The Science of Happiness

Chris Sharma is one of the greatest rock climbers of all time, and he's taking on some of the biggest challenges in life: becoming a parent and starting his own business. Chris tries a practice shown to help us craft our own path and purpose in life. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/pdtkffuv Episode summary: Chris Sharma spent his youth traveling the globe and becoming one of the greatest rock climbers of all time. His passion for climbing has filled his life with purpose, but now in middle age, he wants to also focus on other sources of meaning in life that are just as important to him. Chris joins us after trying a practice in life crafting — where you get clear on your values, imagine what your ideal life would look like, and make a plan to get closer to that vision. Later in the show, we hear from Michael Steger, a psychologist and director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose at Colorado State University, about the surprising places in our lives we can find meaning, and the different roads we can take towards living a more meaningful life. Try the Life Crafting Practice: Identify your deepest values and passions — what’s most important to you. Reflect on your ideal future: Write a paragraph envisioning how you’d like your social life or your career path to turn out if you had no constraints. Write down how you’ll attain those goals. Prioritize them, and write “if, then” plans for how you’ll overcome obstacles you’re likely to encounter. Make a public commitment. Tell your community about your goals. Learn more about this practice at Greater Good In Action: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/life_crafting Today’s guests: Chris Sharma is an elite rock climber known for traveling the world to find the most beautiful and challenging places to rock climb. His new show The Climb premieres on HBO on January 12. Check out the trailer here: https://tinyurl.com/suz35w8y Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_sharma/ Check out his website: http://www.chrissharma.com/ Michael Steger is a professor of psychology at Colorado State University, where he is the director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose. Learn more about Steger’s work: http://www.michaelfsteger.com/ Follow Steger on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/yc79d6mb Resources from The Greater Good Science Center: Michael Steger: Why We Search for Meaning: https://tinyurl.com/2s469242 Here’s How to Find Meaning in Your Midlife Crisis: https://tinyurl.com/4kpcnr9c What Our Photos Say About Us (Podcast): https://tinyurl.com/y56wvj42 Purpose in Life Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yz4ztenp Living with a Purpose Changes Everything: https://tinyurl.com/d3ea7afa More On Meaning and Purpose: The Atlantic - The Meaning of Life Is Surprisingly Simple: https://tinyurl.com/2yfucadj Pew - Where Americans Find Meaning in Life: https://tinyurl.com/nek5j6tk Scientific American - To Feel Meaningful Is To Feel Immortal: https://tinyurl.com/yuhe99m9 NPR - What's Your Purpose? https://tinyurl.com/465aknec Harvard Business Review: What Is the Purpose of Your Purpose? https://tinyurl.com/43pjrc6j Tell us about how you find meaning in your life. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste: all of our five senses provide unique pathways to presence and happiness. We spend a few minutes being mindful of each one. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/be39r98y How to Do This Practice: Find a comfortable place where you feel safe. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a few deep breths, noticing the sensation of the air as it moves through your nose, into your lungs, and back out again. Sound: For a few breaths, pay attention to the sounds around you. Notice where they are in space. Touch: Put one hand on top of the other. Notice the sensations you feel in your hand as your fingers’ knuckles touch the other, like temperature and texture.. Shift your attention to your cheeks, noticing temperature and the feel of the air. Taste: Now, pay attention to the taste you are experiencing on your tongue. There may be no taste or the taste of saliva. Smell: Move your focus to the smell around you as you take a breath. See how many odors you can identify. **Sight: Finally, focus your gaze on a point eight inches in front of you for a few seconds and see what colors, forms, light, and shadow you notice there. Take a few more deep breaths here and notice if any of your senses feel heightened. More resources from The Greater Good Science Center: Listen to our Happiness Break on body scan meditation: https://tinyurl.com/bd6x8ba5 How to Focus Under Pressure (podcast) https://tinyurl.com/mxpd6mtd Coming to Our Senses: https://tinyurl.com/3d4jkprr Hands-On Research: The Science of Touch: https://tinyurl.com/y79vpbre 10 Steps to Savoring the Good Things in Life: https://tinyurl.com/2zwb5y8v We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience with the five senses meditation. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Find us on Apple Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Moving in sync with someone else — even a total stranger — can change how you feel about them, and how you act, without you realizing it. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2baf5v3u Episode summary: When was the last time you moved in sync with someone else? Dancing, exercising, even just walking in step — for some, it comes easily, for others, it’s a challenge. But can moving to the same beat make all of us kinder to one another? This week, our guest Chris Duffy steps out of his comfort zone to try a practice in Body Music, rhythmically making sounds just by tapping your body, with body percussionist Keith Terry. Later, we learn how tapping in sync with someone else tricks you into thinking you have more in common with them, and can make you more inclined to help them. Practice: To start, stand up. Clap your hands together in front of your chest, then tap your left palm to your right chest, then right hand to your left chest. Repeat at a steady cadence. Next, cap your hands together in front of your chest, then tap your left hand to your right chest, then right hand to your left chest, the right hand to top of your right thigh, then left hand to left thigh. Repeat at a steady cadence. You can add on by tapping your right hand to your right buttocks and left hand to left buttocks after you finish tapping both thighs in step 2. Repeat (including all of step 2) at a steady cadence. To add even more complexity, stomp each foot one at a time after completing all of step 3. Repeat at a steady cadence. Check out a video of body percussionist Keith Terry performing this practice (and try it with a friend!): https://tinyurl.com/mwffv447 Today’s guests: Chris Duffy is a comedian, writer, and host of the TED podcast How to Be A Better Human. Listen to Chris’s podcast, How to Be a Better Human: https://tinyurl.com/bdey9pm5 Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisiduffy/ Follow Chris on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopheriduffy Check out Chris’s comedy: https://chrisduffycomedy.com/videos Keith Terry is a body percussionist and creator of the Body Music practice Chris tried today. Learn more about Keith’s work: https://crosspulse.com/keith-terry/ Check out one of Keith’s original compositions: https://tinyurl.com/ybhweyux Piercarlo Valdesolo  is a psychologist and Chair of Psychological Science at Claremont McKenna College in California. Learn more about Piercarolo’s work: http://www.valdesolo.com/ Check out the Moral Emotions and Trust Lab: http://www.valdesolo.com/meat-lab Resources from The Greater Good Science Center: How Music Bonds Us Together https://tinyurl.com/329scmf6 To Resolve Conflicts, Get Up and Move https://tinyurl.com/bdf6zswn Five Ways Music Can Make You a Better Person https://tinyurl.com/mwa22r8m How to Train the Compassionate Brain https://tinyurl.com/32nbuh94 More Resources on Synchronized Movement PRX - Body Music with Keith Terry https://tinyurl.com/2p8tz5j3 Scientific American - Moving in Sync Creates Surprising Social Bonds among People https://tinyurl.com/3y3ahfa3 Oxford University - Let’s dance: synchronised movement helps us tolerate pain and foster friendship  https://tinyurl.com/c8tvrmdx Science Daily - Social Synchronicity https://tinyurl.com/4mzvahe Tell us about your experiences and struggles with body music or moving in sync. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Happiness isn't only in your head — your body is important, too. This week, Radha Agrawal leads us in a short Japanese calisthenics practice called Radio Taiso.Check out Radha Agrawal’s video guide to this practice: https://dose.daybreaker.com/videos/microdose-oxytocin-healthy-spineToday’s Happiness Break guide:Radha Agrawal is Japanese-Indian author and a founder of Daybreaker, a company that throws sober dance parties at sunrise all around the world. Learn more about Daybreaker: https://www.daybreaker.com/The Science of Happiness listeners get 100% off their first month of Daybreaker’s Dose, using code GGSC at check out:  http://dose.daybreaker.com?code=ggscFollow Radha on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love.radha/Follow Radha on Twitter: https://twitter.com/radhatwinLearn more about Radha and her book, Belong: https://belongbook.com/More resources from The Greater Good Science Center: Moving Your Body Is Like a Tune-Up for Your Mind: https://tinyurl.com/2f64na8b Five Surprising Ways Exercise Changes Your Brain: https://tinyurl.com/4pbx3rua How Tuning In to Your Body Can Make You More Resilient: https://tinyurl.com/328scfjj Four Ways Dancing Makes You Happier: https://tinyurl.com/yxp6mxdw We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of trying radio calisthenics. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapHelp us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aapWe're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/5f5rzc85

