until we start talking about this stuff, right? >> then they'll go back to watching the game. >> yes. we're so great full started your day us with. >> sanjay gupta md starts right now. we'll be back at the top of the hour. >> today we're taking a closer look at something we arguably all want in our lives, happiness. over the past decade doctors and searchers from all over the world have conducted dozens of studies specifically looking at how happiness impacts you and me. what this remarkable science tells us is that not only is happiness feeling good, but it is also leading to a healthier and longer life. lift up. hold it for a few seconds. breathe out. there's a lot to get to today including how faking laughter for just a few minutes a day can lower your stress levels.

kit even boost your immune system. plus, i also want to show you something else. that is how your brain, even your heart physically reacts when you're happy versus sad. but first, let's go to denmark to see what we can learn from people who are already happy. ♪ so we get to start off by going to the happy place in the happiest country on earth. it's a maternity ward in denmark. take a look. hey there. >> hello. >> congratulations. >> thank you so much. >> how are you feeling? >> tired. >> tired. >> tired is expected. theret proud new parents of this baby girl, just six hours old. >> mind if i pick her up?

let me wash my hands here. i've done this a few time. i have three girls of my own. so we'll see if the old skills are still there. you are cute. thousands of babies born all over the world right now. they is lucky enough to be born in the happiest country on earth. they have low unplament rates here. people trust their government, they smile a lot. and mom and dad didn't pay a ten dwroi have her here in the hospital. that makes everybody pretty happy. look at how good she is. the happiest place on earth isn't a title denmark dubbed itself. it's earned the top spot on the european commission's barometer for well-being and happiness since 1973. and when the united nations went

on the hunt to find the world's happiest nation, their final report ranked, you guessed it, denmark number one. so what makes a country happy? sure, it's things like life expectancy, gross domestic product, low corruption, but also things like generosity, social support, and the freedom to make life choices. ♪ choiforce choices like followin your passion or laying low. the danes don't put much status on job title or career. a street musician and lawyer hold the same clout. as a society, their motto is this, you're no better than anybody else. as we explored happiness in denmark, we realize it's not so much the temporary emotion and elation that we're talking

about, it's something much deeper, much more profound. something that we arguably all want. it's happiness in the sense of life satisfaction. ♪ on a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your happiness as far as life satisfaction? >> a little over nine. not ten completely. there is always something can you complain b but generally 9 plus. >> it's high up there. i don't know, eight, nine, something like that. >> nine. >> yeah? >> i was thinking eight. >> eight? >> yeah. >> probably a nine. >> how would you rate your ha y happiness in terms of life satisfaction on a scale of one to ten? >> nine. >> nine? >> yesh, every day. >> here's something we learned that may surprise you. with happiness comes trust. and there's a lot of it here in denmark. trust to leave your bike unlocked. trust to leave your baby in a stroller unattended while you're

inside a store. trust in each other. in fact, 96% of people say they know someone they can rely on in times of need. this sense of security keeps stress levels down and happiness levels up. one thing we discovered here in denmark is that for mothers, their lives aren't just about family and kids. almost 80% of women return to work after having had a baby. they spend a lot of time with friends and in social circles. they strike that great balance between life, work and familiarly. and all of that leads to happiness. they tell me the key to striking this balance is actually simple. they don't overwork themselves. the average dane works just 33 hours a week. only 2% of workers put in more than 40 hours a week which is a minimum in many other countries including my own. this frees them up to spend more time with family, do volunteer

work, or participate in other community programs. and you may be wondering how can they afford all that? well, remember, money and status aren't the priority in denmark. a simple life is. instead of gadgets and things, the danes prefer to take full advantage of all the outdoor green space. a new government policy mandates that residents be able to walk to a park in less than 15 minutes. cars aren't a priority either. in fact, the most popular mode of transportation, bicycles. with about 250 mile of bike paths through the capital city, it's an easy, cheap, and environmentally friendly option for residence dents. half of all commuters in den travel to work or school by bike every single day. it's part of what gives danes a happiness boost. that's because these feel good chemicals are release in the

