Alcohol makes you momentarily happier but not more satisfied
The research, led by a social policy expert at the University of Kent, also found that people who developed drinking problems were less satisfied with life. Although the effect of alcohol on happiness is often discussed during debates about alcohol policy and regulation, it has rarely been the subject of serious academic study. Instead, governments have simply used the economist assumption that everyone always acts rationally and in their best interests -- even when they are drunk or addicted to alcohol. The study considered how people's happiness and drinking change alongside each other over a period of time. The authors, Dr Ben Baumberg Geiger of the University's School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, and Dr George MacKerron of the University of Sussex , made use of both an iPhone-based app and a traditional cohort study to generate the findings. The results suggested that, after making allowances for other factors such as illness that can effect well...