This is how to be happier, according to brain
science
Gratitude creates happiness. I’m not advocating
worry, guilt, and shame as the path to happiness. The illustration shows why we
tend to succumb to thoughts that fuel these emotions. The real neural antidepressant
is gratitude. Gratitude boosts levels of serotonin and dopamine—the brain’s
happy chemicals and the same chemicals targeted by antidepressant medications.
The striking thing about gratitude is that it can work even when things aren’t
going well for you. That’s because you don’t actually have to feel spontaneous
gratitude in order to produce chemical changes in your brain; you just have to
force yourself to think about something in your life that you appreciate. This
train of thought activates your brain to make you feel happier.
Labeling negative feelings dilutes their
power. There
is an amazing amount of power in simply labeling your negative emotions. In one
study, participants underwent fMRI scans of their brains while they labeled
negative emotions. When they named these emotions, the brain’s prefrontal
cortex took over and the amygdala (where emotions are generated) calmed down.
This effect doesn’t just work with your own emotions; labeling the emotions of
other people calms them down too, which is why FBI hostage negotiators
frequently rely on this technique.
Making decisions feels good. Similar to naming
emotions, making decisions engages the prefrontal cortex, which calms the
amygdala and the rest of the limbic system. The key is to make a “good enough”
decision. Trying to make the perfect decision causes stress. We’ve always known
that, but now there’s scientific research that explains why. Making a “good
enough” decision activates the dorsolateral prefrontal areas of the brain,
calming emotions down and helping you feel more in control. Trying to make a
perfect decision, on the other hand, ramps up ventromedial frontal
activity—which basically means your emotions get overly involved in the
decision-making process.
It helps you to lend a hand. Taking the time to
help your colleagues not only makes them happy but also makes you happy.
Helping other people gives you a surge of oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine,
all of which create good feelings. In a Harvard study, employees who helped
others were 10 times more likely to be focused at work and 40% more likely to
get a promotion. The same study showed that people who consistently provided
social support to others were the most likely to be happy during times of high
stress. As long as you make certain that you aren’t overcommitting yourself,
helping others is sure to have a positive influence on your happiness.
Our brains are wired for touch. Humans are social
animals, to the point that our brains react to social exclusion in the same way
that they react to physical pain, with activity in the anterior cingulate and
insula. Similarly, our brains are hardwired to interpret touch as social acceptance.
Touch is one of the primary stimuli for releasing oxytocin, which calms the
amygdala and, in turn, calms emotions. There are even studies that show that
holding hands with a loved one actually reduces the brain’s response to pain.
You might think that’s bad news for people who are socially isolated, but
studies show that a massage increases serotonin by as much as 30%. Touch
reduces stress hormones, decreases the perception of pain, improves sleep, and
reduces fatigue.
Bringing It All Together
Kolb’s research highlights just how
amazing the brain is, and he summarized his findings succinctly when he said,
“Everything is interconnected. Gratitude improves sleep. Sleep reduces pain.
Reduced pain improves your mood. Improved mood reduces anxiety, which improves
focus and planning. Focus and planning help with decision-making.
Decision-making further reduces anxiety and improves enjoyment. Enjoyment gives
you more to be grateful for, which keeps that loop of the upward spiral going.
Enjoyment makes it more likely you’ll exercise and be social, which, in turn,
makes you happier.”
Do you think these tricks might work for
you? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I learn just
as much from you as you do from me.
Dr. Travis Bradberry
