Human Genes Affected by Different Types of Happiness

A latest study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of North Carolina states that a good states of mind i.e. being happy, affects your genes and that different types of happiness have  different impacts on the human genome. In this study the researchers have examined the impact of positive psychology on human gene expression.

This study was conducted by Steven Cole, a UCLA professor of medicine and a member of the UCLA Cousins Center, and Barbara L. Fredrickson from the University of North Carolina.

Previously, researchers have examined how the human genome responds to fear, stress, misery and other types of negative psychology.

In the current study, researchers have tried to analyze how human genomes response to positive psychology. They even tried to analyze whether a good state of mind activates a different kind of gene expression.

To proceed with the study the researchers examined the biological inference of both hedonic and eudaimonic well being through the human genome lens- 21,000 genes that have evolved fundamentally to help humans survive and be well.

Eudaimonic well being is the happiness that one gets from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life. Hedonic well being is the happiness one receives from 'consummatory' self gratification.

On analyzing the data the researchers saw that people with greater levels of eudaimonic well being displayed a favorable gene expression profile in their immune cells. Apart from that, they had reduced levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong antiviral and antibody genes.

The hedonic followers had an adverse expression profile that involved high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression.

"Both seemed to have the same high levels of positive emotion. However, their genomes were responding very differently even though their emotional states were similarly positive. What this study tells us is that doing good and feeling good have very different effects on the human genome, even though they generate similar levels of positive emotion. Apparently, the human genome is much more sensitive to different ways of achieving happiness than are conscious min," Cole concluded.

The study was published in journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.