Why do life-threatening situations make some people more calm?
e heart rates of the best bomb disposal experts actually drop when they're in the danger zone. Why? Confidence. Via The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success: Back in the 1980s, Harvard researcher Stanley Rachman found something similar with bomb-disposal operatives. What, Rachman wanted to know, separated the men from the boys in this high-risk, high-wire profession? All bomb-disposal operatives are good. Otherwise they’d be dead. But what did the stars have that the…
2 minutes
Are puppies the secret to productivity?
iewing cute images improved performance on tasks that required carefulness," researchers concluded. Via Bodyodd: "Viewing cute images improved performance on tasks that required carefulness," researchers concluded. Earlier experiments found that people did a better job playing the game Operation after viewing photos of puppies and kittens. Researchers speculated that the cute images made subjects more attuned to being careful because baby animals suggest vulnerability... This means anyone who has to do work that requires careful attention, such as copyediting or accounting, could benefit. And: So go…
1 min read
Here’s The Magic Number That Leads To Happiness
w much happiness does it take to make up for the sadness in life? A ratio of 3 to 1. Via Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain: How to Retrain Your Brain to Overcome Pessimism and Achieve a More Positive Outlook: Psychologist Barbara Frederickson is an expert on flourishing and has been an advocate of finding ways to bring more positive emotions into our lives. In her research she discovered a critical 3 to 1 ratio, indicating that we need to have…
3 minutes
Why do we play?
y do we play? We play in order to learn: Via Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul: Play creates new neural connections and tests them. It creates an arena for social interaction and learning. It creates a low-risk format for finding and developing innate skills and talents. How does this work? When something is fun, it commands our full attention and provides an emotional reward, two things that are key to strengthening memory:…
4 minutes
How can you make your weekends more awesome?
at's the research have to say about making Friday through Sunday that much better...? Don't Trust Your Instincts Ever eat or drink too much, feel awful, then do it again... and feel awful again? As counterintuitive as it may sound, we're actually pretty bad about remembering what really makes us happy. Reading Harvard happiness expert Daniel Gilbert's bestselling book Stumbling on Happiness my main takeaway was this: Much of our unhappiness springs from the fact that we're terrible at accurately…
4 minutes
How technology can make you happier
ny say technology is tearing us apart but studies generally show that tech and the internet make us happier. What gives? There's certainly a near-term and long-term difference: your brain loves things that give you more options even if too many choices end up making you miserable. (Humans aren't always rational. Welcome to Earth.) More relevant, technology is a tool, and it's all about what you do with it. Research has shown time and time again that what makes you…
3 minutes
In the long run, do cheap purchases make us happier than expensive ones?
en making expensive purchases (like vacations) we think about the money and what we're getting. With cheaper stuff (going to the movies) we focus more on who we're with. Focusing on relationships brings more long term happiness. Via PRWeb (hat tip: Jennifer Aaker) Statistical analysis showed that when considering inexpensive experiences, people’s main concern was with whom they would share the experience, preferring to do them with friends rather than family. For more luxurious experiences people were most concerned with…
1 min read
How To Find Meaning In Life, Backed By Research
man beings certainly gravitate to religion and it seems we all have an tendency to believe in some sort of karma. Your mind may require meaning. Studies show it's one of the key factors underlying happiness and motivation. So what does research say about how we might be able to find meaning in life? Meaning Is About Stories Studies have shown that stories are key to some of the most fundamental parts of our lives: increasing happiness, group solidarity…
3 minutes
