brooks offers new reasons to pick up the phone and reconnect with that old friend from home.

• 29 Sep 2022

Inclusive Leadership Advice: Get Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

People tend to seek sameness, but they can teach themselves to relish in the differences of the human experience. Francesca Gino offers these three principles from improv to anyone who's trying to lead more inclusively.

• 21 Sep 2022

You Don’t Have to Quit Your Job to Find More Meaning in Life

Before you give notice and go on a vision quest, consider this: Fulfillment doesn't require big change, says research by Julian De Freitas and colleagues. In fact, you can find more meaning even in a job you don't love.

• 02 Jun 2022

Blissful Thinking: When It Comes to Finding Happiness, 'Your Dreams Are Liars'

Happiness research is all the rage. Arthur Brooks shares how understanding the origins of joy can improve the way we lead organizations—and our personal lives.

• 25 Jan 2022

More Proof That Money Can Buy Happiness (or a Life with Less Stress)

It's not about the bigger home or the better vacation. Financial stability helps people escape the everyday hassles of life, says research by Jon Jachimowicz. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

• 29 Nov 2021

How Bonuses Get Employees to Choose Work Over Family

Working late again? Research by Ashley Whillans and colleagues shows how incentive pay encourages workers to think of downtime as wasted time. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 05 Jan 2021
• Cold Call Podcast

Using Behavioral Science to Improve Well-Being for Social Workers

For child and family social workers, coping with the hardships of children and parents is part of the job. But that can cause a lot of stress. Is it possible for financially constrained organizations to improve social workers’ well-being using non-cash rewards, recognition, and other strategies from behavioral science? Assistant Professor Ashley Whillans describes the experience of Chief Executive Michael Sanders’ at the UK’s What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care, as he led a research program aimed at improving the morale of social workers in her case, “The What Works Centre: Using Behavioral Science to Improve Social Worker Well-being.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 05 Oct 2020

Want to Be Happier? Make More Free Time

Enjoying life requires time, but too often we willingly give it away in pursuit of money and career. Ashley Whillans shows how to restore the proper balance. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 21 May 2020

Fighting the COVID Blues: Advice from Business Research

Pandemic uncertainty doesn't have to spell doom. Happiness experts at Harvard Business School offer these research-based strategies for managing stress. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 26 Nov 2018

Make Your Employees Feel Psychologically Safe

To do their best work, people need to feel secure and safe in their workplace. In a new book, Amy C. Edmondson details how companies can develop psychological safety. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 04 Jan 2018

How to Monetize Happiness

Is there a business model around happiness? Hitachi believes that a happy employee is a productive one, and is investing in "happiness sensors" to prove the connection. Ethan Bernstein explains why in this podcast. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

• 13 Nov 2017

Want to Be Happier? Spend Some Money on Avoiding Household Chores

In an age of time scarcity, buying our way out of the negative moments in the day is an important key to happiness, according to research by Ashley V. Whillans, Michael I. Norton, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, and Rene Bekkers. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

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Happy? Want to learn how to be?

Harvard Staff Writer

Harvard professor aims to ignite mass movement through podcasts, books, new lab at Kennedy School for research, leadership training

Arthur C. Brooks launched a course four years ago to teach his students not only how to increase their happiness, but how to make those around them happier as well. Now, he’s looking to spread the word to everyone, everywhere.

“I’m trying to make a happiness movement in the public,” said Brooks, the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School and professor of management practice at Harvard Business School.

Besides his popular Business School course, Brooks has spread his ideas through his podcast (“The Art of Happiness with Arthur Brooks”) and books (“From Strength to Strength,” “Love Your Enemies”) and, for the last two years, a weekly Atlantic column. Earlier this year he and his team launched the Leadership & Happiness Laboratory, which looks to investigate what science tells us about achieving happiness and how to spread it. The first cohort of students and a group of scholars began work with the lab this month.

“I want grass tops and grassroots,” said Brooks. “My books, and my podcast, and my Atlantic columns, that’s grassroots. Grass tops is Harvard — that’s my students that I teach in the lab [and it’s] leading the leaders so that they see themselves as happiness teachers, whether they’re formally teachers or not.”

So what is his secret recipe for happiness?

It’s complicated, Brooks says, but the basis of your happiness can be split into three parts.

“Half of your happiness is genetic, and a quarter is circumstantial — more or less,” he said. “But your habits are king because your habits give you 25 percent [of your happiness] directly. They can also change your circumstances. And they can actually help you manage your genetics.”

Arthur Brooks’ happiness formula.

Graphic by Judy Blomquist/Harvard Staff; source: Arthur Brooks

That equation is how he began his first column in the Atlantic, “How to build a better life,” and it’s just one idea he teaches his students. Brooks’ seven-week course takes a deeper dive into the philosophy, neuroscience, and social science of human happiness, including research on emotions, relationships, reward systems, and the value of embracing a transcendent purpose in life.

Brooks, a self-described data-driven scholar at heart, takes on topics such as “Affect and the Limbic System,” “The Neurobiology of Body Language,” “Homeostasis and the Persistence of Subjective Well-Being,” and “Oxytocin and Love.” And he blends those ideas with time-tested wisdom on what he calls the “building blocks of happiness”: family, career, friendships, faith.

“A lot of people think it’s a very subjective experience, because they think about happiness as feelings, but happiness isn’t feelings. Feelings are evidence of happiness,” he said.

He added that his students also look at the work through a lens of leadership, and how happiness principles can be applied in their lives with coworkers, kids, church members, or any others who look to them in a leadership role. That’s one of the reasons he’s passionate about bringing the work to leaders outside the Harvard community, one of the goals of his new lab.

“There are lots of happiness labs that are coming up with the basic science, which is super important, and we’re going to be paying attention to that. But there’s not that many places that say, ‘ How do you spread these ideas?’” he told the Gazette.

Better leaders, Brooks says, make for better, and happier, organizations and societies.

“When you lead with happiness, when you’re a happiness professor in business, or government or nonprofit, then you’re just a way better leader,” he said.

A social scientist by training, Brooks has been studying happiness off and on since the 1990s. Throughout his 20s he juggled college and ambitions of becoming a professional French horn player. During grad school, where he studied economics, he found a love of behavioral analysis. And at 31, Brooks left music and earned an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in public policy analysis from the Rand Graduate School in Santa Monica, California.

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He’s taught at Syracuse, and for 10 years, served as the president of the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank before deciding to dedicate himself to the topic.

Since coming to Harvard in 2019, Brooks has discovered that he is not the only one who wants more happiness in life. Both sections of his course have become so popular that they fill up months in advance.

“Since I’ve been doing this full-time, my happiness is up 60 percent,” he said.

Brooks aims to ensure the lab hits the ground running. In the works is a happiness and leadership co-curricular for a select group of Kennedy School students who will be conducting preliminary research from February to April. The lab is also organizing a trip to India in March to meet the Dalai Lama — a relationship Brooks has fostered through his years of happiness work . Also queued up is a conference hosted by the HKS Center for Public Leadership and the happiness lab in June.

For members of the wider public the lab is partnering with HarvardX to create a free online course, “ Managing Happiness ,” that will run for six weeks starting in March. The class is intended to introduce participants to the basic science of happiness and psychological strategies to turn lessons into lasting habits.

Brooks says he has high hopes for turning his personal preoccupation into a real movement.

“I want to see more and more and more people doing happiness classes, people who touch this laboratory, who are exposed to the information, I want to see them actually out there teaching happiness stuff, at all different levels,” he said.

