Age is the main risk factor for cognitive decline. So with more people around the world living longer, cases of dementia are set to rise. There's currently no cure - but research suggests that happiness can reduce the impact of this awful illness. 

Psychologist Emily Willroth helped write a chapter on this topic for the 2024 World Happiness Report - and explains how making friends, helping others and engaging in fun physical activities can slow cognitive decline, even when the disease has taken hold.  

Age is the main risk factor for cognitive decline. So with more people around the world living longer, cases of dementia are set to rise. There's currently no cure - but research suggests that happiness can reduce the impact of this awful illness. 
Psychologist Emily Willroth helped write a chapter on this topic for the 2024 <a href="https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2024/">World Happiness Report</a> - and explains how making friends, helping others and engaging in fun physical activities can slow cognitive decline, even when the disease has taken hold.

You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

You might think you know what it takes to lead a happier life… more money, a better job, or Instagram-worthy vacations. You’re dead wrong. Yale professor Dr. Laurie Santos has studied the science of happiness and found that many of us do the exact opposite of what will truly make our lives better. Based on the psychology course she teaches at Yale -- the most popular class in the university’s 300-year history -- Laurie will take you through the latest scientific research and share some surprising and inspiring stories that will change the way you think about happiness.

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

Can Happiness Ward Off Dementia?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/861b903d-cdd7-472d-ba95-b14100c4a3e6/transcript

Our beliefs shape more than we realize. They influence what we notice, how we respond to setbacks, how connected we feel to others, and whether we take action to improve our lives. 

As part of our series on how to spring clean your wellbeing, Dr. Laurie sits down with happiness expert Shawn Achor, author of The Power of Beliefs, to explore how our beliefs about time, work, relationships, and self-worth shape happiness, success, and long-term wellbeing.

And if some of your beliefs are holding you back, Shawn shares practical ways to start shifting them. Plus, we learn one delightful fact about fireflies.

Experts Mentioned:
Shawn Achor, positive psychology researcher and author 
Richard Wiseman, professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire
Henry Beecher, anesthesiologist at Harvard Medical School who pioneered research on the placebo effect 

Resources Mentioned:
The Power of Beliefs: How Strengthening Seven Core Beliefs Predicts Greater Success and a Better Life, by Shawn Achor (2026)
The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work, by Shawn Achor (2010)
The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind, by Richard Wiseman (2004)
"From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behavior," by John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973)

Related Episodes:
"Grateful Expectations"
“How to Adopt a Growth Mindset”
“Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: The Buddha”
"Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Socrates and Self-Knowledge"

Our beliefs shape more than we realize. They influence what we notice, how we respond to setbacks, how connected we feel to others, and whether we take action to improve our lives.&nbsp;
As part of our series on how to spring clean your wellbeing, Dr. Laurie sits down with happiness expert Shawn Achor, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Beliefs-Strengthening-Predicts-Greater-ebook/dp/B0FBVK3HYN">The Power of Beliefs</a>, to explore how our beliefs about time, work, relationships, and self-worth shape happiness, success, and long-term wellbeing.
And if some of your beliefs are holding you back, Shawn shares practical ways to start shifting them. Plus, we learn one delightful fact about fireflies.
Experts Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.shawnachor.com/">Shawn Achor</a>, positive psychology researcher and author&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/">Richard Wiseman</a>, professor of the public understanding of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire</li>
<li><a href="https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/02/henry-knowles-beecher">Henry Beecher</a>, anesthesiologist at Harvard Medical School who pioneered research on the placebo effect&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Resources Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://a.co/d/01wSorKr">The Power of Beliefs: How Strengthening Seven Core Beliefs Predicts Greater Success and a Better Life</a>, by Shawn Achor (2026)</li>
<li><a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-happiness-advantage/id420522405">The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work</a>, by Shawn Achor (2010)</li>
<li><a href="https://a.co/d/0eLlPtJC">The Luck Factor: The Scientific Study of the Lucky Mind</a>, by Richard Wiseman (2004)</li>
<li><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1973-31215-001">"From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behavior,"</a> by John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973)</li>
</ul>
Related Episodes:
<ul>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/bonus-grateful-expectations">Grateful Expectations</a>"</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/how-to-adopt-a-growth-mindset">How to Adopt a Growth Mindset</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/happiness-lessons-of-the-ancients-the-buddha">Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: The Buddha</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/happiness-lessons-of-the-ancients-socrates-and-self-knowledge">Happiness Lessons of The Ancients: Socrates and Self-Knowledge</a>"</li>
</ul>

