Finland's basic income experiment is already lowering stress levels — and it's only 4 months old

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May 10, 2017 4:57 PM

A two-year-long program to give unemployed Finns $600 a month already seems to be paying off, one official says.

Cardio workouts may also improve the look and feel of your skin.

Four months after Finland's social-security institution Kela launched a two-year experiment in basic income, a system of wealth distribution in which people receive a salary just for being alive, some of the 2,000 recipients are already reporting lower levels of stress.

The $600 they receive each month might not be much, but it's enough to put some people's anxiety at ease, Marjukka Turunen, head of Kela's legal benefits unit, told Kera News.

"Some people might stay on their couches, and some might go to work," she says. "We don't know yet."

If there are couch potatoes, they at least seem to be relaxed.

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