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Led by Its Youth, U.S. Sinks in World Happiness Report

For the first time since the first World Happiness Report was issued in 2012, the United States was not ranked among the world’s Top 20 happiest countries. The drop was driven by people under 30.

By Sopan Deb

Each year, it’s no surprise that Finland tops the annual World Happiness Report. And this year was no different, marking the country’s seventh consecutive year doing so — though some Finns have bristled at the title .

But the 2024 report, released on Wednesday , had a note of alarm that was less about who was at the top of the rankings and more about who wasn’t: Americans — particularly those under 30 — have become drastically less happy in recent years.

The report, compiled annually by a consortium of groups including the United Nations and Gallup, was the latest data point in what some researchers have described as a crisis among America’s youth.

For the first time since the first World Happiness Report was published in 2012, the United States fell out of the Top 20 and dropped to 23rd, pushed down by cratering attitudes of Americans under 30.

Americans have long been an unhappy bunch. They have never ranked in the Top 10 of the World Happiness Report, which is based on how respondents in different countries rate their own happiness.

But this was the first time that the consortium separated results by age, finding disparities in the views of younger and older Americans. Among the 143 countries surveyed , the United States ranked 10th for people 60 and older, but 62nd for people under 30. The happiest young people are in Lithuania, while the unhappiest are in Afghanistan.

“I have never seen such an extreme change,” John Helliwell, an economist and a co-author of the report, said in an interview, referring to the drop in happiness among younger people. “This has all happened in the last 10 years, and it’s mainly in the English-language countries. There isn’t this drop in the world as a whole.”

To collect the data, Dr. Helliwell and his collaborators interviewed about 1,000 people in each of the more than 130 countries surveyed annually from 2021 to 2023. Respondents were asked — among other prompts — to think of their life as a ladder and to rate it on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the best possible life.

Dr. Lorenzo Norris, an associate professor of psychiatry at George Washington University, who was not part of the World Happiness study, cited the disruptions to life brought about by the coronavirus pandemic as a chief cause of mental health challenges among younger Americans.

“The literature is clear in practice — the effect that this had on socialization, pro-social behavior, if you will, and the ability for people to feel connected and have a community,” Dr. Norris said of the pandemic. “Many of the things that would have normally taken place for people, particularly high school young adults, did not take place,” he added. “And that is still occurring.”

Jade Song, a 27-year-old novelist , counted herself among those who had become increasingly unhappy in recent years.

“It’s mostly because as an adult you suddenly become aware of all the world news and you pay attention more to what you can control, and you realize that there is so little you can control,” Ms. Song, who was not part of the study, said in an interview. “Even if you’re going to protests or paying your rent and bills all on time, it’s so difficult, especially now, to break free from how you’re living your life when you realize how little impact your actions actually have on a broader level.”

In 2022, a Harvard University study showed that well-being among young adults in the United States had declined in the previous 20 years. Young people — those between the ages of 18 and 25 — reported the lowest levels of happiness compared with other age groups, as well as the poorest mental and physical health, sense of purpose, character, virtue, close social relationships and financial stability. Similar findings have emerged in Britain and Canada.

“One factor, which we’re all thinking about, is social media,” said Dr. Robert Waldinger, the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. “Because there’s been some research that shows that depending on how we use social media, it lowers well-being, it increases rates of depression and anxiety, particularly among young girls and women, teenage girls.”

In addition, Dr. Waldinger said, the negative feedback loop from news consumption has become a contributing factor.

“There’s also a lot of anxiety about the state of the world,” he said. “About climate change. About all of the polarization that we’re seeing.”

Of course, the United States is not the only country dealing with the pandemic, social media and climate change. But in some other countries, such as Croatia, Switzerland and Austria, the World Happiness Report shows that young people are becoming happier.

Happiness has long been an object of fascination in the United States. The right to the “pursuit of happiness,” of course, appears early in the Declaration of Independence as a self-evident truth. Exploring it as a concept has been a mainstay of American pop culture. Think of the earworm hits “Happy” by Pharrell Williams or “Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin. In the television show “Mad Men,” Don Draper laments: “What is happiness? It’s a moment before you need more happiness .”

“ Part of the problem is that we have this huge expectation of happiness in America,” said Eric Weiner, the author of “The Geography of Bliss,” and so we suffer partly from the unhappiness of not being happy and the expectation that we should be happy. And not every country in the world has that.”

For that book, Mr. Weiner, a former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, traveled to several countries ranked among the world’s happiest places.

“There’s an assumption that if you’re American, you’re wealthy and you’re high tech and you’re successful; you should be happy,” he said. “There’s a lot of data that shows that the greater your expectations, the less you’re happy.”

The expectations for young people like Ms. Song, the novelist, said have shifted.

“We have less to look forward to,” she said. “Because in the future, there’s going to be climate change that will affect the way we live. I think there’s less of a clear-cut trajectory for our life paths, because for so long, it was so easy just to know that you could go get married and have your 2.5 kids, and then pay for your house. But now that path is a lot more closed.”

There is a silver lining, though, for the report released on Wednesday, Dr. Helliwell said.

“ A, this angst is very local and, B, it’s very recent, which means, C, it’s not fundamental and going to last forever,” he said. “If it has been created that quickly, it could be removed that quickly.”

Sopan Deb is a Times reporter covering breaking news and culture. More about Sopan Deb

Managing Anxiety and Stress

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If you notice drastic shifts in your mood during certain times of the year, you could have seasonal affective disorder. Here are answers to your top questions about the condition .

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What a Dose of Happiness Can Do for Your Mind

New research shows how having a good memory involves more than brain cells..

Posted March 30, 2024 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

• People with calm personalities also seem to have good memories, but other factors are also at play.
• A new comprehensive longitudinal study shows the role of positive affect in preserving memory in later life.
• By tackling your mood, you can feel more in control of your mental abilities, no matter what your age.

When you think about the factors that influence your memory , it’s likely that one of the first you consider is how well your brain is functioning. Indeed, many of the latest political discussions about age and memory center around the assumption that older people have lost too many brain cells to be able to retain anything new, much less remember the past.

Research on aging and cognition continues to show the many mental strengths of older adults, particularly when it comes to demonstrating knowledge based on experience and judgment. However, the underlying stereotypes that pervade the media are that memory shows a straight downhill course throughout adulthood.

How Personality Can Make a Difference

According to new research by a University of California, Davis team headed by Sarah Tomaszewski Farias (2024), personality can play an impressive role in affecting an individual’s memory—not only in normal aging, but also in risk for Alzheimer’s disease. One route through which this can happen, they point out, is that people high in the trait of neuroticism are more likely to experience chronic stress as well as feelings of sadness and depression . Cortisol, the stress hormone, can have harmful effects on brain health.

While suggestive, older neuroticism findings didn’t directly address the question of mood’s effect on cognition. Being high on a trait defined in terms of worry and anxiety does not necessarily mean that an individual would be depressed enough to suffer the neurological changes associated with poorer memory. More is needed to explain how a person's day-to-day feelings can affect the ability to think clearly and remember what's important.

Testing the Mood-Memory Connection

To compare personality traits vs. mood and other non-trait measures, the UC Davis authors were able to draw from data collected on 157 individuals ages 60 and older who enrolled in the university’s longitudinal diversity cohort. The English- and Spanish-speaking members of the study (40 percent racial/ ethnicity other than White) provided brain scan data at the start of the study, which provided baseline estimates of brain volumes and the presence of abnormalities known as white matter hyperintensities (abnormally dense areas on brain scans).

