BRIGHTON has been named as the happiest city in the UK.

The city came out on top of a nationwide survey into the satisfaction of the nation, with more than a third of residents choosing the word ‘happy’ to describe their lives.

At the other end of the scale, just 16 per cent of Edinburgh residents described their lives as happy, favouring the words anxious and depressed.

Kerry Collinge, from company 9NINE Super Seed, which commissioned the study, said: “Brighton residents have found themselves topping our happiest city chart.

“Maybe it’s the sea air and sunny weather that keeps them smiling.’’

Oxford was the city which had the highest level of general life satisfaction while Edinburgh came bottom once again.

The study found just one in 10 Britons rated their life satisfaction at nine or above.

The study, which quizzed 3,000 Brits, also looked into the ways we boost our mood and found three in five look to bed for comfort in hard times, while more than half lean on family for support.

Forty three per cent of those surveyed play their favourite music when they need to raise their spirits, and reading a book proved more popular for boosting our serotonin levels than sex.

Typical British weather is most likely to get us feeling down in the dumps, with 40 per cent claiming that inclement weather has a negative effect on their emotions.

Nearly half of the women polled in the study thought time to relax was important for their well-being, while 35 per cent of men preferred sex as a way to unwind.

When it comes to having a bad day, women are twice as likely as men to be brought down by living in a messy home, with 37 per cent claiming that untidiness has a negative effect on their mood compared to 18 per cent of men.

Most Brits believe that they will be at their happiest at the age of 33, and just over a third believe that their best years are now behind them.

An optimistic fifth think that they are currently having the time of their lives.

When asked to describe how often they feel in a positive mood, 58 per cent said that they are usually happy people, and only six per cent said they rarely or never feel happiness. A quarter of Brits describe themselves as anxious, and only one in seven consider themselves confident.