On the Influence of Happiness on Human Health

Abstract

The article considers the concept and phenomen on of happiness from the perspective of different authors. The subjective perception and interpretation of the term happiness and the vital interest in this phenomen on by such sciences as philosophy, ethics, psychology, history, medicine. The concept of happiness in a narrow (fate, talent, luck, success, joy) and broad (psycho-emotional state of complete satisfaction with life, a sense of complete joy) senses has been covered. The ratings of the countries on the level of happiness among population (WorldHappinessReport) and the «happiness index» studied by the international foundation NEF (NewEconomicsFoundation) have been analyzed, along with the position of Ukraine. The finding soft helongest-running study from Harvard University, which aimed to find out what makes people happy from adolescence to old age, have been presented. It has been found that good relationships with people make us happier and healthier. Good social connections are good for us, but loneliness shortens life. It was proved that the happiest of the participants in the experiment, even feeling physicalpain, stayed positive. In stead, un happy people feltthat the physical pain became even stronger dueto a bad emotional state. The importance of a spouse supporting, and its positive impact on such a process as memory was emphasized. Instead, it was noted that their memory did not deteriorate as rapidly as in single people. Key words: health, life satisfaction, feelings of happiness, level of happiness.