Fall nostalgia: why your nervous system reaches for reruns when autumn arrives
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Every fall, something happens in the body before it happens in the mind. The smell of wood smoke drifting through a cracked window, the particular weight of October light slanting across the floor, and suddenly you're somewhere else entirely, back in a Read More...
How to quiet performance anxiety, according to sport psychology
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM You know that moment. The job interview is starting in 30 seconds, and your brain decides now is the perfect time to replay every mistake you've ever made. Or you're halfway through a presentation when a small stumble pulls your focus completely off the Read More...
Wisconsin's first certified Shinrin-yoku trail is open to everyone
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Think about the last time you went for a walk in the woods. Were you listening to a podcast? Checking your step count? Moving fast enough to feel productive, already running through everything you needed to do when you got home? If any of that sounds Read More...
Soft productivity is the smarter way to work, and here's how to start
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There's a kind of workday most of us know too well. You're logged on early, you barely step away for lunch, and by 6 pm you're not entirely sure what you have to show for it. The calendar was full. The inbox moved. But the work you wanted to get done? It's Read More...
How book clubs and bedtime stories protect and build healthier brains
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If the book on your nightstand has been gathering dust, here's your reason to finally open it. A new review from Cambridge University researchers finds that reading for pleasure, whether that's a worn paperback or the latest romantasy on your e-reader, is Read More...
How revisiting old memories can build real self-esteem
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Think about a memory that still makes you wince. Maybe it is the time you said something embarrassing in front of people you wanted to impress, or the moment you felt out of place while everyone around you seemed completely at ease. Most of us carry a few of Read More...
8 low-cost hobbies that add hours of joy to your week
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Research has put a number on the value of a good hobby: eight hours. That is how much joy, defined as deep satisfaction, gratification, and accomplishment, studies suggest a person can add to their week by pursuing something they care about. Not entertainment Read More...
The neuroscience of motivation: what orexin neurons reveal about staying the course
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Researchers at Nagoya University identified orexin-producing neurons as the brain's apparent mechanism for deciding whether a reward is worth pursuing. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study suggests these cells are doing Read More...
The Reddit-popular five-minute productivity rule that truly works for procrastinators
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Most to-do lists have two kinds of items on them: the real work you're managing, and the small things that keep getting moved to tomorrow. Reply to that email. File that paper. RSVP to that thing. None of them take long, yet none of them seem to get Read More...
Baltimore reimagines what 911 can do, with $400 million to back it up
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In March, mental health clinician Michala Williams met a 38-year-old woman sobbing in the front seat of her car in a McDonald's parking lot. The woman had called 911. She had children ranging from age two to 22, a fiancé recently jailed, health issues she Read More...