Dr. Laurie Santos
Yale professor; science‑based insights on happiness, habits, mindset, and well‑being.
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 break free. Listen to the episode, “Why You're Still Using Social Media (Even If You Want to Stop) with Dr. Cass Sunstein” wherever you get your podcasts: https://loom.ly/7-nObic
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...
Mental Rumination Is Unpaid Overtime on Your Mind
The word "rumination" literally comes from how cows digest food. They chew, swallow, bring it back up, and chew again. When we do this mentally, we replay painful moments over and over. Psychologist Guy Winch calls this "unpaid overtime." If you're sitting...
Teens Feel Trapped on Social Media; Toddlers' Screen Time Soars
This week at @sxswedu, I sat down with Bruce Reed from Common Sense Media to chat about technology, AI, and mental health. Most teens say they feel trapped on social media but can't stop using it. Toddlers are getting more screen...
Embrace Constraints: Boost Creativity by Thinking Inside the Box
Stuck in a creative rut? Try thinking “inside the box” and use constraints to your advantage. Listen to TheHappinessLab with creativity expert, Dr. George Newman, and find out how to avoid common myths about creativity that keep us stuck: https://loom.ly/2JnnWmM
We Overestimate Bad Events; Recovery Happens Faster
Have you ever dreaded something, only to find out it wasn't nearly as bad as you expected? Dan Gilbert and colleagues found that we consistently overestimate how terrible we'll feel after bad events. A breakup, a job loss, even a serious...
We Misjudge Happiness, Overvalue Milestones, Undervalue Connection
You know that moment where you finally get what you've been chasing and it just... doesn't feel the way you expected? Research suggests we're genuinely bad at predicting what will make us happy. We overestimate how much the next big purchase...