brain. it happens with daily exercise of just about 20 minutes a day. we decided to continue our search for what makes denmark the happiest country in the world at one of the oldest and a. musement parks in the world. it's located in the middle of copenhagen. home to about two million people. built in the 1800s, it inspired walt disney to create another well known happy place, disney world. but in true danish fashion, this park is simple but charming. it was built for the danes to enjoy. a place for families to make memories. you know, it's clear to see that experiences are quite important for the danes. they don't pay attention to possessions and they tell me they can't always afford fancy

vacations. they spend a lot of time with family, laughing, building memories and studies have shown that people that focus on experience versus thins have higher levels of satisfaction long after the moment has passed. when you look at your daughter, what do you see? what do you hope and pray for? >> oh, all of this. that's what parents want, right? >> and what about happiness? >> yes, of course. that comes as a bonus. >> i have to admit, i couldn't find any dane who's had too much to complain about in their own lives. they really do pear to be quite happy. but can everything really be that rosey? we're going to take a deeper look. also, is your glass half empty or half full? how changing the way you think can improve your health. ♪

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let's close the gap between people and care. happiness isn't just a pleasant thing you feel. sips proves it's deeper than. that feeling happy helps you live a longer, healthier life. part of our happiness is tide to our association connections. if you don't have at least one close friend, you're less likely to be happy. each of us have tiny caps on our dna chromosome that's measure our cellular age. it turns out they also measure how many friends we have. no friends equals shorter telamires. by being social, you can turn down your biological age, living longer and happier. another way to boost your level of happiness is by meditating. research shows as little as 20 minutes a day can lower your level of stress hormones.

you have ever heard of an american buddhist monk named barrie kerzman. he can instantly generate his own bliss. people believe him. but doctors wanted scientific proof. so they did an mri scan of his brain and they showed that while he meditated, he activated the area of the brain where hap happiness lives. is his ghas half empty or half full. if you are half full, you're on your way to feeling happier and healthier. a study said 15% of those with heart disease or heart attack or stroke and the attitude offers protection against cardiovascular disease. science doesn't fair as well for pessimists. they not only have lower levels of happiness compared to optimist, people with negative thoughts are three times as likely to develop heart problems

as they age. so what do you do if you're not a naturally happy person? experts say the key is to act as though you're an optimist even if you're not. they say denmark is the happiest country on earth. base ond what we've seen so far, it's easy to see y we want to find out how happy is the typical danish family. why are they so happy and what can we learn from them? let's go meet them. >> hello. >> how are you? >> how are you? nice to see you. nice to meet you. >> nice to see you. >> welcome. >> thank you for having us to your home. >> this is our home. come in, please. >> yes. nice to see you. >> nice to meet you. >> hi. >> nice to meet you. >> jonas. >> nice to see you. >> didn't take very long to feel at home with the winterbroon family. thomas helped break the ice sharing with me his favorite local beer. he works as a 3-d draftsman for

an engineering company. his wife works as an executive secretary. they lived in this home about 30 minutes outside copenhagen for ten years now. the four children range in age from 19 to 24. dinner is served. were you surprised that denmark was called the happiest country in the world? >> we are content in many -- on many questions. we are content. and that is the basis of happiness. >> it's a privilege to be living in a place where they try to at least control most things going on. >> she's talking about the danish government. in a world where many other countries residents fight for low taxes and little government control, the danes seem to feel the opposite. in fact, they told me that feeling "tucked in" by their government makes them happy. >> there is a security.

there is somehow a net underneath you. i think that a lot of people don't mind paying high taxes because they're aware of the fact that they do get whatever they need. it's almost like a right danish paying their taxes. but it must be fair. >> how do you define fairness? is it more important for everyone to be pretty much equal and treated equally or to have, you know, lots of different variation within a society?

