Tuning in to the good old radio makes people happier and gives them higher energy levels than watching TV or browsing the Internet, a new study has found.

In the British study, based on a survey, radio came out top, beating both TV and online, with respondents recording a 100 per cent lift in happiness and 300 per cent boost to their energy levels when listening to a radio show.

Watching TV and surfing the web also boosts people’s happiness and energy levels, but failed to come close to the positive effect radio listening has on Britons’ well-being, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ reported.

The study found that listening to the radio increases people’s happiness levels nearly twice as much as watching TV does and gives them four times the amount of perceived energy.

Similarly radio trumped people’s feelings when online, especially in the energy stakes. Those listening to radio said that they felt three times more energetic than they did when browsing the web.

A separate part of the study also used brain scans to further monitor people’s reactions to radio.

Having monitored the wave activity in six persons’ brains (three men and three women), the results showed radio stimulates positive brain engagement levels and they are more responsive to audio adverts preceded by editorial content.

“People are the happiest and most energetic when listening to radio. It plays an important emotional role in people’s lives,” said Mark Barber, Planning Director at the Radio Advertising Bureau, which commissioned the research.

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