One way to feel more thankful for things is to imagine life without them. Our guest tries a practice for seeing the bright side, even when you feel down. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5n783z4e Episode summary: We know that gratitude is good for us. But what can we do when we’re struggling to actually feel thankful? Our guest this week is author and podcast producer Stephanie Foo. Foo built a network of close friends around her in California, where she grew up. As a survivor of child abuse and Complex PTSD, her friends in California became her chosen family. And since she’s moved to New York City, she finds herself often pining for the Golden State and the people she loves there. This week, Foo tries a practice in mental subtraction, which gratitude researcher Ernst Bohlmeijer describes as an antidote to taking things for granted. Imagining her life if she didn’t live in New York helps Foo tap into gratitude even in the depths of winter – when she misses California the most. She even discovers her particular skill in getting the benefits of this practice by leaning into one of her PTSD symptoms. Later in the show, Ernst Bohlmeijer breaks down how keeping a gratitude practice can alter the emotions you’re likely to experience in a given day, and maybe even change you as a person. Practice: Take a moment to think about a positive event in your life. It could be a career or educational achievement or a special trip you took. Imagine yourself back in the time of this event. Think about the circumstances that made it possible. Ponder on the ways in which this event may never have happened and write them down. For example, if you hadn’t learned about a certain job opening at the right moment. Imagine what your life would be like now if you had not experienced this positive event and all the fruits that came from it. Remind yourself that this positive event did happen and reflect upon the benefits it has brought you. Allow yourself to feel grateful that things happened as they did. Find the full Mental Subtraction of Positive Events practice at our Greater Good in Action website: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mental_subtraction_positive_events Today’s guests: Stephanie Foo is a radio producer and author of the book What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma. Learn more about Stephanie and her book: https://www.stephaniefoo.me/ Follow Stephanie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/imontheradio Follow Stephanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foofoofoo/ Follow Stephanie on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/yx6pwdnf Ernst Bohlmeijer is a psychology professor who studies gratitude at the University of Twente in The Netherlands. Learn more about Ernst and his work: https://tinyurl.com/2p92p6vn Resources from The Greater Good Science Center: Four Great Gratitude Strategies: https://tinyurl.com/2p9buvkd Tips for Keeping a Gratitude Journal: https://tinyurl.com/3jdbe52u How to Increase the Love in Your Life: https://tinyurl.com/3k4ayj4n Why Cynicism Can Hold You Back: https://tinyurl.com/bd4ussjt More Resources for Mental Subtraction of Positive Events: New York Times - Five Ways to Exercise Your Thankfulness Muscles: https://tinyurl.com/t29ukucc NPR - A.J. Jacobs: How Can We Thank Those We Take for Granted?: https://tinyurl.com/56x48u99 TED - Your 5-day gratitude challenge: 5 exercises to increase your gratefulness: https://tinyurl.com/mt8j3x65 Tell us your thoughts about this episode. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Not sure how to start practicing gratitude? Psychologist Dacher Keltner guides you through a practice that can help you see the good things in your life that you might otherwise overlook. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc7bvkpr How to Do This Practice: Sit or lay down somewhere comfortable. You may close your eyes if you wish, and take a slow, deep breath in to ground into the present moment. Then, scan your body from head to toe, noticing how you’re feeling in this moment. Let worries and plans clear from your mind. Start by thinking about all the things that make your life comfortable: Clean water on tap, light at the flip of a switch, a roof over your head to protect you from the weather, warmth, and comfort when it gets windy, rainy, or cold. Let your mind wander to all the millions of people who have worked hard to make your life more comfortable: Those who plant and harvest the food you eat, who bring it to markets, people who ensure the water we drink is clean, delivery drivers, teachers, all the people who create art and music and books and films and all the things that can bring us so much meaning, and so on. Think about the acquaintances who bring richness to your life, like a colleague, neighbor, or someone you often see at the gym or a coffee shop. Take a moment to think about what you’re really grateful for today, right now. Notice how you’re feeling now, compared to when you started, and then start to bring movement back to your body, wiggling fingers and toes, maybe slowly standing up. If you have the time, spend a few minutes journaling about what you thought about. Today’s Happiness Break host: Dacher Keltner is the host of The Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center’s popular online course of the same name. He's also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. This practice was created by Dr. Kathy Kemper, who's the director of the Center for Integrative Health and Wellness at the Ohio State University. Learn more about some of her work here: https://mind-bodyhealth.osu.edu/ More resources from The Greater Good Science Center: Try GGSC’s online Gratitude Journal, Thnx4: https://tinyurl.com/2s4e4bx6 Take our Gratitude Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yhbz6cwv Four Great Gratitude Strategies: https://tinyurl.com/2muyff64 Is Gratitude Good for You?: https://tinyurl.com/ycknm2ru Three Surprising Ways Gratitude Works at Work: https://tinyurl.com/yc2c8y4n How Gratitude Motivates Us to Become Better People: https://tinyurl.com/5n6ejpdy We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience with practicing gratitude. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

