According to a formula devised by a psychologist in Wales,

today could be the happiest day of the year.

Cliff Arnall from the University of Cardiff in Wales

cooked up the formula.

It combines things like emotions, stress, and weather, and

comes up with a sort of "happiness quotient."

So here's the formula:

O + (N x S) + Cpm/T + He

  • "O" is time spent outdoors, and N is
  • time spent in nature
  • "S" is more socialization in the summer,
  • things like barbecues and other gatherings
  • "Cpm" relates to positive memories of
  • childhood summers, and "T" factors in temperature
  • "He" is vacation anticipation

    When you factor it all together,

  • June 20 is supposed to be the happiest day of 2008.

    It combines a bunch of pleasant activities, with the day

  • with the most amount of sunshine.

    For your planning purposes, Arnall's formula says

  • the third Monday in January is typically the

  • gloomiest day of the year.

    In addition to the colder weather that day,

  • debts from Christmas and botched New Year's

  • resolutions tend to drag down spirits the most on that day.

    (Copyright 2008 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)