Feeling blah? Science shows you can boost happiness by taking time for small moments of delight. We’ve got ideas to try out right now. So let’s play!
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Sounds, memories and images from earlier chapters in our lives can evoke powerful feelings of nostalgia.
Play this soundscape and see if any particular feelings or memories come up for you.
Nostalgia is a universal experience — even children enjoy revisiting the past.
In times of loneliness, dialing into memories can help temporarily satisfy the human need for social bonds. And it can motivate people to strengthen current friendships.
Scientists are learning that nostalgia can even help us all derive meaning from difficult experiences.
To tap into nostalgia, pull up past selfies with friends, dig into favorite family recipes or listen again to one of those angsty songs you played on repeat in high school.
Or let us take you to another time and place. …
Do you recognize the sounds in these mixes? Press play to see what memories come up for you.
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Making art involves a series of small decisions. Just drawing a simple plant brings up questions — what tool to use: crayon or pencil? Which plant: a spiky cactus? Smooth succulent? Some imaginary combo?
Focusing on these little, low-stakes choices can help unlock a creative mental state that scientists call “flow” — it’s when you’re so absorbed in a task that time, space and any worries seem to disappear.
Flow is seen as a positive state of mind, where deep focus, skill and productivity harmonize.
Many hobbies or activities can spark flow as long as they have a clear goal and reward, give you immediate feedback and a sense of control, and allow you to tune out distractions.
Playing with art is just one easy way to take a short break and create. It doesn’t even matter if you like what you make. The point is the process.
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For some people, certain sounds can elicit a calming or euphoric feeling some describe as “brain tingles.” This experience is known as ASMR.
It stands for autonomous sensory meridian response. ASMR videos such as these have racked up millions of views online.
Try closing your eyes and tuning in to one of the classic ASMR triggers: whispering.
Not everyone experiences ASMR. But for those who do, popular triggers include the sticky squelch of playing with slime, tapping fingernails or the crinkle of plastic wrappers.
Research on ASMR is slim, but in one recent study, people’s heart rates slowed while watching ASMR videos. They also experienced increased skin conductance levels, which is a bit like getting awe-inspired chills.
Instant gratification might feel good in the moment, but sometimes delayed pleasures are even more rewarding.
Studies show humans especially enjoy the anticipation of a fun experience, such as planning a vacation or a get-together, more than the anticipation leading up to acquiring a new object.
Why? Well, we know exactly what we’re getting when we buy new shoes online. But when we wait for an experience, we savor the abstract idea of what’s coming.
And it doesn’t have to be a big adventure like a far-flung trip — anticipating simple, ordinary experiences such as the growth of a new garden — can also bring joy.
So plan ahead for some fun to look forward to. Get a weekly game night on the calendar. Or you know, plant some seeds and kick back. Your present and future self might thank you.
Why does gazing into the cosmos give such a feeling of … “Wow”?
Awe is a difficult emotion to define. But researchers are learning it lifts our mood — by shifting our perspective outward, beyond the self and toward something extraordinary.
Awe makes you pause. The fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system dials back a little. You might feel more calm.
It can come from something grand such as the shifting hues of an aurora borealis. Or the tiny geometry of a fragile insect. Scents, sounds or tastes can spark it, too.
If you want to experience more awe, go looking for it. One easy way? Take a walk and notice what moves you. Let yourself be astonished. Pretty awesome, right?
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Struggling to define what you feel?
Some therapists in hospitals are now helping staff and patients turn to narrative writing or poetry when they’re going through difficult experiences.
Research shows putting thoughts to paper in this way can reduce the stress, pain and feelings of isolation that accompany illness or an emotional loss.
Two doctors at Harvard Medical School led Zoom poetry workshops during the pandemic. They found that writing and sharing poetry helped participants cope with uncertainty and connect with each other through common feelings.
Playing around with metaphors to describe feelings might help unlock a new way to describe your emotions.
Now, an easy way to try it out is by crafting a blackout poem.
How to do it yourself? Find any passage of text. Using a black marker, mark out words you don’t want from the text. The words you leave behind become your poem!
Like watching videos of cute animals? Who doesn’t?
Look at these cuties!
Researchers at the University of Leeds showed 30-minute montages of cute animal videos to stressed university students and found their blood pressure, heart rate and anxiety dropped.
What makes these critters so darn cute?
A researcher in Austria determined that infants’ large heads and large eyes inspire caregiving instincts and activate the brain’s reward system. And that might apply to our furry friends, too.
One study in Japan found that the “cuteness-triggered positive emotion” that comes from watching puppies and kittens even improved focus and attention.
Feeling that cuteness-triggered positive emotion?
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Yellowstone: America’s first national park. It’s a wonder of rare wildlife, geysers, lakes and grasslands — and in all of that, rich sound. See if you can identify five different natural sounds here:
Research conducted in national parks found that listening to uninterrupted natural sounds can be calming and have health benefits, too, including improved mood, lower pain and decreased stress. Try immersing yourself in the sounds of the park on a foggy morning:
Yellowstone has 500 of the world’s geysers, which are kind of like nature’s white noise machines. Close your eyes and listen to one of our favorites, the Castle Geyser:
Why do the sounds of wind, falling rain and bird chatter, and even distant rolling thunder have such a calming effect? One theory is that, when we’re safe inside, sounds such as these are less threatening than human-made noise. Since they don’t require our direct attention, they allow us to tune out and relax.
Water and bird sounds — such as the common loon you can listen to here — have been found to have an especially positive effect on well-being.
Even if you aren’t in a national park, simply listening to such recordings as a steam vent, a mudpot or the call of a robin can be restorative.
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Headphones recommended
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Headphones recommended
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