It's in the details: scientists have found evidence of the formula for happiness

It is often said that happiness is finding joy in the little things in life. Now scientists seem to have found proof of this. Psychologists have found that just five minutes a day of performing "micro-acts of joy" that evoke positive emotions is enough to relieve stress, improve health and improve the quality of sleep.

According to Dr. Elissa Epel, laughing, admiring a flower while walking around the neighborhood, or doing something nice for a friend can significantly improve people's emotional well-being and their outlook on life.

"We were absolutely stunned by the magnitude of the improvements in people's emotional well-being," said Professor Epel, an expert in stress and ageing who led the new study.

Her team at the University of California, San Francisco studied about 18,000 people, mostly from the US, UK and Canada, as part of the web-based Big Joy Project over a two-year period until 2024.

This, as the Daily Mail notes, was the first study to examine whether small, easy-to-do actions that take minimal time could have a significant and lasting impact on people. Participants were asked to perform 5-10 minute joyful actions over the course of a week.

Professor Epel said that thousands of people who took part in her project for one week showed the same positive results as programs that required months of training for several hours at a time.

In a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, participants were asked to complete seven activities over seven days. Participants shared a moment of celebration with someone else, did something kind for someone else, made a gratitude list, and watched a powerful nature video.

As Elissa Epel notes, the team chose tasks that focused on feelings of hope and optimism, wonder and awe, and fun and silliness. Each task took less than 10 minutes, including answering short questions before and after. At the beginning and end of the week-long project, participants were surveyed about their emotional and physical health, which assessed their emotional well-being, positive emotions, and “happiness agency,” as well as their stress levels and sleep quality.

Psychologists have explained that emotional well-being includes how satisfied people are with their lives and whether they have purpose and meaning. Happiness agency is how much control they have over their emotions, the Daily Mail explains.

The team found improvements across all areas, and the benefits increased depending on how fully people participated in the program, meaning those who completed all seven days saw more benefits than those who only completed two or three.

Participants from ethnic minorities saw even greater benefits than white participants, while younger people reported greater benefits than older people.

Professor Epel acknowledges that it is not yet clear why these microgames have such a strong effect on mood. She speculated that perhaps these small actions disrupt "negative thought cycles" such as excessive worry or self-criticism and redirect mental energy in a more positive direction.

While more research is needed, says Professor Epel, it is clear that a daily dose of joy can help people through these difficult times. “These well-being things are not luxuries,” she says. “We often say that we will allow ourselves to be happy once we have achieved a goal or completed a task. Well, we want to change that – we need the energy of joy to cope with difficulties. These are really necessary skills.”