A friend just shared this link on their facebook page: ten simple things you can do to be happier, backed by science. The list is familiar: exercise, sleep, help others, smile… and presents itself with the self-evidence of things often repeated, and backed by scientific quotes and images.

However, looking just a bit further into it, I have to admit a degree of confusion as to my best pathway to happiness.

On the one hand, I’m encouraged to ‘exercise more’, because “We’ve explored exercise in depth before, and looked at what it does to our brains, such as releasing proteins and endorphins that make us feel happier, as you can see in the image below.”

On the other hand, I’m told to meditate because “Meditation literally clears your mind and calms you down, it’s been often proven to be the single most effective way to live a happier live. I believe that this graphic explains it the best:”

So what is happiness? Blue brain, or red brain? Mr scientist, help me here!