'Funny, wise and absolutely fascinating.' Adam Kay, author of This Is Going to Hurt *** Do you want to be happy? If so - read on. This book has all the answers* In The Happy Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett delves deep into the inner workings of our minds to explore some fundamental questions about happiness. What does it actually mean to be happy? Where does it come from? And what, really, is the point of it? Forget searching for the secret of happiness through lifestyle fads or cod philosophy - Burnett reveals the often surprising truth behind what make us tick. From whether happiness really begins at home (spoiler alert: yes - sort of) to what love, sex, friendship, wealth, laughter and success actually do to our brains, this book offers a uniquely entertaining insight into what it means to be human. *Not really. Sorry. But it does have some very interesting questions, and at least the occasional answer.
Offers simple activities that help you understand the roles of your "happy chemicals"--serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins. You'll also learn how to build new habits by rerouting the electricity in your brain to flow down a new pathway, making it even easier to trigger these happy chemicals and increase feelings of satisfaction when you need them most.
What is happiness? Is happiness even realistic for you to achieve in today's world of rising anger, anxiety, and addiction? It's the fundamental question Dr. Jay Kumar (your Happiness professor) yearned to discover in the wake of a life-transforming family tragedy as a young adult that led him to the halls of academia and holy ashrams to explore the science and spirituality of happiness. Science of a Happy Brain is adapted upon actual lessons from Dr. Jay's popular university Happiness course that he has been coteaching for the past seven years. From millennials suffering from anxiety to folks in Middle America struggling with addiction, from veterans battling PTSD to parents coping to raise children hooked on technology, from the spike in suicides to the tribalism and hate in today's world, Dr. Jay guides you on a personalized and proven strategy for building a Happy Brain—for you and society. More research in brain science points to one undeniable truth—to socialize is to survive, to tribe is to thrive. Science of a Happy Brain uncovers a long-forgotten aspect of humanity by exposing a shared element of human biology—your social brain. Only recently has science affirmed what religions knew all along—you are a social being with a social brain that is nourished and strengthened by community and connection. But the marvels of society's Age of Digitalization can unwittingly bring you into the malaise of today's Age of Disconnection, which presently sabotages your health, weakens our society, and hijacks your Happy Brain. Your happiness demands tribe. Creating tribe in your life creates balance, longevity, and resilience—the foundation required for generating your Happy Brain. Science of a Happy Brain is equally a self-help course and a social commentary whose time has come that brings hope to a world in crisis, a nation in a happiness deficit, and a generation discovering where enduring happiness resides. It is a powerful work that is vital for the crossroads at which society finds itself by presenting a platform for public discourse to explore today's crucial social, cultural, and health issues. Dr. Jay reveals how you can achieve a Happy Brain by learning to experience happiness the way your brain evolved—biologically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. A Happy Brain creates happy people. Happy people make a happy world. Now more than ever, the future needs you. Happy. For more information about Dr. Jay Kumar, visit: https://www.drjaykumar.com Follow @docjaykumar on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
How Thinking is Overrated Find the happiness of emptiness. Few things scare us more than inner emptiness. The presumed emptiness of dementia or a coma scares us so much that we even sign living wills to avoid these states. Yet as Zen masters have long known, inner emptiness can also be productive and useful. We can reach this state through meditation, concentration, music, or even during sex. In fact, our brain loves emptiness—it makes us happy. Leading brain researcher Niels Birbaumer investigates the pleasure in emptiness and how we can take advantage of it. He explains how to overcome the evolutionary attentiveness of your brain and take a break from thinking—a skill that’s more important than ever in an increasingly frantic world. NIELS BIRBAUMER is a psychologist and neurobiologist. He is a leading figure in the development of brain–computer interfaces, a field he has researched for 40 years, with a focus on treating brain disturbances. He has been awarded numerous international honours and prizes, including the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize and the Albert Einstein World Award of Science. JÖRG ZITTLAU is a freelance journalist and writes about science, psychology and philosophy, among other topics. He is also the author of several bestsellers.
A neuroscientist transforms the way we think about our brain, our health, and our personal happiness in this clear, informative, and inspiring guide—a blend of personal memoir, science narrative, and immediately useful takeaways that bring the human brain into focus as never before, revealing the powerful connection between exercise, learning, memory, and cognitive abilities. Nearing forty, Dr. Wendy Suzuki was at the pinnacle of her career. An award-winning university professor and world-renowned neuroscientist, she had tenure, her own successful research lab, prestigious awards, and international renown. That’s when to celebrate her birthday, she booked an adventure trip that forced her to wake up to a startling reality: despite her professional success, she was overweight, lonely, and tired and knew that her life had to change. Wendy started simply—by going to an exercise class. Eventually, she noticed an improvement in her memory, her energy levels, and her ability to work quickly and move from task to task easily. Not only did Wendy begin to get fit, but she also became sharper, had more energy, and her memory improved. Being a neuroscientist, she wanted to know why. What she learned transformed her body and her life. Now, it can transform yours. Wendy discovered that there is a biological connection between exercise, mindfulness, and action. With exercise, your body feels more alive and your brain actually performs better. Yes—you can make yourself smarter. In this fascinating book, Suzuki makes neuroscience easy to understand, interweaving her personal story with groundbreaking research, and offering practical, short exercises—4 minute Brain Hacks—to engage your mind and improve your memory, your ability to learn new skills, and function more efficiently. Taking us on an amazing journey inside the brain as never before, Suzuki helps us unlock the keys to neuroplasticity that can change our brains, or bodies, and, ultimately, our lives.
This book reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. In fact, much of what makes our brains "happy" leads to errors, biases, and distortions, which make getting out of our own way extremely difficult. Author David DiSalvo presents evidence from evolutionary and social psychology, cognitive science, neurology, and even marketing and economics. And he interviews many of the top thinkers in psychology and neuroscience today. From this research-based platform, DiSalvo draws out insights that we can use to identify our brains’ foibles and turn our awareness into edifying action. Ultimately, he argues, the research does not serve up ready-made answers, but provides us with actionable clues for overcoming the plight of our advanced brains and, consequently, living more fulfilled lives.
With New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Hanson's four steps, you can counterbalance your brain's negativity bias and learn to hardwire happiness in only a few minutes each day. Why is it easier to ruminate over hurt feelings than it is to bask in the warmth of being appreciated? Because your brain evolved to learn quickly from bad experiences and slowly from good ones, but you can change this. Life isn’t easy, and having a brain wired to take in the bad and ignore the good makes us worried, irritated, and stressed, instead of confident, secure, and happy. But each day is filled with opportunities to build inner strengths and Dr. Rick Hanson, an acclaimed clinical psychologist, shows what you can do to override the brain’s default pessimism. Hardwiring Happiness lays out a simple method that uses the hidden power of everyday experiences to build new neural structures full of happiness, love, confidence, and peace. You’ll learn to see through the lies your brain tells you. Dr. Hanson’s four steps build strengths into your brain to make contentment and a powerful sense of resilience the new normal. In just minutes a day, you can transform your brain into a refuge and power center of calm and happiness.
This book is a manual for everyone inspired to make positive changes in the way they think, the way they interact with children and young people, and the means by which they help children and young people to live happier, healthier lives. The tools for emotional resilience and mental health are in your hands now.
Welcome to Wake Up: The Happy Brain, a collection of perspectives from a variety of chiropractors, naturopaths, alternative medicine practitioners, therapists, and product developers, specifically conceived and designed to give you, the reader, as wide a range of unique perspectives from a holistic point of view.
