Sure, everyone needs to vent once in a while. But being a compulsive kvetcher can hurt your mood and send people running. On the flip side, “complaining strategically, and in moderation, can actually be effective in bringing about desired outcomes,” says Robin Kowalski, PhD, professor of psychology at Clemson University in South Carolina. This plan… Read More »
After months of lamenting to your friends, coworkers and cats that, “Ugh, I need a vacation”—but refusing to take one—you’ve finally given in and put in for a few much-needed PTO days. Hooray! But if your first question is “Can I get WiFi?” you’re not alone. In a culture where we earn our vacation days yet don’t always… Read More »
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I’ve always been a procrastinator. Studying for high school history exams, calling the dreaded cable company, scrubbing my bathroom—you name it, I’ve said, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” So when I heard about a popular task-manager app called 30/30 (iOS), I had to try it out. What it does The app lets you schedule your to-do list in timed intervals. The simple… Read More »
There’s a reason some people say they get their best ideas when they’re running. A new study from researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and published in the journal Psychological Science, suggests that a clear mind—free of too much chatter—is a more creative one. In three different experiments, about 20 people completed the same free association task. (They had to quickly… Read More »
Look up at the sky tonight, and you will see a rare celestial phenomenon: a solstice full moon. Depending on your time zone, it may be the first since 1948. The June solstice, observed at 6:34 p.m. ET, when the sun reaches its northernmost position in the sky, will mark the first day of summer, and the longest day… Read More »
“I have a really chaotic schedule so I do it whenever I can,” says Dan Harris, a correspondent for ABC News and the author of the New York Times bestseller 10% Happier. “I don’t freak out if I can’t fit it in but I do think it’s important to do something every day.” Harris has been… Read More »
The summer solstice is June 20, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. But do the extra hours of sunshine make you happier? In general, people are more cheerful in the summertime, according to Philip Gehrman, associate director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Light serves as the strongest cue to regulate circadian… Read More »
Being forgiving to yourself and others can protect against stress and the toll it takes on mental health, according to a new study in the Journal of Health Psychology. Researchers looked at the effects of lifetime stress on a person’s mental health, and how more forgiving people fared compared to people who weren’t so forgiving. To do this, they asked… Read More »
If you’ve ever spent some time doodling with crayons or sculpting a lump of Play-Doh and emerged feeling refreshed and relaxed, science may have an explanation. Researchers found that levels of the stress hormone cortisol (which normally spikes during the fight-or-flight response) went down in a group of 39 volunteers who drew with markers, made collages, or… Read More »