This time of year is hard. The excitement of the holiday season is over. It’s already dark outside by the time you get home from band practice. And frosty air takes the fun out of that 15-minute bike ride to your best friend’s house.

    We’re all ready to feel a lot happier. The question is, how?

    This time of year is hard. The holiday season is over. It gets dark early. Riding your bike to your friend’s house is no fun because it’s so cold.

    We’re all ready to feel happier. But how? 

    This time of year is hard. The excitement of the holiday season is over. By the time you get home from band practice, it’s already dark outside. And that 15-minute bike ride to your best friend’s house—well, the frosty air has zapped the joy out of that! 

    We’re all ready to feel much happier—but how?

  You might think it would take something big—like a million bucks—to boost your mood. But experts say you just need to adopt a few simple habits every day. To put this idea to the test, we asked them for their top five happiness tips. Then we found two teens willing to try them out for two weeks. 

    Emmanuella Agyemang from New York and Daniel Espinoza from Maryland were our brave volunteers. Read on to find out what happened!

    You might think it would take a million bucks to boost your mood. But experts say you just need to adopt a few simple habits every day. To test this idea, we asked them for their top five happiness tips. Then we found two teens to try them out for two weeks.

    Emmanuella Agyemang is from New York. Daniel Espinoza is from Maryland. They were our brave volunteers. Read on to find out what happened!

    You might imagine that it would take something major—like a million bucks—to boost your mood. However, experts say that you only need to adopt a few simple daily habits. To put this idea to the test, we asked them for their top five happiness tips—and then we found two teenagers willing to try them out for two weeks.

    Read on to find out what happened with our brave volunteers, Emmanuella Agyemang from New York and Daniel Espinoza from Maryland. 

1. Challenge: Make Your Bed Each Morning

    Believe it or not, making your bed can change your mindset. “The way you start your day really matters,” says Marline Francois-Madden. She’s a therapist who works with teens. When your bed is tidy, your space feels organized. This can help you feel productive—and that feeling can last all day. Just ask Daniel. 

    “It felt great crossing something off my list first thing each morning,” he says.

1. Challenge: Make Your Bed Each Morning

    Believe it or not, making your bed can change your mindset. “The way you start your day really matters,” says Marline Francois-Madden. She’s a therapist who works with teens. 

    When your bed is tidy, your space feels organized. This can help you feel productive. That feeling can last all day. Just ask Daniel. “It felt great crossing something off my list first thing each morning,” he says.

1. Challenge: Make Your Bed Each Morning

    You might find this difficult to believe, but making your bed can transform your mindset. “The way you start your day really matters,” explains Marline Francois-Madden, a therapist who works with teens. 

    When your bed is tidy, your space feels organized, which can help you feel productive—and that feeling can last all day. Just ask Daniel. “It felt great crossing something off my list first thing each morning,” he confirms.

2. Challenge: Give Praise

    Saying something nice doesn’t just brighten someone else’s day. It can improve your mood too. How? Experts say it causes your brain to release a chemical called oxytocin. This floods your body with a happy feeling. 

    So how do you do it? Make sure your compliment is specific—and that you mean it. “I’m normally a shy person, so it was really hard at first,” says Emmanuella. But once she got started, she felt happier.

2. Challenge: Give Praise

    Saying nice things can improve your mood too. How? Experts say it causes your brain to release a chemical called oxytocin. This floods your body with a happy feeling.

    Just make sure your compliment is specific. And make sure you mean it. “I’m normally a shy person, so it was really hard at first,” says Emmanuella. But once she got started, she felt happier.

2. Challenge: Give Praise

    Saying something nice not only brightens someone else’s day but can also improve your own mood. Experts say it causes your brain to release a chemical called oxytocin, which floods your body with a happy feeling.

    To get that result, make sure your compliment is specific—and that you really mean it. “I’m normally a shy person, so it was really hard at first,” recalls Emmanuella. But once she got started, she felt happier.

3. Challenge: Do What You Love

    This one is easy: Be sure to make time for hobbies! These should be things you do simply because you enjoy doing them. 