>> it's so different from your society. you have a large portion of people who are really poor which we don't. so fairness is just a regular. it's just a thing. it's not really something we think so much about. >> it was interesting. in this report about happiness, one of the things they said, countries that are the least happy, there was percentage of people in those countries who don't name one person that they could depend on. you know, one person they could call. >> that is really sad. >> i think what we've been trying to teach our children is relationship comes before everything else. and depending on someone and being okay with the fact that someone depends on you and holding the standard, taking a stand for someone, protectsing

someone and being fair. >> what is it that you think doesn't work that you would change about denmark? >> freedom of choice and freedom of speech and things like. that but freedom of being successful and not being looked to with a frown, that you are actually doing good and maybe being a bit boastful about it. so that's actually my hope of the danish mentality to be more open to the idea to have success. >> freedom of success. >> freedom of success and then still be fair citizen that is -- that volunteers and helps out and without the mediocre way. >> i'm fascinated by being -- with people being 5:00 sen trick. and there is not much room for that in denmark.

>> it leads to some kind of complaisancy. and complaisancy leads to doing nothing about -- yeah. so actually, you should cherish what you already have and then go for an even more. >> spending a day with this family brought fresh perspective to how i view happiness. if you can get to a point where you feel content about your life, your happiness levels will rise. but the risk is the complaisancy and for some people, complaisancy can bring the opposite of happiness. it's different for you. different for me. and different for the wi winterbroon familiarly. you may be thinking, look, i'm not a happy person. i wasn't born that way. so what about me? you're correct, first of all that genetics do play a role when it comes tok happy. but research shows that your genes, they're only part of it.

regardless of our environment, each and every one of us can boost our daily levels of happiness by not only changing the way that we think but also taking the time to find small things throughout date that bring us pleasure. taking that time is so important. research also shows that laughing keeps you happy. i'm really going to show you why it is the best medicine. and don't worry about this, pessimists, this is one exercise where you can fake it until you make it. you know what my business philosophy is, reynolds?

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for though reason at all. why? because research shows that laughing doesn't just signal happiness, it produces it. they say the average child laughs 500 times a day, and the average dult just 40 times a day. we don't know why it makes such a difference in their health or why we laugh at all, but obviously for these people, it seems to be doing something. i'm going to give it a shot. okay. thomas flint laughs for a living. >> we're going to have 30 minutes laughter session. it's breathing. it's clapping, stretching, and of course, laughing. >> he's led laughter yoga classes here in denmark for more than ten years. >> so this -- don't be afraid.

>> the concept of laughter yoga is based on this scientific fact. your body can't differentiate between fake laughter and real laughter. this means you get a health boost even if you fake it. i have to admit, i was a little skeptical at first. but it didn't take me long to start laughing. and once i started, i couldn't stop. you're probably laughing just watching this. >> so this next exercise is about letting go of fear, worry and stress. so that's all in the mind. so we're going to laugh at our worried mind. you put up your fingers like this, and then we just laugh at our own worried mind, like this.

>> flint says most of us forget to laugh, because of tension, stress, pain, worry. so he taught us to laugh at our own negative thoughts. i quickly learned it doesn't really matter how you start to laugh. it's just important that you do. >> now give yourself a good stretch. >> studies show when we laugh, our stress hormones decrease, and our endorphins rise. endorphins are the chemicals associated with the runner's high. laughing is also good for your heart. only 8% of heart patients were made to laugh day dailey had a second heart attack in a year. just the anticipation of laughter might elicit some of these same benefits as well. >> okay. this is for you. okay?

>> now it's your turn. come on, just start laughing. a body at rest tends to stay at rest. while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can ease arthritis symptoms but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain, so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning.

they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. and now celebrex may be available for as little as $4 a month. terms and conditions apply. to learn more, go to celebrex.com.

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comcast business. built for business. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com so grateful for your company on this sunday. i'm christi paul. >> i'm victor blackwell. it's 8:00 on the east coast. this morning increased security at the white house. secret service making changes after two security incidents in two days. the secret service says a teen ager, kevin carr, tried to enter barricades to the white house yesterday using his car, he's arrested and charged with unlawful entry >> we're learning that the person who jumped the white house fence as you're seeing here, this was on friday, had indeed been carrying a folding knife in his pocket. cnn's erin m