Is Happiness Contagious? Research Says Yes

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One of my favorite things to do when I’m out and about is smile at people. The responses to this are varied. Sometimes, I get no response because they never notice me smiling at them. But sometimes, I get a smile back, even a big one—that would be about half the time, I guess. And you can see that their day is different, just as mine is at that moment.

We connected in a level of shared happiness.

I’ve been doing this for years, and people sometimes tease me about it. I do it wherever I am traveling, whether big city or small town. I like to smile at people. It can even turn into a conversation. For a moment, in that pause, we connect.

Doing this has a positive effect on my own life. The smiles that are returned and the “hellos” make my day more pleasant. I get bursts of joy throughout the day just connecting like this. This action is an important part of who I am, and I will be continuing the gesture.

Does it make a difference in others?

There was a study related to this subject conducted by researchers at Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego. The study included 5,000 people for more than 20 years, and the goal was to see if happiness just might be contagious. The results: It is contagious.

What I found even more interesting is that it’s not only contagious to the person you meet, but it’s also contagious to others that they meet. Happiness spreads in three degrees of affecting people. So, imagine, I am walking in New York City, and I smile at someone, and I get a smile back. We connect and share happiness. Then that person will affect someone else, and that second person will affect a third. And not only that, but these effects can last for up to a year.

Does sadness work the same way?

Researchers wanted to understand if sadness spread like happiness. It doesn’t, and that’s good. So, happiness is contagious, but sadness is not.

What does this mean for us?

Let me share a quick disclaimer: I am a 6 ft. tall man, and when I smile at someone, I’m not really worried about the response I will get. As a woman, however, the response may not be the same, so, you need to use social skills. You must discern how the person may interpret the smile, as people see things differently and you wouldn’t want to send the wrong message.

This even pertains to me. I met a woman in Peru and was polite to her. I smiled, but then she followed me through several different stores. She may have wanted to sell me something and thought I was a good buyer. I wasn’t interested, but I was smiling. I think it gave her false hope. So, you must be careful.

As studies show, your happiness is contagious.

Let’s start with the basics.

You may not believe this study, as we’ve become more skeptical in recent times. So, let’s do our own experiment: Try reaching out to people with kindness, happiness, and joy. When you’re in a good mood, call up some friends and say, “How’s it going?” Just share your joy and happiness with them. Be around people when you’re in a good mood, and then later that day, notice whether they are in a better mood because of you. And, if possible, explore whether they went home and put their family in a better mood. The experiment is easy, and the results aren’t usually difficult to notice.

Another way to prove this theory is when we’re around another person who is in a good mood. It is incredibly hard to stay in a grumpy mood when you’re around someone who is pleasant. It changes your demeanor. While this may not work every single time, it’s often enough to really make a difference. Our attitude affects the people around us.

We have a tool to make people’s lives better.

Think in terms of money. Imagine you have $500 in your pocket, and you’re going to give $100 away to different people. Now, you should only have $400 left when you give your first $100, but, instead, you have $600 or $700 left. What would you do in that situation?

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Personally, I would be giving money away like crazy. Our happiness is much like that. When we are in a good mood and share that with others, I believe it does make us even happier. Although the study didn’t mention that part, I believe it’s true. It certainly doesn’t make us less happy by sharing the happiness. This means that even if we’re left with $500 every time, we would not be giving our happiness away. Our happiness is blessing us and other people.

Can you imagine if we all believed this?

What would our world be like if we all implemented this in our lives? Maybe we cannot change the whole world, but we can change our own. And we must make sure to constantly work on our own happiness so we can do this. So many people are struggling, and we can be the change in their lives. We can make a huge difference.

And even if we never see the impact our contagious happiness has on some of the people down the line, we still know it’s happening. There are many ways we can show positive feelings and kindness. Sometimes it’s a work in progress, especially if we need a little help getting out of our comfort zone.

And we can simply share happiness during our ordinary day—being nice to the waitress at a restaurant, a person at the store, or even the one who cuts our hair. All the people who we connect with, even when we wave at others when driving, can be happier.

Our happiness is contagious.

Understand that, occasionally, we may get pushback as some people may not accept our smiles or kindness. Just move on and keep smiling. This may not be often, and we can’t let the bad experience keep us from sharing happiness with the world. If one person doesn’t accept the positive gesture, then just share it with someone else.

And if we are struggling, then maybe we should find people who are happier, so they can help us. If we are happy, then we should share this with others. In this, our world can truly begin to be a better place.