How to be happy, according to science Many studies on happiness are nonsense, writes Jacqueline Nesi, a clinical psychologist and researcher. Published studies had often relied on faulty but common publishing practices. There was p-hacking, or manipulating data analyses until statistically significant results were squeezed out, and HARKing (Hypothesizing After Results are Known), or changing one’s hypotheses after the fact to match obtained results. When carefully scrutinized, the findings did not hold up. But studies on happiness based on a new research method called “preregistration” may be more rigorous. Researchers make public their plans for studies, including all the analyses they’re going to run, before they do so. No more after-the-fact tinkering, or selectively reporting certain analyses, or changing the statistical methods until they get the finding they hypothesized. So, what do these studies tell us about being happier? The researchers break down evidence-backed happiness boosters into two categories: addition (things we can add to our lives) and subtraction (things we can eliminate from our lives), Nesi says. One thing we can add to our lives is more gratitude. In one study, participants’ moods improved after being told to write a gratitude letter to someone (without sending it), send a gratitude text or post their gratitude on social media, Nesi writes. Think about how grateful you are for someone in your life, and consider telling them. Read more below about what else you can add to your life, and what you can take away to be happier. Guest Column Jacqueline Nesi | | | Boosting our immune systems as we age This week, our Ask a Doctor column is by Netana Markovitz, MD, a resident physician in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School in Boston. I’ve noticed I’m getting more colds as I get older. What can I do to give my immune system a boost? Like the rest of your body, your immune system ages, too. This contributes to higher rates of illnesses such as respiratory infections. Scientists haven’t found strong data to support any one pill or supplement to prevent this — or give our immune systems a “boost.” But they have conducted plenty of research on how we can keep our immune systems healthy as we age. Much of that requires going back to basics: staying up-to-date on vaccines, getting regular exercise and good sleep, eating healthfully and reducing stress. You might also be surprised to learn about another lifestyle intervention: social connection. Social isolation and loneliness might impair your immune system, and social connection may actually have benefits. For example, one large study of more than 450,000 participants in the United Kingdom and Finland found that loneliness was associated with a higher risk of severe infection requiring hospitalization. Read her full response below. And use our Ask a Doctor form to submit a question, and we may answer it in a future column. Column Netana Markovitz, MD | | | Find your joy snack! Here are a few things that brought us joy this week. Let’s keep the conversation going. We want to hear from you! Email us at wellbeing@washpost.com. Want to know more about “joy” snacks? Our Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima explains. You can also read this story as a comic. | 
