Money can buy you happiness, says study suggesting more is more
Put Sgt Pepper back in its sleeve – after 60 years, A Hard Day’s Night is still the Beatles at their joyful best
Colin Fleming
Brief letters
Now that’s not what I call a lazy journalist
Agent of Happiness review – Bhutan surveyors attempt to analyse joy
Brief letters
Up with the lark, but not by choice
The cult of 5am: is rising at dawn the secret of health and happiness?
June 2024
Why being perfect isn’t really worth it
Euro visions
‘You can do anything here!’ Why Lithuania is the best place in the world to be young
How to build a better life
I’m a recovering perfectionist. Here’s how I embraced the joy of ‘good enough’
Making sense of it
Yes, praying and posing can bring joy – but true spirituality demands something more of us
Jackie Bailey
April 2024
Ball pits and bodacious pigs: my week in search of happiness and wonder
I don’t want to be cynical or pessimistic, but it’s difficult in such gloomy times. Can I find a way to tap into my playful side?
March 2024
US falls out of world’s top 20 happiest countries list for the first time ever
World Happiness Report sounds alarm about the welfare of young people
Young people becoming less happy than older generations, research shows
Observer letters
The key to happiness is equality
February 2024
Isolated Indigenous people as happy as wealthy western peers – study
Hidden gems from the world of research
The sting of losing an election hurts worse when it comes as a big surprise
Torsten Bell
January 2024
Can ‘micro-acts of joy’ make you happier? I tried them for seven days
I’m not naturally overflowing with contentment, and I’m not optimistic that this Californian programme is the answer – but I’m ready to give Big JOY a chance
Hidden gems from the world of research
We’re happy as children, but it’s all downhill from there until we’re pushing 60
Torsten Bell
Don’t fret about having a midlife crisis – you probably deserve cheering up by then
Don’t strive for perfection – find happiness in the everyday
Letter: Life is not a performance, subject to the judgment of others, so put satisfaction over self-improvement, writes Yvonne Williams