The participants were followed on an annual basis with diagnostic testing to assess their neurological status. At the end of the period, they completed standard trait personality measures as well as questionnaires tapping into purpose in life, self-efficacy (feelings of self-confidence ), sadness, anger , happiness , joy, loneliness , and feelings of serenity and peace.

Taking advantage of the longitudinal nature of the study, Tomaszewski Farias and her collaborators were able to conduct statistical tests in which the cognitive outcomes were plotted as a function of the personality and other psychological measures while controlling for baseline brain measurements. The authors used statistical modeling to construct change scores over time in cognitive functioning, providing estimates for episodic memory (recall of events), semantic memory (recall of words and information), spatial ability, and executive functioning , (tested by, for example, generating words in response to specific prompts). The authors also imposed a rigorous statistical constraint on the analyses to avoid capitalizing on chance.

Turning to the findings, the prediction equations revealed poorer episodic memory in participants high in sadness and low in self-efficacy. People higher in executive functioning were higher in the trait of openness to experience , replicating other results; mood was not significant in predicting this cognitive ability. Spatial ability, however, was predicted by sadness and self-efficacy, although neuroticism also played a role. All of these analyses controlled for baseline brain functioning.

Coming up with a global cognitive score, the UC Davis researchers then put all of the predictors into one equation. In this analysis, none of the personality scores reached the level of significance. Instead, mood rose to the top of the prediction formula.

As the authors concluded, having “the experience of pleasurable emotions and interactions with the environment ” (p. 193) can lower the risk of cognitive decline in later adulthood. Importantly, the predictive effects of mood on cognition were reduced but not completely eliminated when the authors controlled for baseline brain measures. This finding could suggest that being generally in a good mood could help people overcome even some structural changes that may appear on brain scans.

Putting Your Mood to Work

Why would mood have such a powerful effect on cognitive decline? Expanding on their analysis of the previous literature used as the basis for the study, the authors describe one compelling pathway.

People higher in positive affect are less likely to activate the pathways connecting hormones to the brain which can result in the destruction of neurons through inflammation. Being in a good mood, further, can lead to increases in the release of dopamine , a neurotransmitter known to be involved in both memory and creative problem-solving.

Positive affect can also lead people to take more positive steps to remain engaged in behaviors and lifestyles that promote cardiovascular health. As shown in prior research, people who are generally in a good mood are more likely to engage in exercise. Being able to think positively could also help older individuals ward off stereotype threat (Barber, 2017), the belief in the inevitability of memory loss with age, which can lead to a defeatist attitude.

The good news from this well-controlled and extensive investigation relates to the implication that cognitive change in adulthood, including the years past 60, is "plastic," or able to be altered. In the words of the authors, “Essentially all of the psychological characteristics examined in this study have been shown to be modifiable, at least to some degree” (p. 196).

Some strategies for engaging in these modifiable steps include the many positive psychology interventions including mindfulness , practicing gratitude , and boosting one’s self-efficacy. In cases of clinically diagnosed depression, treatment is not only possible but highly effective.

However, the potential of this good news to have an impact can only be realized if individuals are willing to challenge the considered wisdom that memory and other key cognitive functions are destined to decline. One small memory slip is not a symptom of a dementing illness, as you can see from this National Institute of Aging website .

To sum up, knowing that your mood is key to maintaining your memory can provide you with some very real strategies to prevent the outcomes that you fear . Tackling your mood head-on will allow you to maintain the cognitive skills so important to a fulfilling life, no matter your age.

Barber, S. J. (2017). An examination of age-based stereotype threat about cognitive decline. Perspectives on Psychological Science : A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, , 12 (1), 62-90. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616656345

Tomaszewski Farias, S., De Leon, F. S., Gavett, B. E., Fletcher, E., Meyer, O. L., Whitmer, R. A., DeCarli, C., & Mungas, D. (2024). Associations between personality and psychological characteristics and cognitive outcomes among older adults. Psychology and Aging, 39(2), 188-198. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000792

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. , is a Professor Emerita of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her latest book is The Search for Fulfillment.

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How to Thrive as You Age

U.s. drops in new global happiness ranking. one age group bucks the trend.

Allison Aubrey

The U.S. ranks higher in the world happiness report when it comes to people aged 60 and older. Thomas Barwick/Getty Images hide caption

The U.S. ranks higher in the world happiness report when it comes to people aged 60 and older.

How happy are you? The Gallup World Poll has a simple way to gauge well-being around the globe.

Imagine a ladder, and think about your current life. The top rung, 10, represents the best possible life and the bottom rung, 0, represents the worst. Pick your number.

Researchers use the responses to rank happiness in countries around the globe, and the 2024 results have just been released.

This year, Finland is at the top of the list. Researchers point to factors including high levels of social support and healthy life expectancy, to explain the top perch of several Scandinavian countries.

Goats and Soda

Can a picture make you happy we asked photographers and here's what they sent us.

North America does not fare as well overall. As a nation, the United States dropped in the global ranking from 15th to 23rd. But researchers point to striking generational divides.

People aged 60 and older in the U.S. reported high levels of well-being compared to younger people. In fact, the United States ranks in the top 10 countries for happiness in this age group.

Conversely, there's a decline in happiness among younger adolescents and young adults in the U.S. "The report finds there's a dramatic decrease in the self-reported well-being of people aged 30 and below," says editor Jan-Emmanuel De Neve , a professor of economics and behavioral science, and the director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University.

This drop among young adults is also evident in Canada, Australia and, to a lesser extent in parts of western Europe and Britain, too. "We knew that a relationship existed between age and happiness, but the biggest surprise is that it is more nuanced than we previously thought, and it is changing," says Ilana Ron-Levey , managing director at Gallup.

"In North America, youth happiness has dropped below that of older adults," Ron-Levey says. The rankings are based on responses from a representative sample of about 1,000 respondents in each country.

There are a range of factors that likely explain these shifts.

De Neve and his collaborators say the relatively high level of well-being among older adults is not too surprising. Researchers have long seen a U-shaped curve to happiness.

Children are typically happy, and people tend to hit the bottom (of the U) of well-being in middle age. By 60, life can feel more secure, especially for people with good health, financial stability and strong social connections. Living in a country with a strong social safety net can also help.

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Can little actions bring big joy researchers find 'micro-acts' can boost well-being.

"The big pressures in life, [such as] having small children, a mortgage to pay, and work, have likely tapered off a bit," De Neve says. But what's so unexpected he says is the extent to which well-being has fallen among young adults.

"We would expect youth to actually start out at a higher level of well-being than middle-age individuals," De Neve says.

"People are hearing that the world is going to hell in a handbasket and the young especially are feeling more threatened by it," says John Helliwell , Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia, and a co-author of the study.

He says many younger people may feel the weight of climate change, social inequities, and political polarization which can all be amplified on social media.

But hope is not lost, Helliwell says.

He points to countries in eastern Europe where levels of well-being are on the rise among young people.

He says the older generations in the countries that make up the former Yugoslavia, tend to be less happy. "They are bearing the scars of genocide and conflict," he says.

But he says the younger people are looking beyond this history. "A new generation can put it in the past and think of building a better future and feel that they can be part of that," Helliwell says.