There are millions of YouTube videos with people crinkling bubble wrap or whispering about folding laundry. Our guest talks about why autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) makes her, and many others, feel more calm and happy. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/ye4p3tkw Episode summary: Melinda still remembers the tingling feeling she felt when she first listened to the close-up sound of someone drawing on a TV show at the age of ten. She learned later that the subtle sounds that create soothing sensations for her are called autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR. Now, she creates ASMR experiences on her YouTube channel and through her live production company, Whisperlodge — from delicately handling a plastic package to gently stroking a microphone with a makeup brush. In today's show, Melinda demystifies the world of ASMR and how it brings both calm and delight to her and her participants. Later, we hear about the emerging science behind ASMR from Dr. Giulia Poerio, who studies it in her lab at the University of Essex. As it turns out, those tingles might actually benefit our mental health. Today’s Science of Happiness Guests: Melinda Lauw, is the co-creator of Whisperlodge, an immersive ASMR theater experience. Check out some ASMR videos from Whisperlodge's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Whisperlodge Learn more about Whisperlodge: https://whisperlodge.nyc/ Follow Melinda on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melinda.lauw/ Follow Melinda on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melindalauw Giulia Poerio is a psychology professor at the University of Essex who studies the effects of ASMR on the mind and body. Learn more about her work: https://www.essex.ac.uk/people/poeri14804/giulia-poerio Resources from The Greater Good Science Center: Listen to our Happiness Break on silence: https://tinyurl.com/2hny7pcd Just One Thing: Pay Attention!: https://tinyurl.com/cm2xb86j What Music Looks Like in the Brain: https://tinyurl.com/2k9t3sjz Does Your Voice Reveal More Emotion Than Your Face?: https://tinyurl.com/ympr4brk More Resources for ASMR: TED - The brain science (and benefits) of ASMR: https://tinyurl.com/y8a89xv3 Vox - ASMR, explained: why millions of people are watching YouTube videos of someone whispering: https://tinyurl.com/4j4kn7dh New York Times - How A.S.M.R. Became a Sensation: https://tinyurl.com/2jke45k5 NPR - Some People Get 'Brain Tingles' From These Slime Videos. What's Behind The Feeling?: https://tinyurl.com/2p8p4u7d National Geographic - ASMR or not? Unpicking the science behind a sensory phenomenon: https://tinyurl.com/yvnvuzk5 Tell us your thoughts about ASMR. Do you get tingly sensations?  Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Consider what you want to make space for in your life in this 6-minute contemplation guided by Alex Elle. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2vxehzrk How to Do This Practice: Take a few deep breaths. File up your belly on each inhale. Drop your shoulder and soften your body on each exhale. Say these eight phrases to yourself, or your own variation of it. Consider which resonates with you the most: a. “In the presence of fear, I will make space for courage.” b. “In the presence of self-doubt, I will make space for self-belief.” c. “In the presence of hurriedness, I will make space for slowing down.” d. “In the presence of overwhelm, I will make space for rest.” e. “In the presence of overthinking, I will make space for letting go.” f. “In the presence of chaos, I will make space for inner peace.” g. “In the presence of confusion, I will make space for clarity.” h. “In the presence of pain, I will make space for self-compassion.” Bring your attention to the line from this meditation that resonates with you the most. Think about all the ways you wish to make space so you can bloom into the best version of yourself. Write it down, perhaps on a sticky note, and keep it somewhere you can see it. Today’s Happiness Break host: Alex Elle is a breathwork coach, author and restorative writing teacher. Her new book, How We Heal, will be published this November. Keep an eye on our Instagram page, @greatergoodmag for a chance to win a copy. Learn more about Alex and her new book: https://www.alexelle.com/about Follow Alex on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex/ Follow Alex on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@easewithalexl Follow Alex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alex__elle Follow Alex on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexElleFB More resources from The Greater Good Science Center: Listen to another Happiness Break podcast hosted by Alex: A Note to Self on Forgiveness Being Kinder to Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/yxu64duk Can Self-Awareness Help You Be More Empathic?: https://tinyurl.com/bjue72bn How to Bring Self-Compassion to Work with You: https://tinyurl.com/2xn4f3pk Can Self-Compassion Overcome Procrastination?: https://tinyurl.com/ytvxmp5d Does Self-Compassion Make You Selfish?: https://tinyurl.com/528h6h6x We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of making space for yourself. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Find us on Apple Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day

