Perhapsitcomesasnosurprisetofindthathealthierpeoplearehappierthanthosewhoarentashealthy.Infact,a2006reportpublishedbythePewResearchCenterfoundthat48percentofpeoplewhoratedtheirhealthas“excellent”describedthemselvesas“veryhappy”,whileonly15percentofthosewhoratedtheirhealthas“poor”saidthesame.

Afterall,itshardertobehappywhenlivingwithchronicpainorillnessorwhenfacedwithapotentiallylife-threateningcondition.Whilehealthisstronglytiedtohappiness,lackofhealthisevenmorestronglycorrelatedwithlackofhappiness.Ofthosewhoratedtheirhealthas“poor,”awhopping55percentdescribedthemselvesas“nottoohappy,”whileonly6percentofthosein“excellent”healthsaidthesame.

AccordingtothePewResearchCenter,health—alongwithreligionandmarriage—wereamongthestrongestpredictorsofhappiness,evenwhenadjustingforavarietyofothervariables.