Study reveals top 50 things that make people in Britain feel 'great' – and they are mostly free

Fresh sheets – a chore or a moment of ecstasy?

(BUPA)

It’s said that the simple things in life are often the best – and the British public appears to agree.

In a survey asking 2,000 people what it was that made them “feel great”, a staggering 62 per cent listed sleeping in a freshly-made bed.

While some of the feel-good factors people chose implied expenditure – like the smell of a new car (34th), the scent of fine wine (37th) or the royal family (50th) – many of the best come for free.

Second in the top 50, listed by 57 per cent of respondents, was “feeling the sun on your face”, while simply “being thanked” or kindness from a stranger came third with 53 per cent.

The survey, commissioned by Bupa, found that Britons are more takers than givers, with “doing something for others” relegated to 9th place.

The full table of results

1. Sleeping in a freshly made bed – 62%

2. Feeling the sun on your face – 57%

3. Being thanked, or a random act of kindness from a stranger – 53%

4. Finding money in unexpected places – 52%

5. Having time to yourself – 48%

6. Laughing so hard it hurts – 48%

7. Snuggling on the sofa with a loved one – 44%

8. Smelling freshly made bread – 43%

9. Doing something for others – 43%

10. Feeling clean after a shower – 42%

11. Your favourite song coming on the radio – 42%

12. Finding a bargain in the sales – 41%

13. Listening to rainfall/thunderstorms when indoors – 40%

14. Drinking freshly brewed tea or coffee – 39%

15. The thrill of personal achievement at work or completing a physical challenge – 38%

16. Having a long, hot bath – 36%

17. Seeing a fresh coating of snow – 34%

18. The smell of freshly cut grass – 34%

19. Chocolate melting in your mouth – 33%

20. Doing something active outdoors like a bike ride, run or country walk – 32%

21. Cooking bacon in the morning – 32%

22. Talking to or playing with your pet – 30%

23. A soothing massage – 30%

24. That ‘Friday feeling’ – 30%

25. Eating a perfectly cooked steak – 29%

26. Waking up before the alarm and realising there’s more time to sleep – 28%

27. Exercising – 24%

28. Seeing a rainbow – 23%

29. Remembering the name of someone or something you thought you’d forgotten – 23%

30. Baking a perfect cake or pie – 23%

31. Stepping on crunchy autumn leaves – 21%

32. Popping bubble wrap – 20%

33. Swimming in the sea or lake – 20%

34. The smell of a new car – 20%

35. Dancing like no one’s watching – 19%

36. The smell of new books or magazines – 19%

37. The smell of a fine wine – 16%

38. Setting your ‘out of office’ message before going on holiday – 15%

39. Putting on a brand new pair of socks – 14%

40. Watching your breath float away in cold air – 12%

41. Getting new stationery – 11%

42. Singing in the shower – 11%

43. Getting a seat on the bus, train or Tube – 11%

44. Picking an orange from the fruit bowl that is easy to peel – 9%

45. Loosening your jeans after eating – 9%

46. The ‘pop’ when opening a new jar of jam – 9%

47. Squeezing a spot – 8%

48. Cleaning your ears – 8%

49. Cleaning the bathroom – 6%

50. Thinking about the Royal family – 4%

TV presenter Tess Daly, launching the Bupa campaign, said: “We all have those little things that make us feel great – for me it’s feeling the sun on my face.”

The survey also found that the extent to which we feel great regularly is linked to our age. While more than a fifth of over-55s said they have a moment where they feel great every day, across the whole age spectrum just one in eight (12.5 per cent) said they felt great more than once a month.

Daly said that “with modern society being so busy people struggle to find the time and lack the inspiration to enjoy a feel great moment”.