The Science of Happiness PRX and Greater Good Science Center

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https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/podcasts/habits

When we're more curious, we are more likely to be happier and have stronger relationships. Try deepening your curiosity with these science-backed practices from author Scott Shigeoka.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/276u4yxu



Episode summary:

As a cardiologist and immigrant in the United States, Stephanie Hsiao has always placed an emphasis on advancing her skills in order to succeed. So when she received the diagnosis that her son was neurodiverse, Stephanie went immediately into action mode to help her son — but she felt like she was missing something. For our show, Stephanie tried a practice to cultivate “deep curiosity,” and found that a curious outlook helped her to check her assumptions about parenting and discover her son’s strengths and interests. Later, we hear from curiosity expert Scott Shigeoka about the difference between shallow and deep curiosity, and how it can help us forge stronger connections with others.

Practice:


Before engaging in curiosity: Slow down, focus on your breathing. Set an intention to focus on curiosity and maybe visualize yourself being curious.
While in conversation: Be open to being wrong, continuously check your assumptions, and actively turn towards those who are seeking your attention.
Going forward: Make commitments to yourself and with others to engage in difficult, but open-minded interactions.




Today’s guests:

Stephanie Hsiao is a mother and cardiologist based in San Francisco, California.



Scott Shigeoka is an author and storyteller who focuses on themes of curiosity and well-being.

Order Scott Shigeoka’s book Seek: How Curiosity can Transform Your Life and Save the World: https://tinyurl.com/4jrxbupj

Learn More About Scott’s work: https://tinyurl.com/y5xyxky7

Follow Scott on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/3acu6jhm

Follow Scott on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/3m3k3bm9



Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Six Surprising Benefits of Curiosity: https://tinyurl.com/7kcr32su

How to Stay Open and Curious in Hard Conversations: https://tinyurl.com/y2f2e9ce

Why Curious People Have Better Relationships: https://tinyurl.com/2xw5y9yr

Does Curiosity Have a Dark Side? https://tinyurl.com/5n88wzyd

How Curiosity Can Help Us Overcome Disconnection: https://tinyurl.com/9kaas6nz



More Resources on Curiosity:

BBC - Curiosity: The neglected trait that drives success: https://tinyurl.com/38bubaak

Harvard - A Curious Mind: https://tinyurl.com/324hyzv4


TED - How Curiosity Will Save Us: https://tinyurl.com/muswe2y5



Tell us about your experience with being curious. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Rate us on Spotify and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/m6aezjce

This episode was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, as part of our project on "Expanding Awareness of the Science of Intellectual Humility." To learn more, go to https://tinyurl.com/2dj6hw29

Chef and author Bryant Terry leads us through a visualization to connect with our ancestors by appreciating our families' traditional foods.



Join our limited newsletter The Science of Habits to get curated, science-backed tips to help make your New Year’s resolution stick in 2024.

https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/podcasts/habits



Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc6d69py

How to Do This Practice:


Find a comfortable place to start this practice, focusing on your breath.
Think of a meal or dish that is linked to your culture. Reflect on what it looks and tastes like, as well as when you would eat this dish.
Recall whoever would normally make this dish for you, and any stories that might have told you about it.
Refocusing your attention on the dish, consider all the different ingredients that went into it, tracing them back to where they came from.
Reflect on how generations of your family have been nourished from these sources, all leading up to you.
Complete the practice by grounding yourself in your body, and thanking your ancestors for what they have provided.


Today’s Happiness Break host:

Bryant Terry is a meditator, chef and food justice activist based in San Francisco.

