30 min

How our everyday rituals affect our happiness and wellbeing Instant Genius

    • Science

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Do you brush your teeth before you shower in the morning, or do you shower first? Perhaps you like to give yourself a pep talk in the bathroom mirror before you’re about to give an important presentation at work. Or maybe you always cook a particular meal on special occasions.

These are all examples of the personal rituals that many of us perform in our daily lives. But where do they come from, why are we so attached to them, and can they really help us to have a better day or make a more successful presentation?

In this episode I speak to Prof Michael Norton, a behavioural scientist based at Harvard University. He tells me about the fascinating discoveries he made while writing his new book The Ritual Effect: The Transformative Power of Our Everyday Actions.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you brush your teeth before you shower in the morning, or do you shower first? Perhaps you like to give yourself a pep talk in the bathroom mirror before you’re about to give an important presentation at work. Or maybe you always cook a particular meal on special occasions.

These are all examples of the personal rituals that many of us perform in our daily lives. But where do they come from, why are we so attached to them, and can they really help us to have a better day or make a more successful presentation?

In this episode I speak to Prof Michael Norton, a behavioural scientist based at Harvard University. He tells me about the fascinating discoveries he made while writing his new book The Ritual Effect: The Transformative Power of Our Everyday Actions.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

30 min

Top Podcasts In Science

Hidden Brain
Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam
Ma is tanultam valamit
Index.hu
NASA's Curious Universe
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
StarTalk Radio
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Unexplainable
Vox
Science Vs
Spotify Studios

More by Immediate Media

History Extra podcast
Immediate Media
Good Food
Immediate Media
BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast
Immediate Media
The Plodcast
Our Media
The BikeRadar Podcast
Our Media
Radio Astronomy
BBC Sky at Night Magazine