In one set of studies, depressed
participants were invited to take a few minutes once a day to
relish something that they usually hurry through, such as eating a
meal or taking a shower. When it was over, they were instructed to
write down in what ways they had experienced the event differently
as well as how that felt compared with the times when they rushed
through it.
In another study, healthy students and community members were
instructed to savor two pleasurable experiences per day, by
reflecting on each for two or three minutes and trying to make the
pleasure last as long and as intensely as possible. In all these
studies those participants prompted to practice savoring,
regularly showed significant increases in happiness and reductions
in depression.
Researchers told people to smile and the subjects actually felt
happier. More than 26,000 people were randomly assigned to groups
and asked to carry out various exercises designed to make them
happier. When it came to increasing happiness, those altering
their facial expressions came out on top.