Sometimes keeping up with your social media channels can feel more stressful than fun — and according to an experimental study [1] conducted by The Happiness Research Institute [2], ditching Facebook in particular can result in a happier life.

To determine whether using Facebook has any affect on one's "subjective well-being," 1,095 participants in Denmark were randomly assigned to either quit Facebook entirely for one week or to continue as usual. Ninety-four percent of this sample visit the site on a daily basis, and 86 percent go through their news feed "often" or "very often." The participants evaluated their lives prior to the experiment and were asked to again a week later.

Based on the results, the group that gave up Facebook for one week reported being significantly more satisfied with their life on a scale of one to 10 in comparison to the group that continued with their regular Facebook use. Both groups were also asked about their moods on the last day — those who'd taken a break claimed to be happier and more enthusiastic and less worried, sad, angry, and depressed than the other group.

Quitting Facebook allowed the participants more time for social activity offline, which led to an increase in satisfaction with their social life. In addition, research showed that Facebook users are 55 percent more prone to feeling stressed. The study suggested that FOMO brings users down as seeing success and amazing experiences shared online can cause distress and "Facebook envy." "Instead of focusing on what we actually need, we have an unfortunate tendency to focus on what other people have."

Although the conducted study has its limitations, it may be worth a try to test this out on your own. Give up Facebook for one week to see if you notice a happier you!