Positive psychologists such as Csikszentmihalyi point out that the key to happiness is to be actively involved in your life. Whereas sitting around doing very little can be a drain. It is not surprising therefore to learn of the recent findings of a study on retirees carried out at the University of Maryland, in the US. 12,189 participants aged between 51 and 61 years at the start of the study were interviewed every two years over a six year period. Those people who continued to do temporary or part-time work in retirement had better health and quality of life compared to those fully retired. Mental health improvements were also found if the work was similar to what was carried out in their previous career. No mental health improvements were found if the job was unrelated. So the lessons are: consider doing some work during retirement, preferably related to your career, else take up a hobby that is engaging and engrossing.

Spending too much time in front of the TV has been linked with high blood pressure. What makes this finding more startling is that the link has been found in children. 111 three to eight year olds had their activity levels tracked for one week. During this time they wore an accelerometer which measured how active they were and their parents logged how their children spent their time. On average, children were sedentary for five hours a day and the average child was in front of the screen for 90 minutes a day. However, those children who logged the most hours watching TV or playing computer games recorded higher blood pressure levels, compared to those who just watched TV for 30 minutes. Body weight was not an issue. In other words, the health risk was present whether the child was overweight or not. The study was carried out by Eisenmann and colleagues and was published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Giving up smoking is not only good for your physical health - it can be good for your wellbeing also. A Cancer Research UK study sought the opinions of 879 people who had quit smoking and 69.3 per cent of respondents reported feeling happier from giving up the habit. Only 3.3 per cent said they felt less happy. Those people who had given up a year ago were happier than those who had given up more recently. Interestingly, no differences were found between people who had been heavy smokers and those who smoked fewer cigarettes. Quitting smoking is not easy, but it is possible and the accomplishment of such a goal will seem a great achievement to many.

Happiness ratings are greater for people who have a better understanding of health information. The study, led by University of Alabama professor Eric Angner involved 383 participants aged 50 or over. They were asked about their ability to read and understand health and medical information and their happiness levels were also taken. Those who had problems reading and understanding such information were shown to be twice as unhappy as their more heath-literate counterparts. Angner suggests that the reduced feelings of control which would be felt by people with such difficulties have a direct impact on a person's happiness levels. A 2004 survey in the US estimated that 90 million Americans had problems understanding health information.

Smokers report feeling greater stress than non-smokers and those people who have quit. 50% of smokers reported frequent stress, compared to 35% of people who have quit and 31% of those who have never smoked. The Social and Demographic Trends survey conducted by the Pew Research Centre in the US was unable to say if smoking itself was the cause of stress, or if people who smoke generally experience more stress in their life. The survey also revealed that non-smokers and quitters were happier, healthier and more satisfied with their life, compared to current smokers.  2,250 adults took part in the study.

An analysis of 173 studies revealed a link between media viewing and the health of children and adolescents. Three quarters of the studies found that watching TV, using computers and playing video games had a harmful effect on children. The more time spent engaged in these activities, the more likely the child was to be obese, take up smoking and begin early sexual activity. One study noted that 3 year olds watching more than 8 hours of TV a week were more likely to be obese at the age of 7. Many toddlers in the US are watching more than 8 hours a week. The majority of the studies were conducted in the US and were analysed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Yale University and the California Pacific Medical Centre.

Research has consistently found that unemployment can have a negative effect on wellbeing, happiness and even health. In fact, once a person is working, their happiness levels boost dramatically - even if they are in a low paying job. Analysis of the Household and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey found people who earned minimum wage were as satisfied with their life as middle income earners and only slightly less satisfied that the top 25% of wage earners. Over 7000 people took part in the survey. Other research has found that people who do volunteer work are also satisfied with their lives.