We all want to be happy but the problem has always been that you can't measure happiness.
Happiness has always been seen as too vague a concept, as Lord Layard, Professor of Economics at the LSE and author of "Happiness - lessons from a new science" points out.
"There is a problem with the word happiness.
"When you use the word happy, it often has the sort of context of balloons floating up into the sky or something frivolous."
Now scientists say they can actually measure happiness.
Neuroscientists are measuring pleasure. They suggest that happiness is more than a vague concept or mood; it is real.
Power of happiness
Happiness seems to have almost magical properties.
We have not got proof, but the science suggests it leads to long life, health, resilience and good performance.
Scientists work by comparing people's reported happiness and a host of other factors such as age, sex, marital status, religion, health, income, unemployment and so on.
In survey after survey involving huge groups of people, significant correlations between happiness and some other factors are repeated.
At the moment scientists cannot prove causation, whether for example people are healthy because they are happy, or whether people are happy because they are healthy.
However, psychologists have been able to identify some very strong links.
According to Professor Diener the evidence suggests that happy people live longer than depressed people.
"In one study, the difference was nine years between the happiest group and the unhappiest group, so that's a huge effect.
"Cigarette smoking can knock a few years off your life, three years, if you really smoke a lot, six years.
"So nine years for happiness is a huge effect."
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