Randoms-Most/Least Friendly States, What's just as Good as Christmas & More

What’s as good as Christmas morning? Apparently, a walk in the park. A University of Vermontstudy, which analyzed people’s tweets, found that spending time in the park can make you as happy as you are on Christmas Day. Researchers found that people’s tweets had much more positive language and expressed less negativity following a visit to a park – and the good feelings lasted up to four hours afterwards. Researchers say the happy Twitter posts of park goers rivaled the positive tweets on Christmas Day, which is apparently the happiest day of the year on Twitter.

What do you to on your work breaks? If you spend time scrolling through your phone, you may want to find a new activity. A new study out of Rutgers University found that looking at your phone during a “mental break” doesn’t really allow the brain to relax and can actually affect your productivity. “The act of reaching for your phone between tasks, or mid-task, is becoming more commonplace. It is important to know the costs associated with reaching for this device during every spare minute. We assume it’s no different from any other break – but the phone may carry increasing levels of distraction that make it difficult to return focused attention to work tasks,” says study co-author Terri Kurtzberg. (EurekAlert)

Having kids makes you happier …but only after they leave the house! A new study from Heidelberg University in Germany found that empty-nesters, people whose kids have grown up and left the home, have greater overall life satisfaction. (Independent)

Congratulations, New York …You are the least friendly state in America. Yep, according to asurveyby travel site Big 7, New York is dead last on the friendly state list. On the other end of the scale is Minnesota – the friendliest state in the nation. 

Here are the Top 5 Friendliest States:

  1. Minnesota
  2. Tennessee
  3. South Carolina
  4. Texas
  5. Wyoming

And the Top 5 Least Friendly States:

  1. New York
  2. Arkansas
  3. Delaware
  4. Massachusetts
  5. New Jersey


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