Can you really “catch” happiness from another person? Absolutely! A recent study reported in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) showed that happiness is contagious—more contagious than sadness—and the more happy people you are acquainted with, the happier you will be.

Like the flu, happiness is spread through social networks—so not only can you give the happy “bug” to someone you know, but you could also be the cause of it spreading to someone you’ve never even met!

University of California, San Diego political scientist and study co-author James H. Fowler concluded the following from the study:

• Happiness from a direct social contact increases your chance of being happy by 15 percent.
• Happiness from a second-degree social contact (friend of a friend or friend of a sibling) increases your chance of being happy by 10 percent.
• Happiness from a third-degree social contact (friend of a friend of a friend) increases your chance of being happy by 6 percent.

And since happiness has been shown to improve heart health, reduce pain and lessen your chances of a fatal health disaster—smile and infect others with good cheer to start the New Year… this is one bug we all want to catch!