There’s no one molecule or chemical associated with happiness, but the chemical milieu of the brain and the body is important for setting the stage for the opportunity for happiness

Happiness as a state of brain, mind and body

• Language (definition of happiness, joy, delight, pleasure, meaning) doesn't help in describing body states accurately
• Multiple neurotransmitters and neuromodulators are constantly working in the brain, all of which have an effect on the state of happiness. No single neurotransmitter or neuromodulator is solely responsible or excessively dominant.
• The baseline levels of dopamine and serotonin are highly correlated with self-reported happiness, especially in extreme conditions—very low and very high.
• Harvard longitudinal study on happiness
• Beyond a certain level, happiness doesn't scale with income
• While money cannot buy happiness, it can absolutely buffer stress.
• Sleep, nutrition, social interaction, and purposeful work improve the overall state of well-being, which contributes to an improvement in happiness levels
• People tend to feel blue on birthdays. This is because birthdays present a moment of reflection when we compare our life trajectories and achievements to our peers. This reflection, more often than not, shows us our shortcomings than our achievements. Huberman makes an important point that we don’t evaluate our life trajectories beyond the daily or weekly timeframes properly. This is related to my annual practice of writing year-end emails.
• Chronic smokers or chronic alcohol consumers and their families (especially romantic partners) both report low happiness levels
• Environment and self-directed work at being happy can lead to “synthesised” happiness. While the connotation behind the term “synthesised” happiness could lead one to think that it’s fake or contrived, it is as real as “natural” happiness. This is because these factors (environment and self-directed work at being happy) activate the same neurochemicals and biological pathways that moments of natural happiness do. This ties in to Huberman’s earlier point around not using language/philosophy to describe happiness but using body states to describe the condition.
• Giving resources, certainly in the form of money, but also in the form of effort and time is beneficial for synthesizing our own happiness. (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1150952). The extent of that happiness we experience is dependent on how much the receiver of the help needed it and how did it register with them.
• Our ability to focus on what we’re doing, irrespective of whether what we’re doing is pleasant or unpleasant, has a statistically significant impact on our levels of happiness. (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1192439) Focal meditations, wherein you concentrate on something particular, enhances our ability to focus. Even 5 minutes a day can have an outsized positive impact.
• Social connection, even if it is in the form of brief or superficial interaction, has a link with states of well-being. This is because areas of the brain that are associated with recognising faces is tied to areas of the brain that are associated with emotionality.
• Stroking pets is a form of allogrooming, wherein both humans and the animals, release oxytocin through the interaction.
• The paradox of freedom of choice: When we make a choice and are forced to stick to that choice, we tend to be far happier than if we had an option to change our choice. Connections to: choosing a vocation, choosing a life partner, goal, clothes, etc.

Science-based tools for increasing happiness

• 5 - 20 minutes of sunlight during the early period after you wake up
• Evaluating life activities periodically, and recognising moments of success and happiness is a powerful tool to narrate your life-story differently