Dr. Laurie Santos
Yale professor; science‑based insights on happiness, habits, mindset, and well‑being.
Pause: Notice the Everyday Details You Usually Miss
Wherever you are right now, close your eyes for 30 seconds and just pay attention to what you notice. Most of us spend the entire day in spaces we've completely stopped experiencing. We filter out the hum of the fridge, the smell of our apartment, the feeling of the chair we're sitting in. Psychologists call this habituation, and it means we can spend hours in a room without really being in it at all.
Reconnecting with Old Friends Is Easier than You Think
Friendly reminder: reach out to an old friend. It will be less awkward than you think. Learn more on The Happiness Lab, “Why You Should Text a Friend Today.” https://loom.ly/X5_oVGM
Use WOOP to Actually Achieve Your Goals
Want to actually achieve your goals this year? Try WOOP—a science-backed strategy developed by the psychologist Gabriele Oettingen at NYU. Swipe to learn more.
Great Ideas Rarely Stem From Sudden Lightning‑bolt Moments
When you think of a creative breakthrough, what do you picture? If you're like most people, you probably imagine a lone genius struck by a sudden flash of inspiration — the famous lightning bolt moment. But creativity researcher Dr. George Newman...
Time Richness Beats Money for Greater Happiness
What if feeling "time-rich" matters more for happiness than being money-rich? Research suggests that "time affluence" — the feeling of having enough time for meaningful activities — is a stronger predictor of well-being than income. Studies show people who prioritize time...
Behavioral Science Explains Why We Can't Quit Social Media
Why is social media so hard to quit? On The Happiness Lab, I sat down with behavioral scientist Cass Sunstein to unpack why we keep returning to platforms that make us unhappy — and what it might take to finally...
Spring Clean Your Grudges for Emotional Renewal
It’s finally spring, a season that’s all about renewal, new beginnings… and, of course, spring cleaning. This springtime, why not take a look at the grievances — big and small — that might be sitting there in the back of your...
Cat Videos Boost Workplace Mental Health, Says Couric
How is watching cat videos the answer to promoting people’s mental health at work? Find out in my interview with Katie Couric on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZNBkyTWceE
FOMO Drives High Price to Quit Social Media
How much would someone have to pay you to get off social media for a month? When psychologists ask college students this question, most of them want to receive a lot of money to live without social media for a month. Why?...
Money Won’t Make You Happy, Science Shows
The science suggests our minds are often wrong about what makes us happy. We think more money will make us happier, but this is usually a strategy that leads us astray. If you’re convinced that you’ll only be happier when you get...
AI Emails Make Us Cognitively Sedentary, Warns Psychologist
People used to write their own emails. Now many let AI draft them and barely think twice about it. My friend, the Stanford psychologist Jamil Zaki points out that when office work replaced physical labor, we had to start exercising on...
Awe Shrinks Problems, Boosts Perspective
There's this thing that happens when you stand in front of something so big your brain can't quite process it. Dacher Keltner at UC Berkeley calls it awe, and his research suggests it does something interesting to us. It makes our...
More Money Won’t Boost Happiness; “Enough” Keeps Rising
Have a New Year’s resolution to make more money this year? 💰 Most of us believe the next raise, promotion, or milestone will finally make us happier. But the science suggests something surprising: the finish line keeps moving because the amount that...
Use WOOP: Science-Backed Method to Reach Goals
Want to actually achieve your goals this year? Try WOOP — a science-backed strategy developed by the psychologist Gabriele Oettingen at NYU. Swipe to learn more.
Beyond Resumes: Prioritizing Wellbeing Over Traditional Success
It’s easy to fixate on the usual markers of success — your resume, your net worth, or how “impressive” you seem on paper. But how much do those things really speak to our wellbeing? And what do we miss when...