Besides Sex and Sweating, What Makes People Happy? Theater!

If you need a scientific reason to buy tickets to a Broadway show, consider the following: A British study involving 45,000 iPhone users recently revealed the top five activities that make people happy, and theatergoing came in third on the list, behind having sex (duh) and exercise. Rounding out the list were singing/performing and attending an exhibition—an excellent showing overall for the power of the arts to improve one's state of mind.

The so-called “Mappiness” project, conducted by the London School of Economics, asked respondents to record their activity, location and level of happiness up to five times a day. More than three million responses were received over more than a year, according to London’s Daily Mail.

The bottom five responses were pretty predictable, with “sick in bed” making people the most unhappy, followed by waiting in line, caring for adults, commuting and working/studying.

Christmas Day at 1:50PM ranks has the happiest moment of the year, with January 31 at 8PM the least happy. (All the more reason to see a show in January!)