Stuck In A Rut? Sometimes Joy Takes A Little Practice

This story was edited by Jane Greenhalgh

• world happiness report

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More money means more happiness for most of us—here's when earning over $100,000 doesn't help

Psychologists have long agreed more money can equate to more happiness — to a certain extent.

Since a notable study published in 2010 by Princeton University's Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton, many have agreed that after about $75,000 a year, your happiness somewhat plateaus, even if your income increases. 

However, a study published in 2021 by the University of Pennsylvania's Matthew Killingsworth contradicted those findings, asserting there is no plateau, and happiness continues to grow as income increases, even beyond a $75,000 salary.

Aiming to resolve these contradictory conclusions, Kahneman and Killingsworth teamed up with Penn's Barbara Mellers to determine whether there is a limit to how much happiness a bigger income can buy.

For most people, there is no limit, the new study found . Participants' reported wellbeing did, in fact, increase along with income, up to and well beyond earning $75,000 a year.

What's more, the researchers found that happiness really only plateaus as income increases — above roughly $100,000 a year — for people who were already somewhat unhappy to begin with.

While money certainly helps bring joy and satisfaction to your life, it won't have the same impact on everyone. If your life is missing some other desire, more money can only take your wellbeing so far.

Can a bigger salary make you happier?

The researchers first set out to determine why one study showed a happiness plateau while the other did not. But first, they had to get on the same page about where a plateau might be.

Kahneman's original study that put the plateau around $75,000 more specifically saw happiness flatten in the $60,000 to $90,000 salary range, making the $75,000 number the midpoint, which is why it gets cited as the official plateau.

For the new study, the researchers decided to look at incomes above or below $100,000 as a starting point.

That's because they call Kahneman's plateau less than or equal to a $90,000 salary, which by the time of Killingsworth's study would be less than or equal to $97,000, when adjusted for inflation. Since Killingsworth's study categorized that salary in the $90,000 to $100,000 range, they decided to simply look at incomes above or below $100,000.

By looking at the progress of participants' unhappiness diminishing, rather than their happiness increasing, the new research confirmed the earlier findings that a higher income is correlated with less dissatisfaction, or a higher level of happiness.

Taking it a step further, the researchers examined who, exactly, is seeing their wellbeing improve with more money in their pockets. The answer: most of the population, the researchers found. While happiness began to slightly level off among study participants who earned at least $500,000, the researchers said not many participants were above that threshold.

Additionally, some people — the happiest 30% of the population — see even less of a plateau. To their surprise, the researchers found that wellbeing continues to grow, and even accelerates slightly, when participants start to earn more than $100,000 a year.

An "unhappy minority" revealed itself, however, as the researchers found the most explicit happiness plateau among the least happy 15 to 20% of people. This group does see their unhappiness diminish as income increases, but not much after earning around $100,000 a year.

The joy money can't buy

While these statistical correlations between money and happiness exist, they are rather insignificant in the big picture of your overall satisfaction, the researchers say. More money can help you feel somewhat happier, but it may not move the needle as much as you'd think.

"The effect of an approximately four-fold difference in income is about equal to the effect of being a caregiver, twice as large as the effect of being married, about equal to the effect of a weekend, and less  than a third as large as the effect of a headache," the study says.

So will more money make you happier? For most of the population, yes.

But you'll find much more satisfaction in life if you identify and focus on the areas that bring you the most joy, such as your relationships, hobbies or career.

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Why are so many young Americans suffering from mental distress?

The cost of living, university fees and even gun crime are contributing to an alarming rise in depression and anxiety among young adults.

The number of young men and women suffering from depression and other mental health disorders in the United States has risen sharply since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a series of reports.

The latest World Happiness Report, which is produced once a year by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in the UK, shows that people under the age of 30 have experienced a dramatic decrease in happiness in recent years. Unhappiness is particularly pronounced in the US, which has dropped out of the index’s 20 happiest countries for the first time since 2012 when it was first published.

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This year’s report, published last week, is the first to divide respondents by age but is only the latest to show that young people are struggling inordinately with mental distress.

What do the reports show?

Overall, reports are showing that mental health among young adults has declined sharply since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the effects of which are still taking a toll on the mental health of young people.

The 2023 State of Mental Health report from non-profit Mental Health America cited CDC figures showing that 67 percent of high school students had found school work more difficult during the pandemic, while 55 percent had experienced emotional abuse in the home during lockdowns. It added that 11 percent had experienced physical abuse and 24 percent said they did not have enough food to eat.

In addition, according to the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, which surveyed adults from 2020 and 2022, there were higher levels of anxiety and depression among younger adults after surges of COVID-19 cases.

Pew Research, which undertook surveys across the general population from the start of the pandemic 2020 until September 2022, found that 58 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 years old had experienced high levels of psychological distress – the highest of any age group.

More recently, the February 2024 Student Mental Health Landscape report by the publishing and research group Wiley, found that 80 percent of 2,500 college students surveyed in the US and Canada say they have experienced some degree of mental distress as a result of the pandemic – with anxiety, mental “burnout” and depression the most common conditions cited.

Which mental health disorders are young people suffering from?

In a recent interview, Admiral Dr Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said: “So we are looking at depression and anxiety, suicidality. We’re looking at eating disorders, we’re looking at the risk of substance use and the full range of mental health challenges that youth face.”

Common mental disorders among young adults can include depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, body dysmorphia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance abuse.

Depression is the most common condition cited by young adults. According to a February 2023 Gallup survey undertaken across all 50 US states, young adults aged 18 to 29 are more likely to be diagnosed with depression than those older than 44.

Why are so many young people suffering from mental distress in the US?

There are many factors, however, some of the most commonly cited by young people suffering from mental distress are as follows:

Financial worries

The cost of university fees and the general cost of living are weighing heavily on the minds of young adults. In a 2022 Harvard study [ PDF ] of more than 1,800 people aged 18 to 25, more than half of respondents reported that financial worries (56 percent) were negatively impacting their mental health.

Similarly, in the Wiley study, close to half of students cited tuition fees (50 percent) and the cost of living (49 percent) as their biggest challenges.

The economic burden of undertaking university study has steadily grown over the past few decades. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), between the academic year of 1979-1980 and the academic year of 2021-2022, the cost of going to college increased by 136 percent, even after inflation is accounted for. This means that in real terms, the cost of going to college is more than twice as expensive now than it was 40 years ago. The biggest cost rise has been in tuition fees, which have increased by 170 percent over the past 40 years.

Feelings of isolation and loneliness were also cited by respondents to the Wiley study. In the Harvard study, 44 percent of young adults reported a sense of “not mattering to others” while 34 percent reported “loneliness”.

According to a 2023 Gallup poll, overall loneliness has decreased since early 2021, but young adults and those in lower-income homes are more likely to feel lonely than other age groups.

Some experts attribute this to the rise in social media use which has caused “virtual isolation” – or social isolation due to the use of mobile devices.

In May 2023, US Surgeon General Vivek H Murthy issued a report about the effects of social media on mental health, which stated: “Loneliness is far more than just a bad feeling – it harms both individual and societal health. It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death.”

“Loneliness is the subjective feeling that you’re lacking the social connections you need. It can feel like being stranded, abandoned, or cut off from the people with whom you belong – even if you’re surrounded by other people. What’s missing when you’re lonely is the feeling of closeness, trust, and the affection of genuine friends, loved ones, and community,” Dr Murthy wrote in his 2020 book, Together: Why Social Connection Holds the Key to Better Health, Higher Performance, and Greater Happiness.

