#13 A Guide to Happiness: 5 Science-Backed Habits That Will Make You Happier

Is there a guide to happiness? Yes—and it’s supported by science. In this episode, I’m sharing 5 simple habits you can start practicing today that can truly transform the quality of your life and help you feel happier.

Have a beautiful day. My name is Karolina, and welcome to my podcast Heal Yourself, where I share my own healing journey along with the experiences I’ve gathered as a guide supporting others on their path to healing the body and soul, so that you, too, can heal yourself.

Is there such a thing as a guide to happiness? Yes, and it’s backed by research. In this episode, I’m sharing five specific habits you can start practicing right away that have the power to transform the quality of your life and make you happier.

It turns out that constant economic growth and more money do not actually make us happier in the long run. And now we even have scientific data to support this. It’s known as the Easterlin Paradox, which suggests that once we reach a certain level of well-being, one that is actually quite basic, our happiness stops increasing.

This level is simply when our basic needs are met: we have a place to live, enough food every day, access to basic healthcare, and education. Once we reach this point, additional wealth no longer increases our happiness, and in some cases, subjective happiness can even decrease. This is something researchers have observed again and again across different economies around the world. It truly holds.

So if money doesn’t make us happier, what does?

Because even though we are objectively living better and better lives, rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and overall dissatisfaction are still rising.

At Harvard University, researchers studied different aspects of life that contribute to happiness. They discovered many factors, but one stood above all the others, a factor that strongly determines how happy and fulfilled we feel throughout our lives.

Can you guess what it was?

Relationships.

The depth and quality of our relationships.

Stable, long-term, meaningful, and deep relationships are the strongest predictor of a happy and fulfilled life.

So the first habit you can bring into your daily life is connection.

If you live with someone, you can focus on deepening your relationship with your partner, roommate, or friend. If you can include physical touch, like a genuine hug, that alone releases a large amount of oxytocin, the hormone that enhances connection, belonging, and overall happiness.

Scientists have found that for a hug to fully calm your nervous system and release enough oxytocin, it should last at least 20 seconds. So a truly present, long hug, where you focus fully on the other person and allow yourself to experience the moment without your mind drifting elsewhere.

Even something as simple as a smile creates connection. If you live with someone, the first thing you can do in the morning is smile, wish them a good morning, and ask how they slept.

And if you live alone, you can call someone regularly or make an effort to leave the house each day and have some form of real human interaction. The deeper the interaction, the better.

Group activities are amazing for this, group sports, yoga classes, dancing, or anything that helps you connect with others.

And it’s not about quantity. What matters far more is the quality, depth, and stability of your relationships. They should feel like a pillar in your life, something you can rely on, something that won’t disappear overnight.

These relationships hold everything else together. Even when things fall apart in other areas of your life, deep and stable relationships can support you and help maintain your sense of happiness, even during difficult times.

Another powerful way to increase your happiness is movement.

Your body, and your entire nervous system, loves movement. It doesn’t have to be anything intense. Even walking is enough.

Walking is such a natural, gentle form of movement, and we as humans evolved to be in motion. Movement supports your lymphatic system, circulation, and overall organ function.

When you give your body movement, it rewards you by making you feel good, because movement releases endorphins, the hormones of happiness.

But it’s important that you actually enjoy the movement you choose. If you constantly have to force yourself, it won’t have the same positive effect.

Some people genuinely love the gym, the community, the energy. For me, the gym never felt natural. I realized I was mostly using a yoga mat and occasionally a treadmill, things I could easily do outside or at home.

For some people, it’s dancing. For others, it’s yoga.

And for me, it’s surfing.

I absolutely love surfing, even though I’m not very good at it yet. And that doesn’t stop me from enjoying it.

When I return to surfing after time away, my whole body hurts, my shoulders, my back, but I don’t care. I wake up early, especially at sunrise, when the ocean is quiet, and I just listen to the waves.

For me, it’s the most beautiful form of dynamic meditation.

I love that I can’t take my phone with me. Even when I’m surrounded by breathtaking views, I remind myself: just experience it. Be present. Don’t capture it, live it.

Surfing requires full attention. You have to constantly observe the waves, whether to catch one, avoid one, or move. If you lose focus, the wave will simply take you down.

And when I do catch a wave, even for just a few seconds, it’s an incredible feeling.

I truly hope you find something like that, something that makes movement feel effortless, something you love so much that the movement becomes just a byproduct of joy.

And if you can combine it with being in nature, even better, because time in nature also significantly increases happiness.

Another essential habit is meditation.

Meditation brings a different kind of happiness, one that doesn’t depend on external circumstances.

It’s a deep sense of peace, a feeling that everything is okay, no matter what’s happening around you.

Regular meditation can create this stable inner state, a kind of anchor that holds you steady even when life becomes challenging.

Even if you lose someone or something important, this inner calm can prevent you from falling into deep despair and help you return to balance.

You can start very simply, even just two minutes of focusing on your breath or your body.

I actually have a two-minute meditation on YouTube, which became my most popular one. But over time, I recommend extending it to 5, 10, or even 20 minutes.

Consistency is key. Even a few minutes every day can create profound changes over time.

Another habit that increases happiness is limiting screen time.

Even reducing screen time by just two hours a day has been shown to significantly increase happiness and feelings of connection.

Ironically, while social media is meant to connect us, it often does the opposite, it distances us from real relationships.

For me, this is still something I work on. Even with all my mindfulness training, I sometimes feel I lose control when I open Instagram.

These platforms are designed to be addictive, endless scrolling, constant dopamine hits.

That’s why I regularly do digital detoxes, completely deleting Instagram for a week or even a month.

And every time, I feel so much happier, more present, more connected, and I suddenly have so much more time.

You don’t have to go that far, but small boundaries help. For example, no phone two hours before bed, no phone in the morning until 10 AM, and no screens while eating.

These simple rules create pockets of presence in your day, and they make a huge difference.

And finally, gratitude.

Even though we are objectively living better lives than ever, we often forget how good we actually have it.

Simple things, like a warm shower, were unimaginable luxuries just 100 years ago.

We live like royalty compared to the past.

And simply reminding yourself of this can significantly increase your happiness.

Every evening, write down three things you’re grateful for.

This simple practice has been proven to boost happiness, and it’s also a powerful antidote to stress, because you cannot feel grateful and stressed at the same time.

And one last thing that deeply affects your happiness is sleep.

Good sleep isn’t just a habit, it’s a skill.

To support you with this, I’ve included a sleep meditation with this episode to help you fall asleep faster and reach deeper, more restorative sleep, so you can wake up feeling energized, happy, and balanced.

You can find the link in the description, along with a longer version available on my website if you’d like an uninterrupted experience.

Thank you so much for listening and for being here with me today.

I wish you a beautiful rest of your day, and I look forward to seeing, or hearing, you again in the next episode.

With love,
Karolina