Look up at the sky tonight, and you will see a rare celestial phenomenon: a solstice full moon. Depending on your time zone, it may be the first since 1948. The June solstice, observed at 6:34 p.m. ET, when the sun reaches its northernmost position in the sky, will mark the first day of summer, and the longest day… Read More »
“I have a really chaotic schedule so I do it whenever I can,” says Dan Harris, a correspondent for ABC News and the author of the New York Times bestseller 10% Happier. “I don’t freak out if I can’t fit it in but I do think it’s important to do something every day.” Harris has been… Read More »
The summer solstice is June 20, the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. But do the extra hours of sunshine make you happier? In general, people are more cheerful in the summertime, according to Philip Gehrman, associate director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Light serves as the strongest cue to regulate circadian… Read More »
Being forgiving to yourself and others can protect against stress and the toll it takes on mental health, according to a new study in the Journal of Health Psychology. Researchers looked at the effects of lifetime stress on a person’s mental health, and how more forgiving people fared compared to people who weren’t so forgiving. To do this, they asked… Read More »
If you’ve ever spent some time doodling with crayons or sculpting a lump of Play-Doh and emerged feeling refreshed and relaxed, science may have an explanation. Researchers found that levels of the stress hormone cortisol (which normally spikes during the fight-or-flight response) went down in a group of 39 volunteers who drew with markers, made collages, or… Read More »