In the fast-paced world we live in, it’s easy to lose sight of what really matters in favor of what is absolutely necessary. For example, some would argue that joy is not essential. While it may not get anything checked off of your to-do list, it’s still incredibly important and can mean the difference between a good day and a bad one.
People think of joy as being a big emotion, but it can easily be divided into small micro-acts. One group of researchers set out to prove that incorporating these micro-acts in your day would truly make a difference.
A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research used the Big Joy Project as a way to measure the impact of small acts of joy on people from various backgrounds. The Big Joy Project is a week-long initiative that invites participants to complete a small act of joy that takes between five and 10 minutes to complete each day. 17,598 people from across the world took part in the Big Joy Project while also answering questionnaires from the research team about their quality of life.
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The tasks that participants completed included things like asking someone else to share something that made them happy, thinking of three positive things that came out of a difficult time, and making an eight-point gratitude list. Before and after each activity, they were asked to rate their pleasant and unpleasant emotions. In addition, prior to and following the seven-day period of time, participants answered 18 questions that measured their well-being.
According to the researchers, “Participants reported an increase in emotional well-being, positive emotions, and happiness agency after the intervention. Moreover, participants reported a decrease in perceived stress and an increase in self-reported health and sleep quality after the intervention.” They noted that the results of the Big Joy Project actually resembled those of “more complex, multicomponent studies” that took more effort than just a quick five minutes a day.
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Speaking to Good HousekeepingDarwin A. Guevarra, PhD, the assistant professor and director of the Affective Science and Psychophysiology Laboratory at Miami University, and one of the authors of the study, shared how the study demonstrated that joy is really achievable. “We also wanted to test if the effects were real in the ‘messy’ real world, not just in a controlled lab,” he said.
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He also addressed the way their findings compared to more sophisticated studies. “We believe these small actions are powerful because they tap into the same core psychological mechanisms that longer interventions do — like generating positive emotions, reinforcing a sense of meaning and fulfilling our need for connection and ness,” he said. “The difference is, they do it with much less time and effort. Even just a few minutes a day can spark emotional shifts that add up, especially when those moments are repeated and intentional.”
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The Mayo Clinic pointed out that experiencing joy is even more important in a world where we are all constantly stressed. In fact, 27% of American adults admitted to feeling such an intense amount of stress that they struggled to function. Knowing that these small micro-acts of joy can decrease stress makes participating seem even more motivating.
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The Mayo Clinic also shared that joy is a very individual feeling. Every person experiences it differently and feels it as a result of different experiences. This means it’s worth it to take some time to figure out what specifically brings you joy and make it a part of your life as much as possible.
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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