Learn about Bryant Terry: https://tinyurl.com/juvz7sb2

Read Bryant’s books: https://tinyurl.com/59nxrn8e

Follow Bryant on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/ycyb8dwc

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Happiness Break: A Meditation to Connect to Your Roots, with Yuria Celidwen (The Science of Happiness Podcast): https://tinyurl.com/3mrd6247

Episode 81: Are You Listening to Your Elders? (The Science of Happiness Podcast): https://tinyurl.com/2wjbjj3e

Do Rituals Help Us to Savor Food? https://tinyurl.com/52xpj7fn

Find Purpose by Connecting Across Generations: https://tinyurl.com/h4yyjesh

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your favorite cultural dish. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

Help us share Happiness Break! Rate us and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Join our limited newsletter The Science of Habits to get curated, science-backed tips to help make your New Year’s resolution stick in 2024.

https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/podcasts/habits

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/255mcn3b



Episode summary:

This week, we’re focusing on doing good for others, and we’ve turned to someone who cheers people up for a living. Dana Merwin is a professional clown and performer based in San Francisco. For our show, she tried a practice where she performed three acts of kindness a day for the people in her life. She reflects on how simple, kind gestures can pave the way for deep and valuable connections, and that being kind to others ultimately makes us feel good as well. We also hear from psychologist David Cregg about how doing good things for others improves our sense of social connection, purpose in life, and can even help us live longer and healthier lives.

Practice:


Write down or think about three acts of kindness you could perform the next day.
Do three kind acts for people in your life.
At the end of the day, reflect on how these experiences make you feel.




Today’s guests:

Dana Merwin is a progressional clown and performer based in San Francisco.

Learn about Dana’s Work: https://tinyurl.com/bd6ew95a

Follow Dana on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/dspstzrk



David Cregg is a clinical psychologist at South Texas Veterans Health Care System whose research specializes in positive psychology.

Follow David on Google Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/ajay6n6a



Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Do You Underestimate the Impact of Being Kind? https://tinyurl.com/583hwar9

Just One Thing: Be Kind to Yourself by Being Kind to Others: https://tinyurl.com/4dsf7bn2

Do We Have an Instinctive Urge to Be Kind? https://tinyurl.com/y5fabnj3

Can Helping Others Help You Find Meaning in Life? https://tinyurl.com/yc4zhw9w

Three Strategies for Bringing More Kindness into Your Life: https://tinyurl.com/22cx7w9f



More Resources on Doing Good Things For Others:

BBC - What we do and don't know about kindness: https://tinyurl.com/na6jvr9e

Harvard: Lending a helping hand: https://tinyurl.com/yckf4759

UCL: 10 benefits of helping others: https://tinyurl.com/4wn5syhh

Mayo Health Clinic: The art of kindness: https://tinyurl.com/5ah5dahc



What kind action have you done for others recently? Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Rate us on Spotify and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/873v67ah

Renew your sense of gratitude by remembering acts of kindness, with social scientist and meditation teacher Eve Ekman.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/kjkzpdk8

How to Do This Practice:


Begin the practice by focusing on your breath and settling your mind and body. Notice any physical sensations that arise.
Shift your attention away from your body, recalling a time in the last week where you received kindness. Think about the details of the event, and notice how you react to this kindness.
Next, focus on a recent experience where you extended kindness. As you relive this event in your mind, allow yourself to be filled with the feeling of kindness.
Reconnect with the physical sensations in your body, acknowledging that it is full of gratitude.


Today’s Happiness Break host:

Eve Ekman is a contemplative social scientist and meditation teacher from San Francisco, California.

Learn more about Eve’s work: https://tinyurl.com/2vhuarh8

Find out about Eve’s Emotional trainings with Cultivating Emotional Balance: https://tinyurl.com/5n95m7yx

Explore Eve’s Project, The Atlas of Emotions: https://tinyurl.com/mt75ytm3

Follow Eve on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/3txahape

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain: https://tinyurl.com/2f78cywf

Tips for Keeping a Gratitude Journal: https://tinyurl.com/4uyu9pud

Why Gratitude Is Good: https://tinyurl.com/5n88p589

How Gratitude Motivates Us to Become Better People: https://tinyurl.com/3jzr7jfm

Three Surprising Ways That Gratitude Works at Work: https://tinyurl.com/4f5m9hde

We love hearing from you! How do you express gratitude? Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

Help us share Happiness Break! Rate us and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

