Living in the moment, yoga and pleasurable activities

There have been three interesting pieces of research over the last couple of days which shed some light on happiness.

Firstly, scientists have linked a wandering mind with unhappiness, suggesting living in the moment is the key to happiness. People were happiest when having sex, exercising or in conversation and unhappiest when working, resting or using a home computer. From the Guardian:

The authors write in the journal Science: "A human mind is a wandering mind and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost."

The authors are also apparently confident that a wandering mind caused unhappiness rather than the other way round.

Secondly, yoga produces a chemical in the brain that reduces stress and anxiety, a study has found.

And pleasurable activities, such as eating tasty food, also appear to inhibit anxiety responses in the brain. The researchers point out that even small amounts of food can have the desired effect.

Also, a new mentoring service for combat veterans with mental health problems has been launched.

Finally, regulators have expressed alarm over mental health standards at a hospital in Wolverhampton.

(Pic: lululemon athletica on flickr)