The Hidden Beliefs That Shape Your Happiness with Shawn Achor

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/27945d2c-2bb2-444c-9ab8-b44e00138746/transcript

Struggling to find free time? Feeling constantly busy or burned out? This episode is for you. Dr. Laurie explores the science behind “time famine,” the nagging sense that there’s never enough time in the day.

Writer Tom Hodgkinson, author of How to Be Idle, makes a provocative case that doing nothing (napping, daydreaming, even staring out the window) isn’t laziness, but a powerful path to greater happiness and creativity.

Plus, Harvard professor Ashley Whillans explains why we keep prioritizing money over time and what that trade-off is really costing us.

Experts Mentioned:
Tom Hodgkinson, founder and editor of The Idler and author of How to Be Idle
Ashley Whillans, Harvard Business School professor and author of Time Smart
Cassie Mogilner, UCLA professor of marketing and behavioral decision making
Michael I. Norton, Harvard Business School professor of business administration 
John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson, psychologists behind the Good Samaritan helping study.

Resources Mentioned:
The Idler, founded by Tom Hodgkinson
How to Be Idle, by Tom Hodgkinson (2004)
Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life, by Ashley V. Whillans (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020)
“Time, Money, and Subjective Well-Being”, by Cassie Mogilner, Ashley V. Whillans, and Michael I. Norton (Handbook of Well-Being, 2018)
“Buying Time Promotes Happiness”, by Ashley V. Whillans, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, Rene Bekkers, and Michael I. Norton (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017)
“From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behavior”, by John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973)
“Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Happiness”, by Ashley V. Whillans, Aaron C. Weidman, and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2016)
“Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Social Connection”, by Ashley V. Whillans and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2018)
“Thinking About Time As Money Decreases Environmental Behavior”, by Ashley V. Whillans and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2015)
“Time Affluence as a Path Toward Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practice: Empirical Evidence From Four Studies”, by Tim Kasser and Kennon M. Sheldon (Journal of Business Ethics, 2008)

Related Episodes:
“Are We Born to Work? Or Born to Live?”
“Working Your Way to Happiness”
“Stop Wasting Your Energy — Here’s What to Do Instead”
“The Happiness Lessons Helping Win Olympic Medals”