This week we revisit our science-backed tips for a good night's sleep with sleep scientist Eti Ben Simon and host of the Sleep with Me podcast Drew Ackerman.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2p8t47eh



Episode summary:

A good night’s sleep can be hard to come by, and beating yourself up over not sleeping enough will only make it worse. On this episode of The Science of Happiness, the host of Sleep With Me podcast Drew Ackerman joins us to try science-backed tips for finding your natural sleep rhythm. Drew, also known as “Dearest Scooter,” talks about his history with insomnia and sleep anxiety, sleep hygiene, and his philosophy on bringing more self-compassion into his approach to trying to fall asleep. Then we hear from sleep scientist Eti Ben Simon about how sleep affects your social life.

Practice:


Avoid alcohol and caffeine after 2 p.m. to unmask your true biological sleep needs.
Keep lights dim in the evening and limit access to LED lights after 9 p.m.
Go to sleep as soon as you feel tired (even if you're in the middle of something). This will help you figure out the earliest window it is physiologically possible for you to fall asleep.
Do not use an alarm clock to wake up.




Today’s guests:

Drew Ackerman is the host of one of the most listened-to sleep podcasts, Sleep with Me. 

Listen to Sleep With Me Podcast: https://pod.link/sleep-with-me

Follow Drew on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/2p8nrhnp

Follow Drew on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dearestscooter/

Follow Drew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sleepwithmepodcast/



Eti Ben Simon is a sleep scientist and postdoctoral fellow at UC Berkeley, where she works at Matthew Walkers’ Center for Human Sleep Science.

Learn more about Eti and her work: https://www.sleepingeti.com/

Follow Eti on Twitter: https://twitter.com/etoosh

Follow Eti on Google Scholar: https://tinyurl.com/328aa5yr



Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Four Surprising Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/2p832bh5

How Mindfulness Improves Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/2p8rhkhj

Your Sleep Tonight Changes How You React to Stress Tomorrow: https://tinyurl.com/2p8zvbjz



More Resources for A Good Night’s Sleep:

Matthew Walker’s 11 Tips for Improving Sleep Quality: https://tinyurl.com/2kadu7va

TED - Sleeping with Science: https://tinyurl.com/23mmbdy3

Harvard Health - 8 Tips to Get a Good Night’s Sleep: https://tinyurl.com/2p8um9z7

BBC - Why Do We Sleep? https://tinyurl.com/2p8z9v2d



Tell us about your experiences and struggles with falling asleep. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Rate us on Spotify and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

Take a break from ruminating with Lama Rod Owens as he leads you in a meditation to cultivate a sky-like mind.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5fn7sw7t

How to Do This Practice:


Find a comfortable position to begin this practice.
Turn your attention to the rise and fall of your thoughts and feelings within your mind.
Imagine that your mind is a vast open sky and that your thoughts are like clouds passing through.
Recognize that these thoughts are just experiences that come and go, and that they do not constitute the whole sky or your whole being. Allow yourself to trust the bright openness of your mind, without worrying about it becoming stormy.
When you are ready, reground yourself in the present moment by noticing how your body, and how it is held by your seat.


Today’s Happiness Break host:

Lama Rod Owens is a Buddhist teacher, author and activist passionate about creating engaging and inclusive healing spaces.

Learn about Lama Rod Owens’ work: https://tinyurl.com/wd2huac5

Read Lama Rod Owens’ latest book, The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors: https://tinyurl.com/4pj8wb7x

Follow Lama Rod Owens on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/527378v9

Follow Lama Rod Owens on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/mwa2vwrh

Follow Lama Rod Owens on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/h33pyjye

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Four Ways to Calm Your Mind in Stressful Times: https://tinyurl.com/6apdf52p

How to Gain Freedom from Your Thoughts: https://tinyurl.com/hp8s5wv6

How to Focus a Wandering Mind: https://tinyurl.com/y7jhkewv

How to Enjoy Being Alone with Your Thoughts: https://tinyurl.com/3ej6acx6

We love hearing from you! Have you tried quieting your mind? Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

Help us share Happiness Break! Rate us and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/6s39rzus

We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.