Scientists hope their findings will have larger implications for happiness training / EpicStockMedia/shutterstock.com
Scouring self-help books, exercising, taking time-out, going to spas… we go out of our way to make ourselves happy. But do we really know what happiness is?
Scientists at Kyoto University, Japan, think they’ve found the answer by using MRI to narrow in on the neural structures behind subjective happiness. They hope their findings will have larger implications for happiness training.
Grey mass matter Associate professor Wataru Sato and his team scanned the brains of 51 people using MRI. Participants then took a survey asking how happy they are generally, how intensely they feel emotions and how satisfied they are with their lives.
Their analysis, published in Scientific Reports* in November, revealed that those who had a higher happiness score had more grey matter mass in the precuneus. The precuneus is a region in the medial parietal lobe that becomes active during states of consciousness – such as when people are self-reflecting or daydreaming. There was about a 15 per cent difference in size between the smallest and largest precuneus in the participants.
Sato’s findings complements a study by Harvard Medical School and the University of Chinese Medicine which shows that less activity in the precuneus may be associated to depression.
Tapping into happiness “Over history, many eminent scholars like Aristotle have contemplated what happiness is,” says Sato. “I’m very happy that we now know more about what it means to be happy.”
This is one of the first studies to use MRI to investigate happiness and the Sato believe that this paves the way for future scientists to clinically measure what things make people happier.
He’s also hopes his work may be useful in creating interventions to make people happier, especially if combined with meditation. Sato says: “Several studies show that meditation increases grey matter mass in the precuneus. This new insight on where happiness happens in the brain will be useful for developing happiness programmes based on scientific research.”
* Sato et al. The structural neural substrate of subjective happiness. Scientific Reports. November 2015.
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Scientists hope their findings will have larger implications for happiness training / EpicStockMedia/shutterstock.com
Scouring self-help books, exercising, taking time-out, going to spas… we go out of our way to make ourselves happy. But do we really know what happiness is?
Scientists at Kyoto University, Japan, think they’ve found the answer by using MRI to narrow in on the neural structures behind subjective happiness. They hope their findings will have larger implications for happiness training.
Grey mass matter Associate professor Wataru Sato and his team scanned the brains of 51 people using MRI. Participants then took a survey asking how happy they are generally, how intensely they feel emotions and how satisfied they are with their lives.
Their analysis, published in Scientific Reports* in November, revealed that those who had a higher happiness score had more grey matter mass in the precuneus. The precuneus is a region in the medial parietal lobe that becomes active during states of consciousness – such as when people are self-reflecting or daydreaming. There was about a 15 per cent difference in size between the smallest and largest precuneus in the participants.
Sato’s findings complements a study by Harvard Medical School and the University of Chinese Medicine which shows that less activity in the precuneus may be associated to depression.
Tapping into happiness “Over history, many eminent scholars like Aristotle have contemplated what happiness is,” says Sato. “I’m very happy that we now know more about what it means to be happy.”
This is one of the first studies to use MRI to investigate happiness and the Sato believe that this paves the way for future scientists to clinically measure what things make people happier.
He’s also hopes his work may be useful in creating interventions to make people happier, especially if combined with meditation. Sato says: “Several studies show that meditation increases grey matter mass in the precuneus. This new insight on where happiness happens in the brain will be useful for developing happiness programmes based on scientific research.”
* Sato et al. The structural neural substrate of subjective happiness. Scientific Reports. November 2015.
Read more from this issue of Spa Business magazine
Interview: Kenneth Ryan
Marriott’s global head of spa talks exclusively to Katie Barnes about the new ‘game-changing’ Ritz-Carlton Spa brand and market domination
Promotional feature: Steve Kass Consulting
Steve Kass, founder and former CEO of American Leisure, has launched a new business, Steve Kass Consulting. The global leader explains his goals as an innovative concept and design creator
Research: Work it out
Ophelia Yeung gives a sneak preview of a new study on workplace wellness that debuts later this month
Fitness: Competitive edge
Could a touch of rivalry help spas to engage more people in fitness? Niamh Madigan finds out
Promotional feature: Ojmar
A growing number of spa operators across the UK are working with Ojmar to upgrade their traditional keyed locking systems to electronic solutions
People taking GLP-1 weight loss medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound
may be losing weight, but they’re also becoming less physically active, according to new
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Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
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Global retreat trade show, Synergy The Retreat Show, has launched a resource called The
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The Standards Authority for Touch in Cancer Care (SATCC) charity has announced its first five-
day Living with Cancer and Beyond retreat, which will be held at Carden Park Hotel and Spa in
Cheshire, UK, between 1 and 5 September.
Patmos Aktis, a Luxury Collection Resort and Spa, has opened in Greece, with a renovated and
rebranded wellness offering called Ansana Wellness and Spa.
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, an Autograph Collection property in Hawaii, US, has opened its
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it will host the Good Spa Guide Awards 2026 during an event on 16 November at Sopwell House
Hotel in St Albans, UK.
Eighty-four per cent of consumers now say wellness is a top priority in their lives, with this
percentage increasing year on year, according to a preview presentation of McKinsey’s Future of
Wellness 2026 research report.
Mass protests have been taking place since Monday 1 June in Albania over the development of
a luxury resort by Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner.
Global Wellness Day (GWD) marked its 15th anniversary on Saturday 13 June 2026, with the
theme: #JoyMagenta – a celebration of the healing qualities of simple gestures and activities
that spark joy.
Le Atelier by C.O.D.E. doesn't offer a standard bespoke service, it provides a highly
customised approach to designing massage beds and loungers in high-end wellness
environments. [more...]
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
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