Social issues

In the 2022 Harvard study, 42 percent of respondents reported that gun violence in schools had a negative influence on their mental health, while 34 percent said they were worried about climate change and 30 percent expressed concerns about corruption among political leaders.

According to a 2018 survey conducted by the Harris Poll for the American Psychological Association, 75 percent of those aged between 15 and 21 reported that mass shootings were a considerable source of stress.

How can we solve this crisis?

There remain significant challenges to addressing mental distress among young adults, especially in the US.

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Center and editor of the World Happiness Report, said: “To think that in some parts of the world children are already experiencing the equivalent of a midlife crisis, demands immediate policy action.”

Experts say helping young people build better relationships, giving them a sense of purpose and fostering a healthy environment that helps them achieve their future goals is the way forward.

What does seem clear, say campaigners, is that the emotional plight of so many young people demands far more concerted and serious attention from governments, colleges and universities, workplaces and many other institutions.

Study Tracks Shifts in Student Mental Health During College

Dartmouth study followed 200 students all four years, including through the pandemic.

Phone App Uses AI to Detect Depression From Facial Cues

A four-year study by Dartmouth researchers captures the most in-depth data yet on how college students’ self-esteem and mental health fluctuates during their four years in academia, identifying key populations and stressors that the researchers say administrators could target to improve student well-being. 

The study also provides among the first real-time accounts of how the coronavirus pandemic affected students’ behavior and mental health. The stress and uncertainty of COVID-19 resulted in long-lasting behavioral changes that persisted as a “new normal” even as the pandemic diminished, including students feeling more stressed, less socially engaged, and sleeping more.

The researchers tracked more than 200 Dartmouth undergraduates in the classes of 2021 and 2022 for all four years of college. Students volunteered to let a specially developed app called StudentLife tap into the sensors that are built into smartphones. The app cataloged their daily physical and social activity, how long they slept, their location and travel, the time they spent on their phone, and how often they listened to music or watched videos. Students also filled out weekly behavioral surveys, and selected students gave post-study interviews. 

The study—which is the longest mobile-sensing study ever conducted—is published in the Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies .

The researchers will present it at the Association of Computing Machinery’s UbiComp/ISWC 2024 conference in Melbourne, Australia, in October. 

These sorts of tools will have a tremendous impact on projecting forward and developing much more data-driven ways to intervene and respond exactly when students need it most.

The team made their anonymized data set publicly available —including self-reports, surveys, and phone-sensing and brain-imaging data—to help advance research into the mental health of students during their college years. 

Andrew Campbell , the paper’s senior author and Dartmouth’s Albert Bradley 1915 Third Century Professor of Computer Science, says that the study’s extensive data reinforces the importance of college and university administrators across the country being more attuned to how and when students’ mental well-being changes during the school year.

“For the first time, we’ve produced granular data about the ebb and flow of student mental health. It’s incredibly dynamic—there’s nothing that’s steady state through the term, let alone through the year,” he says. “These sorts of tools will have a tremendous impact on projecting forward and developing much more data-driven ways to intervene and respond exactly when students need it most.”

First-year and female students are especially at risk for high anxiety and low self-esteem, the study finds. Among first-year students, self-esteem dropped to its lowest point in the first weeks of their transition from high school to college but rose steadily every semester until it was about 10% higher by graduation.

“We can see that students came out of high school with a certain level of self-esteem that dropped off to the lowest point of the four years. Some said they started to experience ‘imposter syndrome’ from being around other high-performing students,” Campbell says. “As the years progress, though, we can draw a straight line from low to high as their self-esteem improves. I think we would see a similar trend class over class. To me, that’s a very positive thing.”

Female students—who made up 60% of study participants—experienced on average 5% greater stress levels and 10% lower self-esteem than male students. More significantly, the data show that female students tended to be less active, with male students walking 37% more often.

Sophomores were 40% more socially active compared to their first year, the researchers report. But these students also reported feeling 13% more stressed during their second year than during their first year as their workload increased, they felt pressure to socialize, or as first-year social groups dispersed.

One student in a sorority recalled that having pre-arranged activities “kind of adds stress as I feel like I should be having fun because everyone tells me that it is fun.” Another student noted that after the first year, “students have more access to the whole campus and that is when you start feeling excluded from things.” 

In a novel finding, the researchers identify an “anticipatory stress spike” of 17% experienced in the last two weeks of summer break. While still lower than mid-academic year stress, the spike was consistent across different summers.

In post-study interviews, some students pointed to returning to campus early for team sports as a source of stress. Others specified reconnecting with family and high school friends during their first summer home, saying they felt “a sense of leaving behind the comfort and familiarity of these long-standing friendships” as the break ended, the researchers report. 

“This is a foundational study,” says Subigya Nepal , first author of the study and a PhD candidate in Campbell’s research group. “It has more real-time granular data than anything we or anyone else has provided before. We don’t know yet how it will translate to campuses nationwide, but it can be a template for getting the conversation going.”

The depth and accuracy of the study data suggest that mobile-sensing software could eventually give universities the ability to create proactive mental-health policies specific to certain student populations and times of year, Campbell says.

For example, a paper Campbell’s research group published in 2022 based on StudentLife data showed that first-generation students experienced lower self-esteem and higher levels of depression than other students throughout their four years of college.

“We will be able to look at campus in much more nuanced ways than waiting for the results of an annual mental health study and then developing policy,” Campbell says. “We know that Dartmouth is a small and very tight-knit campus community. But if we applied these same methods to a college with similar attributes, I believe we would find very similar trends.”

Weathering the pandemic

When students returned home at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers found that self-esteem actually increased during the pandemic by 5% overall and by another 6% afterward when life returned closer to what it was before. One student suggested in their interview that getting older came with more confidence. Others indicated that being home led to them spending more time with friends talking on the phone, on social media, or streaming movies together. 

The data show that phone usage—measured by the duration a phone was unlocked—indeed increased by nearly 33 minutes, or 19%, during the pandemic, while time spent in physical activity dropped by 52 minutes, or 27%. By 2022, phone usage fell from its pandemic peak to just above pre-pandemic levels, while engagement in physical activity had recovered to exceed the pre-pandemic period by three minutes. 

Despite reporting higher self-esteem, students’ feelings of stress increased by more than 10% during the pandemic. By the end of the study in June 2022, stress had fallen by less than 2% of its pandemic peak, indicating that the experience had a lasting impact on student well-being, the researchers report. 

In early 2021, as students returned to campus, their reunion with friends and community was tempered by an overwhelming concern about the still-rampant coronavirus. “There was the first outbreak in winter 2021 and that was terrifying,” one student recalls. Another student adds: “You could be put into isolation for a long time even if you did not have COVID. Everyone was afraid to contact-trace anyone else in case they got mad at each other.”

Female students were especially concerned about the coronavirus, on average 13% more than male students. “Even though the girls might have been hanging out with each other more, they are more aware of the impact,” one female student reported. “I actually had COVID and exposed some friends of mine. All the girls that I told tested as they were worried. They were continually checking up to make sure that they did not have it and take it home to their family.”

Students still learning remotely had social levels 16% higher than students on campus, who engaged in activity an average of 10% less often than when they were learning from home. However, on-campus students used their phones 47% more often. When interviewed after the study, these students reported spending extended periods of time video-calling or streaming movies with friends and family.

