By Easing Anxiety for Lower-Income Students With 10-Minute Writing Exercise, Test Grades Soar Dramatically

A simple 10-minute writing exercise to reduce anxiety has been shown to reduce test failure rates by over half.

By Jeanne Goddard

15 January 35 Views

This University is Recycling Their Bubble Wrap By Offering It Up to Their Stressed Out Students

Instead of throwing their bubble wrap into the garbage, this university is recycling the packaging by using it as anti-stress therapy for their students.

By Jeanne Goddard

18 January 33 Views

Global Suicide Rate Has Declined By 29%, With Millions of Tragedies Avoided Since 2000

Dozens of demographic groups that have previously experienced spikes in suicide rates are now improving with significant declines.

By Tiffani Spengler

13 January 32 Views

The Science Behind Why We Need More of the 'Secret Sauce' of Kindness

What is the "secret sauce" of kindness - and why do we need it now more than ever?

By SuKi

08 January 50 Views

Senior Enrolls in University After Alzheimer's Diagnosis: 'It's a good thing because I was bored being retired!'

This 81-year-old with Alzheimer's hopes that his determination will inspire other dementia patients to fight their diagnosis.

By Tiffani Spengler

09 January 32 Views

Instead of 'We Are What We Eat,' the Science of Kindness Says 'We Are What We See' in Daily Life

If the old adage "you are what you eat" is true, then it also stands to reason that we are what we see as well.

By SuKi

04 January 47 Views

Virtual Reality Therapy Could Be the New Treatment for Your Reoccurring Nightmares

If your livelihood has ever been negatively affected by reoccurring nightmares, this pilot study might offer hope for a treatment.

By Tiffani Spengler

02 January 42 Views

What Good News Means to Me - The Winning Essay

My 15-year internet career choice of focusing on good news has become a philosophy for the rest of my life. To mark the website's 15th anniversary, I launched a contest called What 'Good News' Means to Me. I now have my four winners to whom we will be delivering four fantastic prizes this week.

By Jeanne Goddard

16 October 34 Views

From Panic Attacks to the Best Mother's Day Ever

A mom in Britain wrote to share the good news that her daughter, after a lifetime of suffering from a panic disorder, was able to join her mother and sister on a date for lunch and shopping - something that has never been possible before. It was the best Mother's Day gift of all and seen as a hopeful sign for sufferers of the disorder everywhere.

By Jeanne Goddard

12 May 39 Views

New Study Suggests Many Apples a Day Keep the Blues at Bay

Eating more fruit and vegetables may make young people calmer, happier and more energetic in their daily life, new research from New Zealand's University of Otago suggests. Department of Psychology researchers investigated the relationship between day-to-day emotions and food consumption. The results showed a strong day-to-day relationship between more positive mood and higher fruit and vegetable consumption, but not other foods.

By Jeanne Goddard

24 January 41 Views

10 Nutrients That Can Lift Your Spirits

If you want some pep in your step or a dash of good cheer, look no further than the grocery store's shelves. Not only are foods rich in vitamins, minerals and fatty acids healthful, but studies show they can also increase happiness, lessen symptoms of depression and quell anxiety. How can foods improve our moods? It all comes down to the brain. A healthy cognitive system is essential to regulating mood.

By Jeanne Goddard

20 January 39 Views

Walking is a Useful Tool in Treating Depression

Something as simple as going for a brisk stroll could play an important role in fighting depression, according to researchers. Vigorous exercise has already been shown to alleviate symptoms of depression, but in this study walking was shown to have an effect similar to other more vigorous forms of exercise.

By Jeanne Goddard

18 April 38 Views

4 Quick Tips to Find-and Keep-Happiness

Happiness, or the lack thereof, lies at the root of what makes life meaningful. But it is sometimes hard to figure out what exactly constitutes happiness, especially in a culture like the Unites States that tends to conflate money with meaning. Roko Belic, the director of Happy, the documentary, offers four tips to develop a happiness skill set.

By Jeanne Goddard

24 October 39 Views

Digital Gratitude Journal for the World Launched by UC Berkeley Center

Robert Emmons was shocked. The University of California psychologist found that after just ten weeks, people who kept a gratitude journal were 25 percent happier than people who didn't. People who were reminded to say thank you at least once a day were healthier and spent more time exercising. As he writes in an essay for the Greater Good Science Center, This is a massive difference. The gratitude group participants also experienced fewer symptoms of physical illness than those in either of the other two groups." This month the Center launched a web-based digital gratitude journal at Thnx4.org designed to track and promote the practice of gratitude worldwide while serving as an invaluable source of scientific data on gratitude.

By Jeanne Goddard

30 November 33 Views

Nonprofit Campaigns to Make Boston Happier

A suicide-prevention group is generating smiles to the faces of commuters and pedestrians in Boston with their Happier Boston Campaign, which involves social interventions such as singing in elevators and asking everyone in the baseball stadium to give high-fives to everyone nearby.

By Jeanne Goddard

18 January 43 Views