Finland tops world happiness rankings, South Sudan bottom — UN

HELSINKI, Finland — Finland ranked as the world's happiest country for the second year running while war-torn South Sudan sank to the least contented in a United Nations report released on Wednesday.

The Nordic nation of 5.5 million people, known for their love of forests, lakes and saunas, topped the study which used survey data asking citizens in 156 countries how happy they perceive themselves to be, as well as measures such as life expectancy, income and social support.

The other Nordic countries, as well as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand and Austria also made the top ten.


As well as performing well on all the indicators, the most content countries all tended to have very stable societies, with happiness levels changing comparatively little since 2005.

Despite the political turmoil brought by Brexit, Britain rose four places in the rankings to 15th.

The United States, meanwhile, continued its slide of recent years, dropping one spot to 19th place.

"This year's report provides sobering evidence of how addictions are causing considerable unhappiness and depression in the US," said professor Jeffrey Sachs, one of the report's authors.

The unhappiest nation was South Sudan, where the UN recently said 60 percent of people face food insecurity following a bloody civil war which has claimed the lives of an estimated 400,000 people.

Other conflict-ridden countries, such as Yemen, Afghanistan and the Central African Republic, also featured at the bottom of the table.

Released on the International Day of Happiness on March 20, the report warned that world happiness has declined in recent years, driven by a sustained fall in India, which this year ranked in 140th place.

This has coincided with a rise in negative feelings, "comprising worry, sadness and anger, especially marked in Asia and Africa, and more recently elsewhere," it said.

This year's publication also looked at how countries have performed in the happiness rankings since 2005.

Of the 20 largest gainers, half are in Central and Eastern Europe, five are in sub-Saharan Africa, and three in Latin America.

The five largest declines since 2005 were in Yemen, India, Syria, Botswana and Venezuela.

source: philstar.com

Weekly sex makes for happy couples: US study

How much sex is enough? Just once a week is all it takes for optimal happiness among married heterosexual couples and those in long-term relationships, said a US study Wednesday.

The findings are based on surveys of more than 30,000 Americans collected over four decades, and are published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

"Although more frequent sex is associated with greater happiness, this link was no longer significant at a frequency of more than once a week," said lead researcher Amy Muise, a social psychologist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto-Mississauga.

"Our findings suggest that it's important to maintain an intimate connection with your partner, but you don't need to have sex everyday as long as you're maintaining that connection."

Researchers noted that the study was not designed to show cause-and-effect, so it remains unknown whether happiness leads to weekly sex, or if weekly sex arouses more joy in life.

The study was also limited to people in romantic relationships, not single people.

"In fact, there was no association between sexual frequency and well-being for single people," said Muise.

The findings were also consistent across age groups, gender and the length of the relationship -- whether months or decades.

Muise said couples should discuss whether their sexual needs are being met, rather than simply press for more sex.

"It's important to maintain an intimate connection with your partner without putting too much pressure on engaging in sex as frequently as possible," she said.

source: interaksyon.com

Miraculous Mandarin tea for the Year of the Snake at TWG

MANILA, Philippines - TWG Tea, the world's finest luxury tea brand, celebrates Chinese New Year with the unveiling of new products for the occasion. In a tribute to the upcoming Year of the Snake, the brand launches the bewitching Sahara teapots and teacups and saucers in gold and in silver. And, to fill your cups with brimming prosperity and happiness and to perfume the air with an ambience of rare and precious essences, TWG Tea suggests the Miraculous Mandarin Caviar tin tea and Miraculous Mandarin tea scented candle.

A legendary symbol of knowledge and immortality, the serpent is a potent guardian of good fortune, health and vigor. The spectacular design and detailing of this majestic creature on each Sahara Teapot require weeks of precise handiwork by a master craftsman. The 18-carat gold Sahara Teapot boasts alluring green Swarovski crystal eyes, while the silver plated version has the same in red.

Star the Year of the Snake with a lucky pot of Miraculous Mandarin Tea, packaged in a perfectly round Caviar tea tin. This modern twist to your customary Chinese New Year offerings of mandarin oranges brings an extra tinge of sweetness to reunions. A mélange of warm, rich black tea blended with the fresh tartness of orchard fruits and notes of delicate sweetness, the blend is a miraculous tea of delight.

TWG Tea's talisman red scented candle, accented by alluring notes of Miraculous Mandarin Tea, is a perfect addition to your home during these festivities. Welcome the Chinese New Year with the color that wards off bad omens and the fragrance of sweet fruits that represents good luck for the future. This sensory feast of fresh tonalities of tea leaves, rare resins, warm spices and mythical blossoms bring to mind fond celebrations of family traditions. Miraculous Mandarin Tea Scented Candle is also available elegantly packaged in TWG Tea Gift Box with Sleeve accompanied by Saturn Tea Tin in Red filled with 100 grams of Miraculous Mandarin Loose Tea.

source: philstar.com

Fresh fruits, vegetables keep young people happy: NZ research

WELLINGTON - An apple a day not only keeps the doctor, but also the psychiatric counselor away for young people, according to a New Zealand study.

Eating more fruit and vegetables could make young people calmer, happier and more energetic in their daily life, researchers at the University of Otago found.

Psychology researcher Dr. Tamlin Conner, and Dr. Caroline Horwath and Bonnie White, of the Department of Human Nutrition, investigated the relationship between day-to-day emotions and food consumption.

A total of 281 people with an average age of 20 completed an Internet-based daily food diary for 21 consecutive days, said a statement from the university Thursday.

Each day, they rated how they felt using nine positive and nine negative adjectives, and answered five questions about what they had eaten that day.

Specifically, participants were asked to report the number of servings eaten of fruit and vegetables (excluding juices and dried fruit) and several categories of unhealthy foods like cookies, potato crisps and cakes.

The results showed a strong day-to-day relationship between a more positive mood and higher fruit and vegetable consumption, but not other foods.

"On days when people ate more fruits and vegetables, they reported feeling calmer, happier and more energetic than they normally did," Conner said in the statement.

The researchers also found that eating fruits and vegetables predicted improvements in positive mood the next day, suggesting that healthy foods could improve mood.

"After further analysis we demonstrated that young people would need to consume approximately seven to eight total servings of fruits and vegetables per day to notice a meaningful positive change," said Conner.

The study was published in the British Journal of Health Psychology on Thursday.

source: interaksyon.com