When was the last time you spent a moment savoring silence? Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, guides us through an appreciation of silence and its restorative powers. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2s37nzdy Scientists have found that spending just two minutes in silence can lower your blood pressure and heart rate, even when compared to listening to slow, relaxing music. How to Do This Practice: Find a quiet place to rest. Set a two-minute timer and put it aside. Close your eyes and soften your face. Allow yourself to listen to the silence and rest your body. At the end of the two minutes, slowly open your eyes and notice how you feel in your body. Or, continue resting in silence for as long as you need. Today’s Happiness Break host: Tricia Hersey is an activist, organizer, and founder of The Nap Ministry. She is also the author of a new book, Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto. Order it here: https://tinyurl.com/5bkk6txk Learn more about Tricia and her work: https://thenapministry.com/ Follow Tricia on Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/thenapministry/\](http:// https://www.instagram.com/thenapministry/) Follow Tricia on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thenapministry/ Follow Tricia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thenapministry More resources from The Greater Good Science Center: How to Avoid Burnout—or a Breakdown: https://tinyurl.com/5h4nrahy What Is Black Fatigue, and How Can We Protect Employees from It?: https://tinyurl.com/yzcujre7 Quiet Justice: https://tinyurl.com/yc78fknk More resources on the science of silence: TIME - How Listening to Silence Changes Our Brains: https://tinyurl.com/4brpst8b Healthline - 8 Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Silence, Plus How to Get More of It: https://tinyurl.com/5d84mxen New Scientist - The power of quiet: The mental and physical health benefits of silence: https://tinyurl.com/2wn82wkr PsychCentral - The Hidden Benefits of Silence: https://tinyurl.com/2p9fkc36 We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of holding silence. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider tries a body scan meditation to sharpen her focus and calm her nerves as she prepares for the Tournament of Champions. Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yckfxnu5 Episode summary: Amy Schneider is the most successful woman to ever compete on Jeopardy!. Part of her winning strategy was to shut down all her mental chatter and completely focus on the competition. But when the cameras are off, she struggles to find the same calm. For today’s show, Amy tries a body scan practice to connect with her body and quiet her busy mind. Later we hear from Jonathan Greenberg, a Harvard psychology professor. He explains how mindfulness can make us better problem solvers, and how that can benefit our emotional health, too. How to Do This Practice: Find a quiet place where you feel safe and comfortable. You can be standing, sitting, or lying down. Close your eyes, and take a few deep, long breaths. Move your attention through your body slowly, part by part, starting with your feet. Focus on your feet, then your calves, knees, and so on, until you get to the top of your head. Without judgment, notice what sensations you can identify in each part of the body. When your mind wanders, gently and with self-kindness, guide your attention back to the part of the body you’re focusing on in the present moment. Find the full Body Scan Meditation practice at our Greater Good in Action website: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/body_scan_meditation Today’s guests: Amy Schneider is the most successful woman to compete on the quiz show Jeopardy! and won 40 consecutive games. Follow Amy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jeopardamy Follow Amy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeopardamy/ Follow Amy on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/5b4dyezy Jonathan Greenberg is a psychology professor in Harvard University’s Clinical and Translational Science Center. His research focuses on the role of mindfulness and relaxation. Learn more about Jonathan’s research: https://tinyurl.com/yn7j73au More resources from The Greater Good Science Center: Try a body scan meditation guided by host Dacher Keltner, on Happiness Break: https://tinyurl.com/bd6x8ba5 Where to Find Wisdom in the Body: https://tinyurl.com/yctxtkzt Compassionate Mind, Healthy Body: https://tinyurl.com/5n79ary9 Moving Your Body Is Like a Tune-Up for Your Mind: https://tinyurl.com/2f64na8b Your Anxiety Might Be Coming From Your Body: https://tinyurl.com/4j9ynwr9 More resources on body scan meditation: NPR - A Crash Course in Body Scan Meditation: https://tinyurl.com/mu24fx7p Harvard Health - You can practice mindfulness in as little as 15 minutes a day: https://tinyurl.com/4aex7738 10% Happier - Change Your Posture, Change Your Mood: https://tinyurl.com/4crydjs6 Time - This Quick Meditation Helps You Let Go of Stress and Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/4mzpu2zr Tell us about how you feel after trying the body-scan meditation. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod. Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or copy and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap