BBC Wales launch Welsh Happiness Day

Alex Jones

According to official figures, Wales consistently falls behind the rest of the UK in terms of levels of happiness. So this January, across television, radio and online, BBC Wales hopes to encourage positive change and well-being with a special week of programmes beginning on Welsh Happiness Day – BBC Wales

Kicking-off the range of programmes, Alex Jones and Jason Mohammad present Make Wales Happy on Tuesday, January 23rd, BBC One Wales, 8pm). Can you train your brain to be happier? Is there a happiness gene and can exercise really boost your mood? Using a range of experiments, the duo aim to discover the science behind what makes us happy, and establish how we can all become that little bit happier in our lives.

They will be aided and abetted by comedian Mike Bubbins (pictured below), who will scour the country looking for ways to make us happier, and he’ll even attempt a world record live in the studio as he tries to put a smile on the face of the nation.

Other guests include former athlete and presenter Kris Akabusi, and Dr. Bronwyn Tarr a Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropologist and Experimental Psychologist at the University of Oxford, who will be on hand to help analyse some of the results. Dr. Tarr explains how music and dance could help boost your mood.

Organisations from across Wales will also be taking part in Welsh Happiness Day, offering opportunities to members of the public to partake in activities including sponsoring a dog for the day with Dogs Trust, taking part in a silent disco for that feel-good factor, visiting the University of South Wales for a free hug, or joining a flash mob choir.

BBC Radio Wales will be getting involved on Welsh Happiness Day with special guests and content throughout the day on Good Morning Wales, Jason Mohammad, Wynne Evans and Eleri Sion. There’ll be singing experiments, motivational speakers and Alex Jones will be a special guest on the Jason Mohammad show. Comedian and BBC Radio Wales regular Mike Bubbins will be discovering what happiness means to the people of Wales, and he will be visiting Llandrindod Wells, one of Wales’ happiest places to live.

BBC Radio Cymru will help lift listeners mood with a variety of lively interviews and music, and the online service BBC Cymru Fyw will be asking the people of Wales what makes them happy, as well as various online articles addressing health and well-being.

The series of television programmes continues with Rhod Gilbert: Stand up to Shyness on Wednesday, January 24th on BBC One Wales at 9pm. We all know Rhod Gilbert as a larger than life comedian, but there’s another Rhod Gilbert hiding not far below the surface. The real Rhod is shy, introverted, and terrified of social occasions. Can he encourage others to overcome their fear using his own version of shyness aversion therapy?

And having lived through her mother’s battles with depression, Charlotte Church aims to discover if it’s nature or nurture that affects our mental health in Charlotte Church: Inside My Brain on Thursday, January 25th at 8pm on BBC One Wales.

“Taking part in musical activities brings people together, whether it’s singing in a choir, going to a concert or dancing at a wedding. Music can trigger emotions and, especially when we dance, cause us to experience a burst of ‘feel good’ chemicals in the brain. When this happens in the presence of others, the result can be a potent ‘social glue’. In this way, we’re probably not so different from our social ancestors who first started making music. Like early humans, we can’t actually get by just on our own in the modern world – we rely on friendships and our community to keep us happy and help us live a long and healthy life.” – Dr. Bronwyn Tarr a Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropologist and Experimental Psychologist at the University of Oxford