Social activity and engagement had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the study in June 2022, recovering by a little less than 3% after a nearly 10% drop during the pandemic. Similarly, the pandemic correlates with students sticking closer to home, with their distance traveled nearly cut in half during the pandemic and holding at that level since then.

Campbell and several of his fellow researchers are now developing a smartphone app known as MoodCapture that uses artificial intelligence paired with facial-image processing software to reliably detect the onset of depression before the user even knows something is wrong.

Morgan Kelly can be reached at [email protected] .

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Harvard has halted its long-planned atmospheric geoengineering experiment

The decision follows years of controversy and the departure of one of the program’s key researchers.

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Harvard researchers have ceased a long-running effort to conduct a small geoengineering experiment in the stratosphere, following repeated delays and public criticism.

In a university statement released on March 18, Frank Keutsch, the principal investigator on the project, said he is “no longer pursuing the experiment.”

The basic concept behind solar geoengineering is that the world might be able to counteract global warming by spraying tiny particles in the atmosphere that could scatter sunlight. 

The plan for the Harvard experiments was to launch a high-altitude balloon, equipped with propellers and sensors, that could release a few kilograms of calcium carbonate, sulfuric acid or other materials high above the planet. It would then turn around and fly through the plume to measure how widely the particles disperse, how much sunlight they reflect and other variables. The aircraft will now be repurposed for stratospheric research unrelated to solar geoengineering, according to the statement.

The vast majority of solar geoengineering research to date has been carried out in labs or computer models. The so-called stratospheric controlled perturbation experiment (SCoPEx) was expected to be the first such scientific effort conducted in the stratosphere. But it proved controversial from the start and, in the end, others may have beaten them across the line of deliberately releasing reflective materials into that layer of the atmosphere. (The stratosphere stretches from approximately 10 to 50 kilometers above the ground.)  

Last spring, one of the main scientists on the project, David Keith, relocated to the University of Chicago, where he is leading the Climate Systems Engineering initiative. The new research group will explore various approaches to solar geoengineering, as well as carbon dioxide removal and regional climate interventions, such as efforts to shore up glaciers. 

That summer, the research team informed its advisory committee that it had “suspended work” on the experiment. But it stayed in limbo for months. No final decision on the project’s fate had been made as of early October, Harvard professor Daniel Schrag, who serves on the advisory committee of the university’s broader Solar Geoengineering Research Program, told MIT Technology Review at the time.

Proponents of solar geoengineering research argue we should investigate the concept because it may significantly reduce the dangers of climate change. Further research could help scientists better understand the potential benefits, risks and tradeoffs between various approaches. 

But critics argue that even studying the possibility of solar geoengineering eases the societal pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions. They also fear such research could create a slippery slope that increases the odds that nations or rogue actors will one day deploy it, despite the possibility of dangerous side-effects, including decreasing precipitation and agricultural output in some parts of the world.

Keith and other scientists laid out the blueprint of the experiment in a paper a decade ago. Then in 2017, he and Keutsch announced they hoped to carry it out, by launching balloons from a site in Tucson, Arizona as early as the following year.

But the project switched locations several times. Most recently, the team hoped to launch a balloon to test out the aircraft’s hardware from the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden in the summer of 2021. But those plans were canceled on the recommendation of the project’s advisory committee, which determined the researchers should hold discussions with the public ahead of any flights. The effort was also heavily criticized by the Saami Council, which represents the indigenous Saami peoples’ groups in Sweden and neighboring regions, as well as environmental groups and other organizations, who argued it’s too dangerous a tool to use. 

Solar geoengineering “is a technology that entails risks of catastrophic consequences, including the impact of uncontrolled termination, and irreversible sociopolitical effects that could compromise the world’s necessary efforts to achieve zero-carbon societies,” the group wrote in a letter to the advisory committee. “There are therefore no acceptable reasons for allowing the SCoPEx project to be conducted either in Sweden or elsewhere.”

When asked why he decided to stop work on the experiment, and if it had anything to do with the public pushback or delays, Keutsch replied via email that he “learned important lessons about governance and engagement throughout the course of this project.”

“The field of [solar radiation management] has undergone a significant transformation in the last few years, expanding the community and opening new doors for research and collaboration,” he added. “I felt that it was time to focus on other innovative research avenues in the incredibly important field of SRM that promise impactful results.”

Amid the delays to the Harvard project, other groups have forged ahead with their own geoengineering-related efforts. The controversial venture-backed startup, Make Sunsets, has repeatedly launched weather balloons filled with a few grams of sulfur dioxide that it claims likely burst in the stratosphere. Meanwhile, an independent researcher in the UK, Andrew Lockley, says he carried out several balloon launches, including a September 2022 flight that burst about 15 miles above the Earth and could have released around 400 grams of sulfur dioxide.

Despite the public controversy, the SCoPEx researchers earned high marks among some in the field for striving to carry out the field effort in a small-scale, controlled, transparent way, setting down clear research objectives and creating an independent advisory committee to review the proposals. 

Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School and the former executive director of Harvard's Solar Geoengineering Research Program, said in an email that the cancellation of the project was “unfortunate,” as it had taken on larger significance in the field. 

He stressed that the effort “widened the operating space for other, younger researchers to look into this important topic.” In addition, by publishing the plans in a peer-reviewed journal and operating transparently, the group “set a standard of sorts for responsible research in this area,” he added.

“Responsible researchers deciding not to conduct this kind of research, meanwhile, gives ample room for irresponsible actors with all sorts of crazy ideas,” Wagner said.

Harvard will continue to study geoengineering through the Solar Geoengineering Research Program, a multidisciplinary research effort set up in 2017 with funding from Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, the Hewlett Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and other organizations and individuals. Other current or former projects there include a lab study of other materials that could potentially be used for solar geoengineering and an effort to identify and address some of the larger challenges in governing such tools. 

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Research: How Women Can Build High-Status Networks

• Carla Rua-Gomez,
• Gianluca Carnabuci,
• Martin Goossen

Companies can help women overcome common obstacles they face when trying to forge powerful professional ties.

Despite the potential career benefits of building high-status networks, research has long shown that women face greater obstacles in establishing these networks compared to men. The authors’ research , published in the Academy of Management Journal, not only underscores what we know about the unique challenges women face in building high-status networks; it also offers a strategic roadmap for overcoming these challenges. By understanding and leveraging the power of shared social connections, women as individuals can navigate around systemic biases and forge valuable professional ties that propel their careers forward. For organizations committed to gender equality, their study provides a clear directive: Invest in building network sponsor programs that recognize and use the distinct pathways through which women can achieve high-status connections.

In the context of career advancement, the notion that “It’s not what you know, but who you know” holds some truth. However, for many women, this concept presents unique challenges. Despite the potential career benefits of building high-status connections within an organization, research has long shown that women face greater obstacles in establishing such connections compared to men. Our research , published in the Academy of Management Journal, offers new insights into this persistent challenge, and we share some of those insights in this article.

• CR Carla Rua-Gomez  is an assistant professor of management and organization at SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d’Azur (GREDEG). She received her PhD from Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Switzerland. Her research interests revolve around innovation, social networks, and gender inequality. Carla is particularly interested in understanding how workplace dynamics perpetuate or limit gender inequality within research-intensive corporations.
• GC Gianluca Carnabuci is a professor of organizational behavior at ESMT Berlin. He is also the holder of the Ingrid and Manfred Gentz Chair in Business and Society. His research and teaching focus on how informal networks shape the flow of information and knowledge within organizations, and how that affects the productivity of leaders, teams, and organizations.
• MG Martin Goossen is an assistant professor in the Department of Management of Tilburg University. His research focuses on the role of individual employees in the R&D activities of high-technology firms.

