The hedonic treadmill

People get used to good changes, and partly to bad ones. But happiness isn't fixed, some events leave lasting marks, and variety and savoring slow the fade.

• Evidence: Some

The idea

Adaptation is real. A raise, a new phone or a nicer apartment gives you a lift, and a few months later it’s just normal. Two things wear the lift down. The good feelings from the change fade, and your expectations rise, so you start wanting the next thing [5].

The idea is often told through a 1978 study comparing lottery winners, people paralyzed in accidents, and a control group. The winners were no happier than the controls and enjoyed everyday pleasures less [1]. That study is usually overstated. It had 22 winners and 29 accident victims, it measured people at one point in time, and it’s often retold as “people bounce back from anything”, which the study didn’t show and later research doesn’t support.

Larger, long-term studies changed the picture [2]:

• Your baseline isn’t neutral. People don’t drift back to feeling nothing in particular.
• People differ. Baselines partly depend on temperament.
• Different parts of wellbeing move separately. Good moods, bad moods and life satisfaction can go in different directions.
• Baselines can change. Some events shift people’s long-term level, up or down.
• People adapt differently. After the same event, some return to where they were and some don’t.

How to use it

Accept that new things will fade. Before a big purchase or change, assume the lift will wear off within months. Ask whether you’d still want it for its ordinary daily value.

Build in variety. In a three-month study of 481 students, people who had made a positive change stayed happier when they kept having varied experiences related to it and kept appreciating it [5]. With a new flat, keep trying new things in the neighborhood. In a new job, take on a new kind of task now and then.

Savor on purpose. Pause when something is good and notice it: tell someone about it, take a moment before eating, look back on a good day before bed. See Gratitude and savoring.

Spend more on doing than having. Trips, meals out, classes and shows tend to leave more lasting satisfaction than objects, partly because they become part of who you are, they bring you closer to people, and you tend to remember them more kindly over time [7]. More on this in Spending on experiences and other people.

Take hard events seriously. Don’t expect to bounce back from a major loss in weeks because of the treadmill story. Recovery from some events takes years, and putting effort into rebuilding (work, routine, people) matters.

Common mistakes

• Concluding that nothing matters. If happiness always snapped back, nothing would be worth doing. It doesn’t. Baselines can shift under some conditions [2], and how you live is one of the things you can work on.
• Chasing the next upgrade. Rising expectations are part of what wears the lift down [5]. Constant upgrading keeps you on the treadmill.
• Comparing your normal with someone else’s new. Their new car will become normal to them too. See Comparing yourself to others.
• Expecting to adapt to everything. Some losses leave a lasting mark. That isn’t a failure on your part.

Evidence

Lasting effects. In two large national panel studies, about 950 people who developed a long-term disability were followed for years before and after. Their happiness dropped moderately to substantially and recovered little over time [3]. A meta-analysis of 313 samples (almost 66,000 people) found life events differed a lot. After unemployment, life satisfaction took about three years on average to return to its earlier level. Bereavement caused a drop of almost half a standard deviation at the time [4]. Life satisfaction was usually affected more strongly and consistently than mood.

Slowing adaptation. A meta-analysis of 20 randomized trials with about 4,800 people found savoring exercises had a moderate positive effect on mood and wellbeing, and the authors found no sign that selective publishing explained the result. Effects looked larger when compared with doing nothing than with another activity [6]. The research on experiences versus possessions is mostly surveys and short lab studies where people rate their own purchases [7].

Rated Some. The long-term data on adaptation are large and consistent. The evidence for slowing it is newer and shorter-term.

Topics: Thinking, Adaptation, Happiness, Savoring, Money

Sources checked 4 October 2026. Spot a mistake? Tell us.