Struggling to find free time? Feeling constantly busy or burned out? This episode is for you.&nbsp;Dr. Laurie explores the science behind &ldquo;time famine,&rdquo; the nagging sense that there&rsquo;s never enough time in the day.
Writer&nbsp;Tom Hodgkinson, author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Idle-Loafers-Manifesto/dp/0060779691">How to Be Idle</a>, makes a provocative case that doing nothing (napping, daydreaming, even staring out the window) isn&rsquo;t laziness, but a powerful path to greater happiness and creativity.
Plus, Harvard professor Ashley Whillans explains why we keep prioritizing money over time and what that trade-off is really costing us.
Experts Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.idler.co.uk/">Tom Hodgkinson</a>, founder and editor of The Idler and author of How to Be Idle</li>
<li><a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=943704">Ashley Whillans</a>, Harvard Business School professor and author of Time Smart</li>
<li><a href="https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty-and-research/marketing/faculty/mogilner-holmes">Cassie Mogilner</a>, UCLA professor of marketing and behavioral decision making</li>
<li><a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=326229">Michael I. Norton</a>, Harvard Business School professor of business administration&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/09/13/social-psychologist-john-darley-early-researcher-bystander-intervention-dies-80">John M. Darley</a> and <a href="https://psychology.ku.edu/people/c-daniel-batson">C. Daniel Batson</a>, psychologists behind the Good Samaritan helping study.</li>
</ul>
Resources Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.idler.co.uk/">The Idler</a>, founded by Tom Hodgkinson</li>
<li><a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/54768/how-to-be-idle-by-tom-hodgkinson/9780141015064">How to Be Idle</a>, by Tom Hodgkinson (2004)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cid/publications/time-smart-how-reclaim-your-time-and-live-happier-life">Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life</a>, by Ashley V. Whillans (Harvard Business Review Press, 2020)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53781">&ldquo;Time, Money, and Subjective Well-Being&rdquo;</a>, by Cassie Mogilner, Ashley V. Whillans, and Michael I. Norton (Handbook of Well-Being, 2018)</li>
<li><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5559044/">&ldquo;Buying Time Promotes Happiness&rdquo;</a>, by Ashley V. Whillans, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Paul Smeets, Rene Bekkers, and Michael I. Norton (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017)</li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/h0034449">&ldquo;From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Study of Situational and Dispositional Variables in Helping Behavior&rdquo;</a>, by John M. Darley and C. Daniel Batson (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973)</li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615623842">&ldquo;Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Happiness&rdquo;</a>, by Ashley V. Whillans, Aaron C. Weidman, and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2016)</li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407518791322">&ldquo;Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Social Connection&rdquo;</a>, by Ashley V. Whillans and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2018)</li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2014.12.001">&ldquo;Thinking About Time As Money Decreases Environmental Behavior&rdquo;</a>, by Ashley V. Whillans and Elizabeth W. Dunn (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2015)</li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9696-1">&ldquo;Time Affluence as a Path Toward Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practice: Empirical Evidence From Four Studies&rdquo;</a>, by Tim Kasser and Kennon M. Sheldon (Journal of Business Ethics, 2008)</li>
</ul>
Related Episodes:
<ul>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/q-are-we-born-to-work-or-born-to-live">Are We Born to Work? Or Born to Live?</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/working-your-way-to-happiness">Working Your Way to Happiness</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/stop-wasting-your-energy-heres-what-to-do-instead-with-dr-diana-hill">Stop Wasting Your Energy &mdash;&nbsp;Here&rsquo;s What to Do Instead</a>&rdquo;</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/the-happiness-lessons-helping-win-olympic-medals">The Happiness Lessons Helping Win Olympic Medals</a>&rdquo;</li>
</ul>

The Art of Doing Nothing

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/073b67d3-2ea0-4053-aad0-b444014e3e33/transcript

We hear a lot about how screens affect our mental health, but time spent on computers and smartphones is having just as much of an impact on our physical health — from brain fog and weakened core muscles to changes in our posture, our sleep, and even the shape of our eyes.

As part of our series on spring cleaning your wellbeing, Dr. Laurie sits down with journalist and podcast host Manoush Zomorodi, author of Body Electric, to explore how modern tech habits are affecting us physically, and what steps we can take to protect our health in a world where screens aren’t going away anytime soon.

Experts Mentioned:
Manoush Zomorodi, journalist, author, and host of NPR's TED Radio Hour
Dr. Keith Diaz, exercise physiologist and Florence Irving Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Maria Liu, Professor of Clinical Optometry at UC Berkeley and founder of the Myopia Control Clinic
Dr. Rick Neitzel, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan 
Dr. Peter Strick, Thomas Detre Professor and Chair of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Sahib Khalsa, psychiatrist and neuroscientist at UCLA 

