Sages going back to Socrates have offered advice on how to be happy, but only now are scientists beginning to address this question with systematic, controlled research. Although many of the new studies reaffirm time-honored wisdom (”Do what you love,” “To thine own self be true”), they also add a number of fresh twists and insights. We canvassed the leading experts on what happy people have in common — and why it’s worth trying to become one of them:1. They find their most golden self.

Picture happiness. What do you see? A peaceful soul sitting in a field of daisies appreciating the moment? That kind of passive, pleasure-oriented — hedonic — contentment is definitely a component of overall happiness. But researchers now believe that eudaimonic well-being may be more important. Cobbled from the Greek eu (”good”) and daimon (”spirit” or “deity”), eudaimonia means striving toward excellence based on one’s unique talents and potential — Aristotle considered it to be the noblest goal in life. In his time, the Greeks believed that each child was blessed at birth with a personal daimon embodying the highest possible expression of his or her nature. One way they envisioned the daimon was as a golden figurine that would be revealed by cracking away an outer layer of cheap pottery (the person’s base exterior). The effort to know and realize one’s most golden self — “personal growth,” in today’s lingo — is now the central concept of eudaimonia, which has also come to include continually taking on new challenges and fulfilling one’s sense of purpose in life. Read more

Having high blood pressure was associated with a reduced risk for migraines in a new study, but the preliminary findings don’t prove that high blood pressure is protective, researchers say. Participants in a Norwegian population study who had higher-than-normal systolic blood pressure reported up to 40% fewer headaches or migraines than people with lower blood pressure. The finding was somewhat surprising, given that beta-blockers and other blood pressure-lowering drugs are often prescribed to prevent migraines.

“This is a paradox,” lead researcher Erling Tronvik, MD, says. “Several earlier studies have linked increasing blood pressure to a decrease in chronic pain in general, and this study suggests that the same is true for migraines.” It was long assumed that migraines and other types of headaches are more common among people with high blood pressure, but studies conducted in the 1990s did not support this belief. Read more

For women, being less passive in bed is associated with increased sexual satisfaction and a better ability to reach the big O, says a recent study in the journal Personal Relationships. Too shy to bust out in the bedroom? Sex expert Emma Taylor (a.k.a. Em), coauthor (with Lorelei Sharkey, a.k.a. Lo) of Buh Bye: The Ultimate Guide to Dumping and Getting Dumped, offers these tips for bashful babes.1. Change the context
Some women are nervous to ask for what they want during sex because they feel it sounds too demanding. “Try broaching the subject in a different setting where you can express your desires in a more relaxed way,” says Em. “Cuddle up to him while watching a sexy scene on TV and whisper, ‘I hope we’ll try that tonight.’” He’ll be receptive to your feedback, no matter when you offer it. Read more

The on-again, off-again debate about eggs and health has been cracked open again by a new report on death and egg consumption. On the one hand, the study shows a higher death rate among U.S. men who eat seven or more eggs per week, especially among diabetic men. But on the other hand, the study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows no link between egg consumption and heart attack or stroke. And eating up to six eggs a week didn’t affect men’s health.

What to make of it all? The higher death rate linked to eating seven or more eggs per week is “surprising” and needs to be confirmed, notes an editorial published with the study. “Remember: eggs are like all other foods they are neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad,’ and they can be part of an overall heart-healthy diet,” writes editorialist Robert Eckel, MD, of the University of Colorado, Denver. Read more

In a newly reported study, women who ate breakfast cereal gave birth to more boys, while those who skipped breakfast had more girls. Women who ate more total calories also delivered more boys, even though the overall male-to-female birth ratio among the study participants was close to 50/50.

The early findings in no way prove that what a woman does or doesn’t eat prior to conception influences her baby’s sex. But they do hint at a sex-selection bias among humans similar to that seen in other animals, favoring male births among well-fed mothers and female births among mothers who are less well nourished.

They may also help explain a subtle decline in the proportion of male births in industrialized countries like the U.S., researcher Fiona Mathews, PhD, says. “It is true that there is an obesity epidemic, but there is also an increase in dieting and very unstable dietary habits among young women,” she says. “And more people are skipping breakfast. Our data suggest that these things may play a role in the small but noticeable decline in male births.” Read more