Don't worry, be happy

The WHO wants us to be happy: it's good for our health. This study derived from the Framingham study, finds that

1. Happy people tend to be at the centre of large groups of other happy people
2. Your happiness is related to the happiness of people you may not even know who are up to three degrees removed from you (such as your friend's friend's friend)
3. Happiness ripples through social networks, spreading like a contagious disease
4. You don't have to be friends with people just like you.

I think this means we should stay connected to lots of different people - preferably happy ones but not necessarily all the same.

Source: BMJ 2008;337:a2338

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Dr Ann Robinson, BMJ Group