(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

We’re all just chasing happiness.

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But – shocker – the thing that’ll make everything click won’t be finally getting Muji bedsheets or being able to buy a house instead of renting.

In fact, it won’t be money related at all.

The new happiness index, developed by Oxford Economics and the National Centre for Social Research, and commissioned by Sainsbury’s, has found that sex and sleep are the two things that have the strongest association with a person’s happiness and wellbeing – well above money.


Researchers found that while upping your income (even if you quadruple it) causes very little increase to your happiness, being well-rested and well-sex have a significant impact on how joyful you feel.



The study involved polling 8,250 Britons, finding that the average person has a Living Well score of 62.2.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

Those who get the most sleep were found the score 15 points higher on the index than those who struggle with sleep, while people who are deeply dissatisfied with their sex lives scored seven points lower than those who said they’re very satisfied.

To be clear – very satisfied doesn’t mean these people are having loads of sex. It just means they’re very happy with the quality and frequency of the sex they’re having.

Increasing your household income from £12,500 to £50,000, meanwhile, results in an increase of only two points.

The people found to be above average on the scale (between 72 and 92) were more likely to be satisfied with their sex lives and sleep than the average person.

So really, you might as well just get more rest and have better sex rather than slogging away in hopes of a pay rise.

(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

Other factors rated more significant than income included living in a strong community, job security, and the health of close relatives.

Less important were whether people rent or own their house (that was found to be irrelevant to wellbeing) and how many followers people had on social media.

The index research also found that older people tend to be happier than younger people, and the happiest demographic were parents with young children, followed by baby boomers who were still in work.

The saddest group were found to be child-free people in their 30s and 40s, who tended to have lower satisfaction with their sex lives and weaker support networks. Sorry, guys.

Six easy ways to improve your sleep: Give yourself a bedtime – and stick to it even at the weekends

Use the hour before bed as quiet, relaxing time free of technology

Stop drinking caffeine from around 4pm

Avoid alcohol before bed

Keep your phone on silent and away from your bed

Get outside and exercise during the day



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