While many people might not take these thoughts into consideration, a recent study explained how you might be able to subconsciously improve your well-being simply based on where you live or vacation in the United States.
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| Photo courtesy of usatoday.com |
Each year, Gallup and Healthways partner up to release findings on how the 50 states' well-being compares to one another.
The Gallup-Healthways partnership uses the Well-Being Index (WBI) to calculate the well-being of each state. The partnership contacts at least 500 adults in the U.S. 350 days per year via phone to administer a survey to gain the information needed to generate this report using the WBI. The surveys provide "real-time measurement and insights needed to improve health, increase productivity, and lower healthcare costs." This daily assessment is the first of its kind to measure six different metrics of a U.S. citizen's life -
- Life Evaluation
- Physical Health
- Emotional Health
- Healthy Behavior
- Work Environment
- Basic Access
For the next few posts, I'll be doing a series within a series tackling this striking realization of mine. "The United States of Well-Being" series will look at different regions within the United States and take a closer look at which regions positively influence a person's well-being and which regions negatively influence a person's well-being and why this all happens to be.
Be sure to stay tuned ... you might want to rethink your vacation destination!
These studies on the well-being of cities, states and nations are very intriguing. How is it that merely walking across an artificial geographical boundary makes it more or less likely that you will experience positive psychological well-being? The differences can be dramatic, e.g., the happiness of an American living in Detroit as compared to a Canadian living just 700 yards away in Windsor. These kinds of contrasts are present within cities too, e.g., New Yorkers living in Harlem compared to those living in Murray Hill (people in Harlem are happier). I just spent a vacation in the least happy mid-sized city in the United States, Melbourne Fl. Perhaps I should have traveled north to an emotionally warmer city, Burlington, Vt.? A researcher with the curious name of Richard Florida has studied the effects of “cultural capital” on people. Cities with beautiful parks, good libraries, museums and opportunities to experience visual and performance arts have much happier campers. The wealth of a city correlates with cultural capital, but not as strongly as you might think. There are many “poor” cities with rich cultural capital. The best single predictor of a city with high cultural capital is its tolerance for creative people and gays and lesbians. Interesting.
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