Know what’s awesome? Sex. Know what’s awful? “Recovering from illness.” In case you were wondering what’s most enjoyable in life and what’s least, the University of Canterbury in New Zealand has broken it down for everyone. (Thank goodness!)
One result from the poll that we can definitely agree with is sex ranks number one on the list of activities that make us happy. Coming in at number two is drinking alcohol, and number three was volunteering. Here are the two top-10 lists:
TOP-RANKED ACTIVITIES
1: Sex
3: Volunteering
4: Meditating/religion
5: Caring for children
7: Socialising
8: Hobbies
9: Shopping
10: Gaming
WORST-RANKED ACTIVITIES
1: Recovering from sickness
2: Facebook
3: Housework
4: Studying
5: Texting
6: Going to lectures
7: Paid work
8: Commuting
9: Computer work
10: Washing
He explains the two “good” and “bad” lists like this:Happiness is really three-pronged, says researcher Carsten Grimm, who conducted the poll via text message, the Daily Mail reports: “Psychologists have proposed that individuals may seek to increase their well-being through three main behavioural orientations; via pleasure, via engagement, and via meaning.”
He goes on to say:
“Having sex is (no surprise) highest on all measures of happiness.
“Being sick is again, no surprise, relatively low on all measures. Going to lectures, or studying, is low on pleasure and happiness, but ranks relatively high on meaning.
“The results have implications for what psychologists have called `the full life.’
“Those who tend to be high on all three orientations to happiness not only score high on life satisfaction, they also tend to have higher experiences of pleasure, meaning, engagement and happiness in their daily lives.
“This means that being able to seek happiness in different ways may enrich your everyday experience and increase your overall well-being.”
So perhaps all sex and no volunteering makes us dull people, but it still sounds pretty tempting.
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