Creature Comforts: The Health Benefits of Pets
It was “total pandemonium” when Dr. Bill Thomas released one hundred parakeets into the beauty salon of the nursing home because his order of birdcages was delayed. But he was…
Your Happiness Playlist
Experience embodied delight through music. Sounds are vibrations hitting your eardrums, but the rest of your body is resonating too. Imagine yourself as a guitar or piano – music vibrates…
Hope: the Ultimate Superfood
You already know that it’s important to eat your leafy veggies and blueberries, rich in antioxidants. But did you know that hope is the ultimate superfood? A superfood is defined…
Increase Calm and Self-Control with this 5-minute Daily Practice
Where can you carve-out five minutes? How about before you get out of bed after your alarm goes off? Or maybe you can claim five minutes after your morning coffee,…
The Paradox of Aging: the Happiness U-Curve
When imagining aging, most middle-aged people look ahead with trepidation. But take heart: the best is likely yet to come! Satisfaction surveys have found that happiness increases after middle age,…
Resolve to Refresh
Have you ever returned from a vacation feeling depleted rather than replenished? Maybe you were jetlagged after an international adventure or drained from overextending yourself to host family or friends. As you…
Gratitude as an Antidote to Craving
The season of indulgence has begun. If you received trick-or-treaters at your home, then you may still have leftover candy tempting you. Thanksgiving offers a delicious feast, served up with…
Coping with Change
As the saying goes, change is the only constant. Given this truth, why is change so stressful? The brain has a function similar to a motion stabilizer on a video…
Practice Self-Compassion
Imagine that a dear friend calls you in distress. How would you respond? What would you say? What would your tone of voice sound like? Now, consider how you talk…
Quick Stress Relief Strategies
One of the most useful techniques to quickly calm yourself is to exhale deeply. This simple action can soothe the body’s alarm, the sympathetic nervous system, and activate the all-clear signal,…