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April 29 – May 3, 2024
If you’re looking to learn a new skill, try out a new hobby, and reduce your stress all at the same time, studies show that knitting protects against cognitive decline, and can facilitate recovery from illness or trauma.
Racing thoughts keeping you up at night? Here are 9 tips to help you cope with them – from box breathing to brain dumping – you might find something that works for you.
Venting your anger to relieve it (think screaming, running, smash therapy) is a myth?
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April 22 – 26, 2024
Pushing down emotions and distracting yourself from your feelings contributes to confusion about what to do, and ultimately the things you’re trying to bury become more intense. Here’s ideas and step-by-step instructions for how to name your emotions so they don’t get the best of you.
Can you name 4 different types of stress? It’s important to know what type of stress you’re experiencing because some stress-relief techniques are more effective than others depending on the stress type.
Somatic therapy, a newly-developing form of therapy, helps reduce stress within your body as the result of trauma, PTSD, anxiety or depression, and strengthens the mind-body connection.
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April 15 – 19, 2024
A health and wellness journalist finds out what happens to her sleep when she spends 30 days keeping her phone out of her bedroom.
A CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) inspired journaling app that helps you learn what affects your mood, develop healthier thought patterns, build resilience, and foster personal growth. Check it out for Apple or Android.
Dr. Andrew Huberman discusses how you can feel more energized and sleep better by doing one thing every morning—getting bright sunlight.
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Feeling tired and sluggish throughout the day? Try making a few small adjustments to your diet: 15 energy-boosting foods, many of which don’t require a lot of prep and make easy snacks.
The benefits of “walking meditation” and how to get started.
A podcast episode with strategies and advice for what to eat to boost your mood.
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Thinking of saying “no” to a friend’s social invitation, but you are worried about how the rejection might affect your relationship? Before you commit to something you really don’t want to do, consider this research that says you’re likely overestimating how upset your friend will be.
Researchers have identified movements that are recognizable in many cultures as inspired by joy: reaching arms up, swaying, bouncing, spinning with arms outstretched. Performing these kinds of movements can evoke joy and positive emotions. In need of a joy boost? Try a joy workout video!
An interactive well-being questionnaire to get you thinking about different aspects of your life and mental health, and help you identify what’s working and where you might make adjustments.
March 25 – 29, 2004
Listen to Chris Anderson, the curator of TED describe the science of a “generosity mindset” and why it makes you happier.
Were you stressed today? You may need to induce a relaxation response to help your body calm down, triggering the release of cortisol and returning blood pressure, heart rate, and digestive functioning to normal. A prolonged state of chronic stress will lead to anxiety and burnout. The good news is that a relaxation response is easily triggered through simple breathing exercises and mindfulness techniques that aren’t all that time-consuming.
How to calm anxiety, written by people with anxiety: 13 little life hacks people with anxiety actually swear by.
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March 18 – 22, 2024
Expand your understanding of self-care beyond an occasional “treat-yourself” model and consider self-care to be a core component of a lifestyle that embraces fulfillment, joy, and wellbeing. Download the Self Care Wheel for ideas and complete your own wheel for your self-care goals.
Reading out loud can improve memory, cognitive function, focus and mood.
Do you often notice that you’re being self-critical and negative? It’s time to change your self-talk. Journaling or meditating on this self-talk exercise over time will give you positive results in how you relate to yourself.
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March 11 – 15, 2024
If you’re feeling more depressive symptoms lately, and you’re not sleeping well or long enough, you might be surprised how quickly you can positively alleviate your depressive symptoms by making some changes to the length and quality of your sleep. Dig into this study by the National Sleep Foundation for sleep practices that directly affect your mood.
You can also fight off the common cold a lot more easily when you’re sleeping well! Healthy individuals sleeping fewer than 6 hours per night are 4 times more likely to develop a cold when experimentally inoculated with the common cold virus than those with at least 7 hours.
Are rumination and anxious thoughts preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep? Try carving out time during the day for “scheduled worry.”
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March 4 – 8, 2024
When you’re anxious or stressed, your sympathetic nervous system is on high alert, otherwise knows as “fight-or-flight” mode. A quick way to move out of this state is to engage the parasympathetic nervous system, the bodily system responsible for rest and digestion. How? Try box breathing for just 3–5 minutes.
Use this nap wheel to figure out the best time of day for you to harness the restorative power of a nap. Listen to the creator of the nap wheel talk about the science of naps, and how long the perfect nap should be.
Stress can be good for you?
