Mental Health
Here you can read the latest news and research studies covering mental health. This is also the place to find out about different strategies on how you can reduce stress and boost happiness, and many other ways to look after your mental wellbeing.
5 small habits that make every day feel more meaningful
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The feeling of not mattering, of going through a whole day without anyone really seeing you, sits closer to the surface than most people let on. Jennifer Breheny Wallace has spent years studying this. In her new book Mattering, she frames it as a gap: the Read More...
The parenting habit that builds lifelong closeness with adult children
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Picture two parents, both devoted. Both called every Sunday. Both showed up for birthdays, sent money when things got hard, and made every visible effort. One of them has an adult child who calls with the hard stuff: the job that fell apart, the relationship Read More...
How parents' phone habits shape their children's, according to new research
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For years, the conversation about children and screens has been aimed squarely at children. How much time, what content, and at what age? Sweden's public health agency has now turned the question around. This past Monday, the agency issued new guidelines Read More...
The 10-minute habit that helped David Attenborough reach 100 years old
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Sir David Attenborough turned 100 on May 8, and people want to know how he did it. Fair enough. A century is rare. A century of active fieldwork, narration, and travel across every ecosystem on earth is something even rarer. When someone who has spent his Read More...
The case for making prison phone calls free: new data, real results
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For decades, a phone call home from prison could cost a family several dollars a minute. That wasn’t an oversight. It was the business model. A growing number of state prison systems and county jails have moved to make calls free, arguing that regular Read More...
Chile’s maternity leave expansion led to a three-year employment boost
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In October 2011, Chile extended postnatal leave from 12 to 24 weeks for women contributing to the country’s social security system. The reform also introduced five days of paid paternity leave. A study published this year by economist Francisca Read More...
The 3 needs that science says matter more than success and achievement
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from doing everything right. The career is advancing, the goals are being ticked off, and the productivity is real. And yet something feels off, or hollow, or impossible to name. Modern culture tends to Read More...
What Hanoi learned by tearing down its park fences and opening up to everyone
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In many cities, entering a park is a deliberate act. You adjust your route, find a gate, and cross from public pavement into a space that operates by its own rules, even if those rules are minimal. Hanoi is dismantling that dynamic. Across four major Read More...
Pro parenting tips to spark your children's life-long love for the great outdoors
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In today's digital world, the pull of screens can be difficult to overcome, particularly for kids. However, the dangers of spending too much time indoors are serious. Carlene Fider, Ph.D., a core faculty member at Pacific Oaks College, emphasizes the Read More...
Friction-maxxing and the case for a less convenient life
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Something about the phrase “friction-maxxing” struck a nerve. When Kathryn Jezer-Morton, a columnist for New York magazine’s The Cut, published an essay in December 2025 naming the feeling of wanting to push back against frictionless technology, the Read More...