Tools and Tips For a Happier Student Life

March 20th marks International Day of Happiness so we thought we’d share some ideas that might add a little happiness to your life! Mental health awareness and the wellbeing of students has been a major talking point in Ireland of late. While recent studies highlight the difficulties students face, it’s so encouraging to see a wider conversation growing around the topic. We’ve gathered tips from leading experts on happiness which we’ve explored below. We’ve also shared what we know about the subject from the years of working with 1,000s of students!

What the Experts Say…

‘’The Harvard Study’’

Did you know that there is a science to happiness? Harvard University has been conducting a study for the past 75 years which has helped us learn a lot about what makes us happy. Here are some really important findings from the study.

• Social connections are massively important to a person’s wellbeing.
• It’s not the number of connections you have, it’s the quality of them.
• Stronger relationships were linked with better memories as people got older.

The study showed how young people often wished for money and fame at the beginning, however, the friendships and relationships that actually predicted a happier life. Check out this great Ted Talk for more on this particular research.

Happiness Lab

Professor Laurie Santos is a psychologist and cognitive scientist who lectures at Yale University. A new class was launched in Yale in 2018 called ‘Psychology and the Good Life’, spearheaded by Santos. The course tackled questions such as ‘’what makes us happy?’’ and used academic research to answer them.

Within one week, 1,200 students enrolled on the course. It broke the record for Yale’s most popular course in their 316-year history. What’s even better, they now offer the course online for free which you can take in your spare time!

If you don’t have a few spare hours a week for the course, not to worry, Santos also has a podcast. Happiness Lab is a super useful tool where you can learn some real tips that you can implement straight away. We recommend starting from the beginning to get the most benefit out of it. Give it a listen here.

What Point Campus has to say…

Find a Tribe

One of the great things about living at Point Campus is the community you will become a part of. College is a great time to meet new friends and living in Point Campus allows you to meet like-minded people from all around the globe. Finding your tribe or a close-knit group is key to finding happiness. Read this quote from the Blue Zones project, a group who study the longest-living communities in the world.

‘’The world’s longest lived people chose–or were born into–social circles that supported healthy behaviors, Okinawans created ”moais”–groups of five friends that committed to each other for life. Research from the Framingham Studies shows that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness are contagious. So the social networks of long-lived people have favorably shaped their health behaviors.’’

Creating a positive community is incredibly important to us at Point Campus. We host regular events such as parties and outings (links to photos) where we hope you will meet new, lifelong friends. Finding a group, no matter how small, who accepts you and who you can trust is so important for your general happiness.

Find Something you Love

Your college years are great for trying new and different hobbies. Whether it’s paddle-boarding or hiking (links to Point Campus photos), there’s plenty to do in Dublin. Finding something you truly love doing can really increase your happiness levels.

There are plenty of things we all need to do. Whether it’s attending lectures, studying, exercising or eating well, some things can’t (or at least shouldn’t!) be avoided. We need to also remember that we should be making time for those things we actually enjoy doing! These years are the perfect time for you to find something that makes you happy. Maybe you’ve been going on runs to keep fit, but you’ll discover that swimming is what actually makes you happy. Maybe you’ve never truly enjoyed reading because you were reading the wrong genre. We want to challenge you to find one thing you enjoy doing this year. Don’t worry about what other people will think, try that nerdy hobby you’ve always found interesting. Give this list a read for some great ideas!

We’re looking forward to organising many exciting events for our residents at Point Campus. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your passion at our next event! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news.