Resources Mentioned:
Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being, by Manoush Zomorodi (2026)
Body Electric, a six-part podcast series by Manoush Zomorodi (National Public Radio, 2023)
"Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting to Improve Cardiometabolic Risk: Dose-Response Analysis of a Randomized Crossover Trial," by Keith M. Diaz et al. (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2023)
"The Mind-Body Problem: Circuits That Link the Cerebral Cortex to the Adrenal Medulla," by Richard P. Dum, David J. Levinthal, and Peter L. Strick (PNAS, 2019)
Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self, by Manoush Zomorodi (2017)

Related Episodes:
"How I Stopped Fearing Boredom"
"How Our Screen Habits Impact Our Stress Levels"
"Smell, Taste and Touch: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses"
“Sight and Sound: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses”

We hear a lot about how screens affect our mental health, but time spent on computers and smartphones is having just as much of an impact on our physical health &mdash; from brain fog and weakened core muscles to changes in our posture, our sleep, and even the shape of our eyes.
As part of our series on spring cleaning your wellbeing, Dr. Laurie sits down with journalist and podcast host Manoush Zomorodi, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Body-Electric-Digital-Science-Well-Being/dp/1250411203">Body Electric</a>, to explore how modern tech habits are affecting us physically, and what steps we can take to protect our health in a world where screens aren&rsquo;t going away anytime soon.
Experts Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.manoushz.com/">Manoush Zomorodi</a>, journalist, author, and host of NPR's TED Radio Hour</li>
<li><a href="https://www.columbiacardiology.org/profile/keith-diaz-phd">Dr. Keith Diaz</a>, exercise physiologist and Florence Irving Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center</li>
<li><a href="https://optometry.berkeley.edu/people/yue-maria-liu-od-phd/">Dr. Maria Liu</a>, Professor of Clinical Optometry at UC Berkeley and founder of the Myopia Control Clinic</li>
<li><a href="https://sph.umich.edu/faculty-profiles/neitzel-richard.html">Dr. Rick Neitzel</a>, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://www.cnup.pitt.edu/people/peter-l-strick-phd">Dr. Peter Strick</a>, Thomas Detre Professor and Chair of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh</li>
<li><a href="https://www.uclahealth.org/providers/sahib-khalsa">Dr. Sahib Khalsa</a>, psychiatrist and neuroscientist at UCLA&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Resources Mentioned:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Body-Electric-Digital-Science-Well-Being/dp/1250411203">Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being</a>, by Manoush Zomorodi (2026)</li>
<li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/body-electric/id1716971321">Body Electric</a>, a six-part podcast series by Manoush Zomorodi (National Public Radio, 2023)</li>
<li><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36728338/">"Breaking Up Prolonged Sitting to Improve Cardiometabolic Risk: Dose-Response Analysis of a Randomized Crossover Trial,"</a> by Keith M. Diaz et al. (Medicine &amp; Science in Sports &amp; Exercise, 2023)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1902297116">"The Mind-Body Problem: Circuits That Link the Cerebral Cortex to the Adrenal Medulla,"</a> by Richard P. Dum, David J. Levinthal, and Peter L. Strick (PNAS, 2019)</li>
<li><a href="https://books.apple.com/us/book/bored-and-brilliant/id6754063669">Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self</a>, by Manoush Zomorodi (2017)</li>
</ul>
Related Episodes:
<ul>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/how-i-stopped-fearing-boredom">How I Stopped Fearing Boredom</a>"</li>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/bonus-good-screens-and-bad-screens">How Our Screen Habits Impact Our Stress Levels</a>"</li>
<li>"<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/smell-taste-and-touch-how-to-joyfully-awaken-your-senses">Smell, Taste and Touch: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses</a>"</li>
<li>&ldquo;<a href="https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/sight-and-sound-how-to-joyfully-awaken-your-senses">Sight and Sound: How to Joyfully Awaken Your Senses</a>&rdquo;</li>
</ul>

What Screen Time Is Really Doing to Your Body with Manoush Zomorodi

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/476ad9c0-5f4e-4577-a21b-b43d01386ec0/transcript

Can Happiness Ward Off Dementia?

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