There are actually a couple of other happiness-increasing technique that is somewhat non-intuitive, is shown to increase happiness in repeated studies, and is fairly easy to implement and difficult to reverse: Having a dog or cat.

It appears that being needed by the animal makes the human feel as if they have intrinsic value which...I mean it would be nice if we had that without pets but, there it is. If you want the best bang for your buck, I would suggest a small dog or cat from the pound as it will eat significantly less food than a bigger animal.

Another life change that actually effectively increases long-term happiness on average is marriage. This seemed a little too hairy for this video though. Also, DEFINITELY NOT DOSE-DEPENDENT. One spouse...better for happiness. Two spouses USUALLY NOT.

So there you go...get a pet, get hitched, and shorten your commute. You need to get home anyway, so you can feed your dog!

SOURCES:
Homeownership doesn't increase happiness: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/realestate/homeownership-the-key-to-happiness.html?_r=0
Short Commute = $40,000 raise
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/19/141514467/small-changes-can-help-you-thrive-happily
Commuting Linked to Lower Life Satisfaction
https://uwaterloo.ca/recreation-and-l...

Commuting and Metabolic / Cardiovascular Health
https://uwaterloo.ca/recreation-and-leisure-studies/crunched-time-commuting-linked-lower-life-satisfaction

Commuting related to lower social activity and lower general trust
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4509867/

10 Things Commuting Does to your Body
http://time.com/9912/10-things-your-commute-does-to-your-body/

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I really enjoy my commute, it's my un-stressed book reading or game playing or quiet contemplation and staring out the window time. Unless it's raining, it usually includes some walking. I suspect Hank's point mostly applies to commuting by car.

I have an hour long commute by car to get to work, and again to get back home. But I chose the commute to, as said in the video, own my own home and be able to get a bigger home than I would have had I bought closer to work.

Here's why I don't consider it stressful...

I work 12 hours four days a week, so that's one less day I need to commute. I also have the luxury of being able to work from home two of those days.

On the days I do have to go in, half of the drive is back country roads which I often get to myself. I find a nice country road quite soothing to drive on. And the half of the commute spent on city motorways I reduced the stress on by upgrading to a car that does a lot of the driving for me. I set the top speed I want to go and the car takes care of the accelerating and braking and keeping in the lanes.

I load up the car stereo with audio books and have a nice relaxing drive to and from the office. Now the most stressful part of the journey is having to get up at 5am. Which really does suck.

Shit, I have a 40 minute walk to work and I am still miserable. There is no hope for me.

I haven't watched the video yet, but why does it take 3 minutes 42 seconds to say 'blowjobs'?

I'm single and independent, so I'm sure this doesn't work for folks who have family and geographical limitations, but my entire adult life I made it my primary mandate to live within biking distance of any place I work with. If there's a drive that lasts even close to 30 minutes, I'm moving next door, period.

I never did this to specifically achieve 'personal happiness'; I just hate commutes that much, but I have never once taken for granted what I gained by sticking to that decision time and again.

Fuck your life if you live in orange county and work in los angeles.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

20 minute walk/bus/train for me + wife and doggo, I must be ecstatic. ;-)

I commute by bicycle - 10 minutes each way - although the Norwegian Winter at times makes the ride interesting.
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Nope. When I still commuted, I found it the best thing of the day, because I loved driving my car (I still do) and I liked the solitude in it.

Now I work at home and I miss it a lot actually. I even drove like 700 miles each weekend for 2 years and I loved it and miss that too.
I try to compensate for it by just driving around for fun, but that really doesnt satisfy that much.

What really literally makes me sick is commuting in public transportation or in traffic on a bike. I like riding my bike on farm roads, etc, but on the road it just sucks.

So no, this "scientific fact" is bullshit for me.