Lack Of Sleep Affects Your Ability To Function In Day-To-Day Life For many people, sleep is a facet of life that seems inconsequential. In our work-crazed modern world, it’s common for people to brag about how little sleep they get. In reality, however, sleep underlies every aspect of a person’s ability to function. Studies have shown that numerous brain functions, such as your memory, attention span, and ability to regulate your emotions, are greatly affected when you haven’t gotten much sleep. In other words, no matter how well you think you can function on little sleep, sleep deprivation hi ..read more

Nature Helps Us Regulate Our Stress And Feel Less Alone In The World In today’s world, many of us spend so much time in cubicles and in front of screens that we have become disconnected from the natural world. Yet nature is our true home—we are all inextricably part of it, and the more we detach ourselves from it, the more isolated we become. Spending time in nature fosters a greater sense of belonging and rootedness. It gives us a chance to reconnect with our roots and remind ourselves of where we come from. Studies show that having contact with nature for approximately two hours a week can ..read more

In our day and age, it seems like we can never catch a break from earth-shattering world events. On top of COVID-19, systemic racism, and other hot-button issues, now we are confronted with a devastating situation in Ukraine, as Russian troops advance on major Ukrainian cities and attack innocent civilians. For most of us, our experience of the crisis is purely secondhand—we can only watch it from our living rooms and listen to news stories about it. Yet this secondhand knowledge of the event isn’t without its stressors. After all, being removed from the situation can lead to feelings of guil ..read more

Jerry Seinfeld once said that “at a funeral, most people would rather be the guy in the coffin than have to stand up and give a eulogy,.,” As crazy as it sounds, this quip isn’t that removed from reality. Studies have consistently shown that people’s number one fear is generally public speaking. Why, exactly, is speaking in public so terrifying? Being in front of others makes us feel exposed and vulnerable. We have to do all the hard work ourselves while everyone sits and watches. What’s more, we feel like we’re being evaluated, as if the audience is judging us on how well we perform. One sma ..read more

When you’re struggling with depression, one of the main symptoms is a lack of motivation and energy. Nothing piques your interest or makes you happy, not even the activities you love. As a result, you feel like withdrawing—your mind and body go into a kind of hibernation-mode. You might end up saying no to social events and quality time with family. Because you don’t get any joy from these activities, you tell yourself it’s not worth the effort. But the problem is that the less you do, you worse you generally feel. By shutting activities and people out of your life, you’re giving yourself mor ..read more

Roughly 100 million people in the United States struggle with chronic pain [1]. For many of them, the obvious solution is to see a doctor or take a pill. After all, if pain is physical, why bother with anything besides standard medical treatment? Pain is indeed physical, but it is not just physical. There is a psychological dimension to pain that ordinary medical care cannot treat. This does not mean that pain is just “in your head”—as if you’re imagining it or at fault for it. It simply means that the way you think about pain can exacerbate it or make it better. After all, it is your nervous ..read more