Originally published at: Like Apple, Garmin Launches Large-Scale Health and Happiness Study - TidBITS
Fitness device maker Garmin, in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University and the University of Oxford, has announced the Health and Happiness Study:
The Health and Happiness Study will be the first global study to collect large-scale data from surveys, smartphones, and smartwatches to study happiness and wellbeing in daily life.
Using state-of-art machine learning and artificial intelligence models including causal neural networks, the study will reveal novel insights into the dynamics, determinants, and downstream effects of human happiness.
Apple has long touted its role in large-scale health research, including the recently launched Apple Health Study (see “ New Apple Health Study to Research Role of Tech in Improving Health,” 13 February 2025). Now Garmin is partnering with academic researchers to expand a pilot study to learn more about happiness. Relying on the Experience Sampling Method pioneered by psychologist Mihály CsĂkszentmihályi in his research into the concept of flow, the Health and Happiness Study hopes to enroll at least 10,000 participants and will combine thrice-daily smartphone surveys with biometric data from Garmin devices for 8 weeks.
I was curious about how the researchers planned to address sample selection bias. While owning a Garmin device isn’t required, those who have one would likely skew more toward being serious athletes. Lead researcher Micah Kaats of Harvard told me they’re well aware of this concern and aim to mitigate it through a large sample size and by using demographics to measure the extent of the sample bias relative to the general population. He also said they don’t plan to make claims about levels of happiness in the general population but will instead focus on how daily changes in biometrics, activities, and social environments can predict changes in wellbeing.
Along those lines, the pilot study found that daily physical activity and adequate sleep strongly correlate with increased happiness and reduced stress levels, confirming what every runner knows. The data also demonstrated that emotional stability varies with age, with older adults showing more consistent happiness levels than younger participants despite our increased likelihood of injury. Finally, people reported being happiest when engaged in cultural and social activities, eating, or spending time with friends and family.
Unlike the health studies funded by Apple, the Health and Happiness Study receives support solely from academic grants, without any financial backing from Garmin or research app developer Avicenna. In addition to Harvard and Oxford, collaboration involves the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Warwick, making this a more international effort and hopefully insulating it from the US federal government’s current assault on academic research.
This study also differs from Apple’s by rewarding participants, who will receive both a personal wellbeing report at the end of the study and tiered discounts on Garmin products, depending on how long they participate. Injuries have prevented me from running much for several years, but this is a good excuse to dust off my Garmin Forerunner 645.