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88722d666dda333b4ab34c05d4e279fa, beyond labels: unveiling the holistic healing traditions of central asia.

The following "Researcher Reflection" from Dr. Barakatullo Ashurov is part of an ongoing series where we spotlight CSWR scholars and their research.

Traditional healthcare practices in Central Asia are embedded in local cultures, histories, and religiosities. They are more than just different or alternative healing methods that contrast modern medicine. Interpreting such healing practices as religious survivals, reflections of pre-Islamic culture, or evidence of some universal shamanism fails to appreciate their holistic approach to care, which resonates with diverse cultural and religious beliefs. Healing practices must be studied in local contexts, informed by local histories, practices, and phenomena.

Traditional healers play a prominent role in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) due to their deep understanding of health and healing beliefs and conceptual frameworks specific to their communities. Physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being are interconnected in traditional healing health beliefs. Illness and wellness are part of God's will and destiny. Practices ranging from herbal remedies to intricate spiritual healing rituals are rooted in cosmological beliefs and a profound understanding of the human condition. Healing rituals are either habitual or curative.

Habitual practices are part of daily life, especially reciting duas: ‘supplicatory/benedictory prayers’ intoned by an individual or on behalf of another person, customized to address specific or general concerns. Duas are recited before going to bed and also when seeking help at the tomb of a saint. They are performed when welcoming guests and saying goodbye to someone leaving for a trip. Reciting duas promotes health, provides protection, and ensures prosperity. The duas and their recitations manifest culturally significant concepts about health and reveal Central Asian perceptions of well-being.

Curative practices display a structured approach, including diagnosis, prescription, and then ritual interventions by a specialist healer who has the clairvoyant ability to determine causes of ill health and misfortune. The types of rituals and durations of treatments depend upon the malady. Curative healing rituals include dietary changes, ritualistic purifications, visiting sacred sites, and observing solitary retreats.

The study of traditional healers and healing practices in Central Asia dates back centuries. The earliest record of traditional healing practices was made in 1769 by Peter Simon Pallas, who documented Kazakh (Kyrgyz) healing rituals and the important role of the healer in the local language called baqsi. Devin DeWeese highlights the deficiencies in extant scholarship, particularly from the 1920-91 Soviet Era, that depict traditional health and healing practices as "religious survivals," "pre-Islamic," or "shamanic." Despite presenting valuable ethno-anthropological data, interpretations by outsiders must be critically revisited, for etic categorizations fail to capture indigenous ways of knowing and ways of being underpinning the practices. Traditional healers, with remarkable resilience and adaptability, eschew such labels, viewing their craft as a continuum of ancestral traditions adaptable to diverse historical contexts.

One critical example demonstrates why we must understand healing practices and practitioners in their local, lived context. Almost all prior studies declare that traditional healers attain their ‘call to heal’ by undergoing spirit-afflicted maladies and ‘spirit possession’ states that impart spiritual aptitudes like clairvoyance to foresee the causes of ill health and other misfortune, and ritual abilities, prescribing and performing complex ceremonies to restore health and resolve patients’ problems. However, scholars have excluded Islamic healing practitioners, namely the mullahs, from being considered traditional healers because they do not undergo spirit possession.

Muslim clerics continually engage in health and healing practices (Qur’anic healing – ‘al-‘ilāj bi-l-qur’ān’), including divination. They possess karamat – an extraordinary, miraculous, or supernatural ability God bestows on select individuals out of His divine benevolence. Some clerics are connected to certain ‘sacred families’ such as išans, sa’ids, khojas, and sheikhs that are believed to possess barakat ‘grace, blessing,’ a divine force that brings abundance to the physical and happiness to the psychic realms. Those needing healing seek to receive the barakat from these figures. Scholars deny these clerics are traditional healers even though they are observed performing traditional healing practices every day.

It is essential for scholars to thoroughly explore the vast array of health-related terminology, therapeutic practices, cultural beliefs, cognitive frameworks, and doctrinal foundations present within Central Asian cultures and languages. This exploration is not a mere suggestion but a foundational necessity for scholarly inquiry. Scholars must exercise caution when categorizing practices as 'shamanism,' as this term originates from European ethnographic discourse and lacks linguistic representation in the local context. Instead, a rigorous and sensitive methodological framework is required, deeply engaged with Central Asia's epistemological and ontological foundations underpinning traditional healing practices. This approach allows for a nuanced understanding that goes beyond superficial categorizations and leads to an authentic comprehension of the cultural milieu being studied.

Recommended Papers 1. Basilov, V. N. 1992. Shamanstvo u narodov Sredne ̆ı Azii i Kazakhstana [Shamanism of the Peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan]. Moskva: Nauka. 2. DeWeese, D. (2014). Shamanization in Central Asia. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient , 57(3), 326-363. 3. DeWeese, D. (2011). Survival strategies: Reflections on the notion of religious ‘survivals’ in Soviet ethnographic studies of Muslim religious life in Central Asia. Exploring the Edge of Empire: Soviet era anthropology in the Caucasus and Central Asia , 35-58. 4. Penkala-Gawęcka, D. (2014). The Way of the shaman and the revival of spiritual healing in post-Soviet Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. 5. Penkala-Gawęcka, D., & World Health Organization. (2017). Perceptions of health and illness, and the role of healers in Kyrgyzstan. Public health panorama , 3(1), 80-87.

—by  Dr. Barakatullo Ashurov , Research Associate, Transcendence & Transformation Initiative

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Mandating Indoor Air Quality for Public Buildings: A Vital Public Health Strategy

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a fundamental yet frequently underestimated aspect of public health, especially highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This often-neglected facet impacts health, productivity, and learning. In an article published in SCIENCE , 40+ international experts, including Professor Joseph Allen, Director of Harvard’s Healthy Buildings program, call for national IAQ standards and provide a roadmap for healthier indoor spaces. In this blog, we provide three key takeaways from our perspective:

Key Takeaway 1: The Imperative for IAQ Standards

The global pandemic has underscored the critical role of IAQ in public health, revealing a glaring absence of regulated performance standards in public spaces.

The lack of legislated IAQ standards exposes indoor environments to pollutants and airborne disease risks. The article emphasizes the stark contrast between the rigorous regulations for outdoor air quality and the relatively lax stance on indoor air despite significant time spent indoors. Instituting robust IAQ standards is not just a matter of policy but a crucial step toward safeguarding health and well-being in indoor spaces.

Key Takeaway 2: Opportunities in IAQ Monitoring

Proactive IAQ monitoring is a gateway to managing healthier indoor environments.

The article highlights the transformative potential of monitoring key IAQ parameters such as PM2.5 and CO 2 utilizing advancements in lower-cost sensor technology. These tools allow us to “see” what is happening indoors, which helps identify and manage sources of indoor air quality issues. By actively monitoring IAQ, stakeholders can make informed decisions that not only address immediate health risks but also foster long-term well-being and productivity among indoor .

Key Takeaway 3: Consensus on Higher Ventilation Standards

The push for enhanced ventilation targets, well above the “acceptable” minimum, is gaining traction as a vital move to protect public health.

