Friday, December 25, 2009

"Hey, how happy are you?"

Moodiness just doesn't happen in women; apparently states are experiencing "mood swings" according to some recent happiness studies.

There is an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal this week written by Carl Bialik. It presents the findings from some recent polls given to Americans about why they are happy or not-so-happy. One result: "People who are employed, married and high income-earning tend to be happier." - Duh.

Another result: "Researchers showed that states with happier people tended to be the same as states with the best coastlines, air quality and quick commutes, among other considerations."

Here are some of the rankings from the study that appeared in Science which is based on the answers to the survey question, "In general, how satisfied are you with your life?":

The top 10:
  1. Louisiana
  2. Hawaii
  3. Florida
  4. Tennessee
  5. Arizona
  6. South Carolina
  7. Mississippi
  8. Montana
  9. Alabama
  10. Maine

Where does Ohio rank? Sadly, we are No. 42. And who was at the bottom of the list? No. 50 - New York.

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