(Happiness - Subjective Well-Being Cont. 1)

Neuroscience and Happiness

Neuroscience has found pleasure (it is linked with happiness) is more than a sensation or thought but rather an outcome of brain activity.
"...all pleasures, from the most fundamental (food, sexual pleasure) right through to the higher-order pleasures (eg monetary, medical, and altruistic pleasures) seemed to involve the same brain systems......some of the hedonic mechanisms are found deep within the brain (the nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum and brainstem) and others are located in the cortex (orbitofrontal, cingulate, medial prefrontal and insular cortices)..."
M. Kringelback et al as quoted by Heather Craig, 2019

Thus the pleasure-activated brain networks are widespread, ie the brain networks for happiness.

Even though happiness is impossible to objectively measure, as it is subjective, ie if people think they are happy, they are!!!!! Each person is the best judge of whether they are happy or not. To help measure happiness, can ask the following questions
"...- Are you happy?:
     - How would you rate your happiness on a scale of 1 to 10?..."
Heather Craig, 2019