Understanding the Significance of Rituals and Smiling in Human Behavior

We know that smiling is a universal human expression of happiness. Everyone smiles - in fact, even babies born blind smile. What is the purpose of smiling? So, what does smiling do for you? Why are we attracted to a person’s smile? Listen as I begin this episode with a brief look at smiling. https://www.livescience.com/5254-smiles-innate-learned.html

We have all kinds of rituals. There are religious rituals, family rituals, holidays rituals, personal rituals – rituals are everywhere. By definition, rituals don’t actually do anything really. They are just rituals. So why do we have them at all? It appears we have them because they are important and necessary according to my guest, Dimitris Xygalatas. He is an anthropologist and cognitive scientist who runs the Experimental Anthropology Lab at the University of Connecticut. He is also author of the book Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living (https://amzn.to/3Pq7U4b).

We all know exercise is important for our health. Still, a lot of people hate it. Why is something so vital to human health so despised and avoided by so many? Maybe we never really evolved to exercise – at least not the way exercise is done today. This is according to Daniel E. Lieberman. Daniel is a professor of biological sciences and a professor of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He is also the author of the book Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding (https://amzn.to/3hoPQea). Listen and you’ll never again feel guilty the next time you decide you really DON’T want to go out and exercise.

Salt is bad for your blood pressure – that is common knowledge. But is it true? Does eating salt actually elevate blood pressure and does reducing salt help to lower it? Listen as I reveal some of the science regarding salt and blood pressure and why potassium is also an important player in this story. https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/relationships-between-salt-potassium-6609.html

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