Facing Death Increases Happiness

Here's one for the annals of counterintuitive findings: When asked to contemplate the occasion of their own demise, people become happier than usual, instead of sadder, according to a new study in the November issue of Psychological Science. Researchers say it's a kind of psychological immune response—faced with thoughts of our own death, our brains automatically cope with the conscious feelings of distress by seeking out and triggering happy feelings, to protect us from permanent depression or paralyzing despair.