The SCIENCE article underscores a growing consensus among experts on the need to revise ventilation rates beyond the minimum “acceptable” targets that have been promoted for the past two decades. The group of international experts recommends 14 liters per second per person (14 l/s/p as a new minimum, which is approximately 30 cubic feet per minute per person (30 cfm/p). This new target aligns with previous recommendations. The Lancet COVID-19 Commission’s 2022 report advocates for ventilation rates that significantly exceed current standards, providing a “Good, Better, Best” strategy with 21, 30, and 30+ cfm/p thresholds, respectively. In the book “ Healthy Buildings, ” published in 2020, Allen and Harvard Business School professor John Macomber recommended 30 cfm/p as a target, highlighting the dual benefits of reducing exposure to respiratory pathogens and enhancing cognitive function performance.

The critical importance of IAQ has come to the forefront, with the pandemic serving as a catalyst for urgent action. The insights from the article provide a clear directive for implementing IAQ standards in public buildings, highlighting the benefits of such measures in enhancing health outcomes and reducing the public health burden of poor indoor air quality. By embracing a multifaceted strategy that includes indoor air quality monitoring, technological innovation, and regulatory support, we can make significant strides toward healthier, safer indoor environments for all. This endeavor is not just a public health mandate but a societal imperative.

Morawska, L., Allen, J.G., Bahnfleth, W., Bennett, B., Bluyssen, P.M., Boerstra, A., Buonanno, G., Cao, J., Dancer, S.J., Floto, A., Franchimon, F., Greenhalgh, T., Haworth, C., Hogeling, J., Isaxon, C., Jimenez, J.L., Kennedy, A., Kumar, P., Kurnitski, J., Li, Y., Loomans, M., Marks, G., Marr, L.C., Mazzarella, L., Melikov, A.K., Miller, S.L., Milton, D.K., Monty, J., Nielsen, P.V., Noakes, C., Peccia, J., Prather, K.A., Querol, X., Salthammer, T., Sekhar, C., Seppänen, O., Tanabe, S., Tang, J.W., Tellier, R., Tham, K.W., Wargocki, P., Wierzbicka, A., Yao, M. Mandating indoor air quality for public buildings. 2024. Science (383) , 1418-1420 .

DOI: 10.1126/science.adl0677

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8 Time Management Tips for Students

Don't let a hectic schedule get the better of you with these time management tips.

Lian Parsons

College can be a stressful time for many students and time management can be one of the most crucial — but tricky — skills to master.

Attending classes, studying for exams, making friends, and taking time to relax and decompress can quickly fill up your schedule. If you often find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day, this guide will offer time management tips for students so you can accomplish what you need to get done, have fun with your friends, and gain back some valuable time for yourself. 

1. Create a Calendar

Don’t be caught by surprise by an important paper due two days from now or a dinner with your family the same night you planned for a group study session. Create a calendar for yourself with all your upcoming deadlines, exams, social events, and other time commitments well in advance so you can see what’s coming up. 

Keep your calendar in a place where you can see it every day, such as in your planner or on your wall above your desk. If you prefer a digital calendar, check it first thing every day to keep those important events fresh and top-of-mind. For greater efficiency, make sure you can integrate it with your other tools, such as your email.

Digital calendar options include: 

• Google Calendar 
• Outlook Calendar
• Fantastical

2. Set Reminders

After you’ve created your calendar, give yourself periodic reminders to stay on track such as to complete a study guide in advance or schedule a meeting for a group project. Knowing deadlines is important; however, staying on top of the micro tasks involved in meeting those deadlines is just as important. You can set an alarm on your phone, write it down in a physical planner, or add an alert to your digital calendar. The reminders will help to prevent things from slipping through the cracks during particularly hectic days.

Make sure you’ve allotted enough time to study for that big test or write that final paper. Time management is all about setting yourself up for success in advance and giving yourself the tools to accomplish tasks with confidence. 

Read our blogs, Your Guide to Conquering College Coursework and Top 10 Study Tips to Study Like a Harvard Student , for more suggestions.

3. Build a Personalized Schedule

Each person’s day-to-day is different and unique to them, so make sure your schedule works for you. Once you’ve accounted for consistent commitments such as classes or your shifts at work, add in study sessions, extracurriculars, chores and errands, and social engagements.

Consider your personal rhythm. If you typically start your day energized, plan to study or accomplish chores then. If you fall into an afternoon slump, give yourself that time to take a guilt-free TV break or see friends.

Having a schedule that works for you will help maximize your time. Plus, knowing exactly when your laundry day is or when your intramural volleyball practice is every week will help you avoid trying to cram everything in one day (or running out of clean socks!)

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4. Use Tools That Work For You

Just like your calendar and schedule, the tools you use to keep you organized should be the right fit for you. Some students prefer physical planners and paper, while some prefer going totally digital. Your calendar can help you with long-term planning, but most of these tools are best for prioritizing from day to day.

Explore what best suits your needs with some of the following suggestions:

Planners can help you keep track of long-term deadlines, such as important essay deadlines, upcoming exams, and appointments and meetings. They often provide a monthly overview each month, as well as day-to-day planning sections, so you can stay ahead. 

• Papier – Offers a 20% student discount 

If your schedule is jam-packed and you have trouble figuring out what to do and when, scheduling day by day—and sometimes even hour by hour—can help you slot in everything you need to do with less stress.

• Structured app

Note Taking

From class to study sessions to errands, keeping track of everything can feel overwhelming. Keeping everything in one place, whether on the go or at your desk, can help keep you organized.

• Bullet journals

5. Prioritize

Sometimes there really is too much to do with too little time. In these instances, take just a few minutes to evaluate your priorities. Consider which deadlines are most urgent, as well as how much energy you have. 

If you are able to complete simple tasks first, try getting them out of the way before moving on to tasks that require a lot of focus. This can help to alleviate some of the pressure by checking a couple things off your to-do list without getting bogged down too early.

If you are struggling to fit everything in your schedule, consider what you can postpone or what you can simply say no to. Your friends will likely understand if you have to meet them for coffee another time in order to get in a final library session before a challenging exam. 

6. Make Time to Have Fun — And For Yourself

Time management isn’t just about getting work done. It’s also about ensuring that you can put yourself and your mental wellbeing first. Consistently including time for yourself in your schedule helps to keep your mental health and your life in balance. It can also be helpful to have things to look forward to when going through stressful periods.  

Whether it’s going for a bike ride along the river, spending time with your friends and family, or simply sleeping in on a Sunday, knowing you have space to relax and do things you enjoy can provide better peace of mind. 

7. Find Support 

Preparation and organization can sometimes only get you so far. Luckily, you have plenty of people rooting for your success. Keep yourself and your classmates on task by finding an accountability partner or study buddies. Remind your roommates when you need extra space to work on a paper. 

Your school’s academic resource center is also there to support you and point you in the right direction if you need additional help. Getting—and staying—organized is a collaborative effort and no one can do it on their own. 

8. Be Realistic and Flexible 

Sometimes unforeseen circumstances will come up or you simply may not be able to get to everything you set out to do in a given day. Be patient with yourself when things don’t go exactly to plan. When building your calendar, schedule, and priorities list, be realistic about what you can accomplish and include buffer time if you’re unsure. This can help to reduce obstacles and potential friction.

Time management isn’t just about sticking to a rigid schedule—it’s also about giving yourself space for change.

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About the Author

Lian Parsons is a Boston-based writer and journalist. She is currently a digital content producer at Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education. Her bylines can be found at the Harvard Gazette, Boston Art Review, Radcliffe Magazine, Experience Magazine, and iPondr.

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