    For Emmanuella, this meant watching movies and writing poetry. For Daniel, it was working on his art and making blueberry muffins for his family. “Baking makes me feel relaxed,” he says.

3. Challenge: Do What You Love

    This one is easy: Make time for hobbies! Do things just because you enjoy doing them.

    Emmanuella watched movies and wrote poetry. Daniel worked on his art. He also made blueberry muffins for his family. “Baking makes me feel relaxed,” he says.

3. Challenge: Do What You Love

    This one is easy: Be sure to make time for hobbies! These should be things you do simply because you enjoy doing them.

    For Emmanuella, this meant watching movies and writing poetry. For Daniel, it was working on his art and making blueberry muffins for his family. “Baking makes me feel relaxed,” he says.

4. Challenge: Be Active

    When you exercise, your brain produces endorphins. These are chemicals that help your body deal with stress. Being active also improves your sleep. This helps you wake up feeling rested instead of tired and grumpy. (Experts say that even 10 minutes of exercise can make a difference.) 

    Emmanuella’s favorite activity was dancing, and she was surprised by how much it helped! “Some days I danced for longer than 10 minutes because it brought me so much joy,” she says.

4. Challenge: Be Active

    When you exercise, your brain produces endorphins. These are chemicals that help your body deal with stress. Being active also helps you sleep better. This helps you wake up feeling rested, not tired and grumpy. (Even 10 minutes of exercise can make a difference.)

    Emmanuella’s favorite activity was dancing. She was surprised by how much it helped! “Some days I danced for longer than 10 minutes because it brought me so much joy,” she says.

4. Challenge: Be Active

    When you exercise, your brain produces chemicals called endorphins that help your body deal with stress. Being active also improves your sleep, which helps you wake up feeling rested instead of tired and grumpy. (Even 10 minutes of exercise can make a difference, according to experts.)

    Emmanuella was surprised by how much dancing—her favorite activity—improved her mood! “Some days I danced for longer than 10 minutes because it brought me so much joy,” she says.

5. Challenge: Say Thanks

    Think about your day. Did someone help you out? Did you eat something delicious? Write it down! This is called practicing gratitude. It reminds you of what’s good in your life.

    This daily habit had a big effect on both teens. Daniel found 21 reasons for gratitude—including his soccer team and an internet connection. “I’m learning to appreciate basic things like health and sunshine,” he says.

5. Challenge: Say Thanks

    Think about your day. Did someone help you? Did you eat something delicious? Write it down! This is called practicing gratitude. It reminds you of what’s good in your life.

    This daily habit had a big effect on both teens. Daniel found 21 reasons for gratitude. “I’m learning to appreciate basic things like health and sunshine,” he says.

5. Challenge: Say Thanks

    Think about your day. Did someone help you out, or did you eat something delicious? Write it down! This is called practicing gratitude, and it reminds you of what’s good in your life.

    This daily habit had a dramatic effect on both teens. Daniel found 21 reasons for gratitude—including his soccer team and an internet connection. “I’m learning to appreciate basic things like health and sunshine,” he says.

The Final Report:

    Both teens plan to keep their new habits. “The challenge helped me realize there is more to life than constantly doing schoolwork,” says Emmanuella. For Daniel, it made him notice his effect on other people. “It makes me happy to make other people happy,” he says.

    So what about you? Are you ready to take the happiness challenge? 

The Final Report:

    Both teens plan to keep their new habits. “The challenge helped me realize there is more to life than constantly doing schoolwork,” says Emmanuella. It made Daniel notice his effect on other people. “It makes me happy to make other people happy,” he says.

    So what about you? Are you ready to take the happiness challenge? 

The Final Report:

    Both teens plan to continue with their new habits. “The challenge helped me realize there is more to life than constantly doing schoolwork,” says Emmanuella. For Daniel, the experiment made him aware of his effect on others. “It makes me happy to make other people happy,” he says.

    So what about you? Are you ready to take the happiness challenge? •