February 26 – March 1, 2024
The results of two studies on the influence of friendships on health and well-being across the lifespan reveal that as our social networks tend to decrease in size over time, when we shift attention and resources to maintaining quality friendships, we accumulate the benefits of increased health and well-being into older adulthood.
You may have described some of your behaviors as “being so OCD” but do you really know the difference between having OCD and being a perfectionist? Although both have some shared traits, understanding the difference is important for recognizing when it’s time to get help, and it can make you more empathetic to others living with OCD.
Thinking about reaching out to someone in your social support network to help you relieve some winter depression? The perfect background track exists to inspire you to make that phone call or send that text.
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February 12 – 16, 2024
Dr. Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkely, and author of “Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life” discusses the restorative and calming benefits of taking “awe walks.” Awe walks are good for your mental and physical health.
Texting while walking puts the most strain on our neck muscles – more so than using a phone while sitting or standing. Smartphone use puts demands on neck and upper back muscles, leading to symptoms of “text neck” and research suggests this could reduce balance and increase our risk of stumbles and falls, especially as we age.
Feeling like the winter blues are dragging down your weight loss efforts? You’re not wrong. It’s hard to lose weight in winter, and Natalie Thompson, a certified nutrition and wellness coach with UR Medicine’s Center for Employee Wellness breaks it down.
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February 5 – 9, 2024
A literature review of scientific studies on the effects of poetry in medicine, including a beneficial impact on patients managing pain, coping with stressors, and improving personal well-being, mood, and behavior. Whether reading, listening, or writing poetry, the benefits are all there!
If you’ve been stressed for awhile, your feelings of muscle tension may have gone unnoticed. Take a moment to check in with yourself and try a progressive muscle relaxation technique to help recognize tension and manage the physical effects of stress.
Thinking of taking a nature walk to improve your mood and reduce stress? It will! BUT – leave your phone in your pocket. In a 2023 study, people who were on their phones during walks in nature felt less positive, less happy, and less relaxed after the walk, whereas phone-free walkers felt better afterwards.
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January 29 - February 2, 2024
Anxiety in overdrive can really pull you out of the present moment, making you feel like you are isolated and living in your head. Mindfully accessing your five senses can help relieve that anxiety in just moments.
Listening to audio with binaural beats can positively affect your creativity, focus, mental state, and your sense of stress or anxiety.
Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, can trigger debilitating depression during winter’s dark days and cold temperatures. This article helps break down what SAD is, how long it will most likely last, and the best ways to cope with it.
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January 22 – 26, 2024
If you’re feeling anxious about your work and find yourself procrastinating, could the amount of clutter in your workspace be the culprit?
Looking for a new way to induce calm? If you find peace in following precise instructions and clicky-ASMR appeals to you, try out the Lego Botanical Collection. A review of all the sets will help you pick which one to start with.
In a survey of close to 1,000 Americans describing their choice of words while under stress, 87% said something they wish they hadn’t said. The number one regretful phrase uttered under stress: “I don’t care.” The most helpful phrase to hear when under stress is “We’ll figure it out.” For more survey results and mindful communication tips, read this article by Preply.
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January 15 – 19, 2024
A 5-minute de-stress meditation protocol that gives you quick results and can be completed right at your desk.
Impact your stress levels by slowing down, and simultaneously increase your connectedness to those you love for just $.66 and a few minutes of your time.
Psychologist Kelly Rohan, PhD, discusses seasonal depression and how the winter blues affects mood, sleep, and energy levels. Dr. Rohan gives coping tips that range from small daily tweaks, to the advantages of 12 sessions of CBT therapy.
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January 8-12, 2024
Yoga Nidra, a practice for non-sleep deep rest, resets your nervous system in as little as 10 minutes. Listen to Dr. Andrew Huberman briefly describe the impact of this practice at night for falling asleep, and in the mornings when you don’t feel rested enough.
If you’re considering resolutions in the new year to improve your quality of life, did you know that the one variable that will impact your health and happiness the most isn’t diets or deadlifts – it’s relationships! For more on how relationships influence health, check out these abstracts here and here.
A science-based protocol for morning list making that combines the science of goal setting, emotional health, and motivation…and only takes 5 minutes? Try it tomorrow morning!
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January 2-5, 2024
A 5 minute break that really replenishes your energy? But – try it before you get tired.
Not feeling the pressure of reinventing yourself for a New Year, New You? Try these journal prompts for reflecting on how far you’ve come, and honoring your values for who you are today.
A free 14-day guided meditation journey with plenty of advice and grace for meditation practices that aren’t perfect.