What do people who study happiness for a living actually do to be happy? A group of the world’s leading well-being scientists, with what they describe as a collective 600 years of research between them, recently compared notes. Their answer to the question of how to be happier was surprisingly simple: several of them said the evidence convinced them to spend more time with the people they love.
Their reflections were published in the Journal of Happiness Studies in October 2026. Here’s what they said, the science behind it, and seven habits you can borrow starting this weekend.
The Happiness Experts Who Followed Their Own Advice
The paper was led by researchers including Lara Aknin, a professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a co-editor of the annual World Happiness Report, according to a Simon Fraser University news release. Aknin and 12 other international leaders in well-being science met on a video call to reflect on what decades of research, and their own lives, have taught them about living well.
The biggest theme? People. “Having relationships is one of the most reliable predictors of happiness,” Aknin said. Asked to boil the field down to one thing, she said “relationships with other people might be it.”
According to the SFU release, several of the researchers reported consciously spending more time with loved ones after seeing the evidence. Others said they apply habits such as expressing gratitude, savoring positive experiences, investing in relationships, listening more deeply, volunteering and being more socially engaged.
It’s worth being clear about what this is: a reflective discussion among a small group of senior experts, not a controlled experiment. But when the people who know the research best change their own behavior because of it, that’s a signal worth paying attention to.
Why Relationships Beat Money for Long-Term Happiness
The researchers’ conclusion echoes one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever conducted. The Harvard Study of Adult Development has followed two groups of men for more than 80 years: 268 Harvard graduates from the classes of 1939 to 1944, and 456 men who grew up in inner-city Boston. Its current phase focuses on how relationships in late life “withstand some of the greatest stresses of the life cycle.”
Money still matters, but less than most people think. According to the experts’ reflections, extra income has a smaller effect on happiness once basic needs are met, while meaningful work contributes strongly to well-being.
And generosity is a recurring theme in Aknin’s own research. “Generosity is not zero-sum,” she said. In other words, giving your time or resources to others tends to lift your mood, too. We saw the same idea in our look at the science of why kindness is contagious.
How to Be Happier: 7 Habits Happiness Researchers Use
Based on the practices the researchers described, here’s a simple plan you can start today. None of these cost money, and most take less than 15 minutes.
- Schedule people first. Before you plan your week, block time for one call, coffee or walk with someone you care about. Treat it like a meeting you can’t cancel.
- Write down three good things. At night, jot down three things you’re grateful for and why. Gratitude was one of the habits the researchers named.
- Savor on purpose. When something good happens, pause for 20 seconds and really notice it: the taste of your morning coffee, a child’s laugh, the sunset on your drive home.
- Listen like it matters. In your next conversation, put the phone face-down and ask one follow-up question before sharing your own story. “Listening more deeply” made the experts’ list.
- Volunteer, even briefly. One hour a month at a food bank, school or shelter counts. With the holidays coming, many organizations need extra hands.
- Join something. A book club, a pickup game, a faith community or a neighborhood group all build the kind of regular social contact the research links to well-being.
- Find meaning in your work. You don’t need a dream job. Identify one way your work helps someone else and remind yourself of it on tough days.
What If You’re Not a “Naturally Happy” Person?
Good news: you don’t have to be. Aknin noted that practices like gratitude and meditation may be especially helpful for people who are more naturally pessimistic. Happiness isn’t a personality trait you either have or don’t. It’s partly a set of skills you can practice.
She also connected personal well-being to the bigger picture: “When people feel they are doing well, they have the ability, the capability, and the motivation” to engage in the world around them. Taking care of your own happiness isn’t selfish. It’s fuel.
Your Weekend Challenge
Pick just one habit from the list above and do it before Monday. Text an old friend. Write down three good things tonight. Ask someone how they’re really doing, and listen to the whole answer.
With about seven weeks left in the year, small steps like these add up. If you want a bigger plan, try our week-by-week guide to finishing 2026 strong, and start the holiday season with more of what actually makes life good: each other.
