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Part Fun, Part Science: Today Is The Happiest Day

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Smile. According to this study, you'll be happier today than any other day this year.

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2008

Dump the doldrums, and put a spring in your step.

Today is the happiest day of the year.

Don't sweat the stuff you can't control. Sky-high gas prices? This too shall pass. On the brink of foreclosure? Renting has its benefits. Food costs spiraling upward? A good reason to diet.

What's so special about June 20? A Wales-based researcher named Cliff Arnell is taking credit for discovering today's hyper-happy potential. He devised an elaborate scientific equation based on physical, emotional and stress factors that pointed to today as the optimum time for cheer and joy. Among the factors: It's the first day of summer - which means happy memories, more time to enjoy nature and the anticipation of holidays and vacations.

"Happiness is a physical state of the brain," says Kathleen Hall, author and founder of The Stress Institute in Atlanta. "Plenty of science goes into this way of thinking. Put your mind to it, and create your own happiness."

Laughter and humor are the best prescriptions for good health, she says. They make your brain function better, boost your immune system and drop your blood pressure.

Hall, who has a master's in divinity from Emory University and a doctorate in spirituality from Columbia Theological Seminary, is all about promoting happiness.

She points to a study released at an Emory conference last year: In 1960, the average age of onset depression was 65. In 2007, it was 24.

"Hello, Houston, we have a problem," she says.

Every day is Happy Day to Jack Leslie, 51. He's a valet at Tampa General Hospital from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Everyone who comes to the main entrance gets a 1,000-watt smile and a buoyant greeting from Leslie.

Some people ask what drug he's on. He tells them: Never had a drug, drink or cigarette my whole life. And he's been married 28 years, to the first and only girl he ever kissed.

He says he's juiced on Jesus and thanks God every morning when he wakes up.

"Treat people nice, just the way you want to be treated. And if something is bad, I always look for the good. You can find good in everything if you look hard enough."

Most important - he points to his heart - "Be happy inside, be happy with yourself."

Reporter Michelle Bearden can be reached at (813) 259-7613 or mbearden@tampatrib.com.

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