New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy

New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyYou get all kinds of happiness advice on the internet from people who dont know what theyre talking about. Dont trust them.Actually, dont trust me eitzu sich. Trust neuroscientists. They study that gray blob in your head all day and have learned a lot about what truly willmake you happy.UCLA neuroscience researcher alexanderplatz korbschlger has some insights that can create an upward spiral of happiness in your life. Heres what you and Ican learn from the people who really have answersFollow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and mora1) The Most Important Question To Ask When You Feel DownSometimes it doesnt feel like your brain wants you to be happy. You may feelguilty or shameful. Why?Believe it or not, guilt and shameactivate the brains reward center.Via The Upward SpiralDespi te their differences, pride, shame, and guilt all activate similar neural circuits, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, insula, and the nucleus accumbens. Interestingly, pride is the most powerful of unterstellung emotions at triggering activity in these regions - except in the nucleus accumbens, where guilt and shame win out. This explains why it can be so appealing to heap guilt and shame on ourselves - theyre activating the brains reward center.And youworry a lot too. Why? In the short term, worrying makes your brain feel a little better - at least youre doing something about your problems.Via The Upward SpiralIn fact, worrying can help calm the limbic ordnungsprinzip by increasing activity in the medial prefrontal cortexand decreasing activity in the amygdala. That might seem counterintuitive, but it just goes to show that if youre feeling anxiety, doing something about it - even worrying - is better than doing nothing.But guilt, shame and worry are horri ble long-term solutions. So what do neuroscientists say you should do? Ask yourself this questionWhat am I grateful for?Yeah, gratitude is awesome but does it really affect your brain at the biological level? Yup.You know what the antidepressant Wellbutrin does? Boosts the neurotransmitter dopamine. So does gratitude.Via The Upward SpiralThe benefits of gratitude start with the dopamine system, because feeling grateful activates the brain stem region that produces dopamine. Additionally, gratitude toward others increases activity in social dopamine circuits, which makes social interactions mora enjoyableKnow what Prozac does? Boosts the neurotransmitter serotonin. So does gratitude.Via The Upward SpiralOne powerful effect of gratitude is that it can boost serotonin. Trying to think of things you are grateful for forces you to focus on the positive aspects of your life. This simple act increases serotonin production in the anterior cingulate cortex.I know, sometimes life lands a rea lly mean punch in the gut and it feels like theres nothing to begrateful for. Guess what?Doesnt matter. You dont have to find anything. Its the searchingthat counts.Via The Upward SpiralIts not finding gratitude that matters most its remembering to look in the first place. Remembering to be grateful is a form of emotional intelligence. One study found that it actually affected neuron density in both the ventromedial and zur seite hin gelegen prefrontal cortex. These density changes suggest that as emotional intelligence increases, the neurons in these areas become mora efficient. With higher emotional intelligence, it simply takes less effort to be grateful.And gratitude doesnt just make your brain happy - it can also create a positive feedback loop in your relationships. So express that gratitude to the people you care about.(For mora on how gratitude can make you happier and mora successful, click here.)But what happens when bad feelings completely overtake you? When youre really in the dumps and dont even know how to deal with it? Theres an easy answer2) Label Negative FeelingsYou feel awful. Okay, give that awfulness a name. Sad? Anxious? Angry?Boom. Its that simple. Sound stupid? Your noggin disagrees.Via The Upward Spiralin one fMRI study, appropriately titled Putting Feelings into Words participants viewed pictures of people with emotional facial expressions. Predictably, each participants amygdala activated to the emotions in the picture. But when they were asked to name the emotion, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activated and reduced the emotional amygdala reactivity. In other words, consciously recognizing the emotions reduced their impact.Suppressing emotions doesnt work and canbackfire on you.Via Your Brain at Work Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day LongGross found that people who tried to suppress a negative emotional experience failed to do so. While they thought they looked fine outwardly, inwardly their limbic system was just as aroused as without suppression, and in some cases, even mora aroused. Kevin Ochsner, at Columbia, repeated these findings using an fMRI. Trying not to feel something doesnt work, and in some cases even backfires.But labeling, on the other hand,makes a big difference.Via Your Brain at Work Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day LongTo reduce arousal, you need to use just a few words to describe an emotion, and ideally use symbolic language, which means using indirect metaphors, metrics, and simplifications of your experience. This requires you to activate your prefrontal cortex, which reduces the arousal in the limbic system. Heres the bottom line describe an emotion in just a word or two, and it helps reduce the emotion.Ancient methods were way ahead of us on this one.Meditationhas employed this for centuries. kennzeichnung is a fundamentaltool ofmindfulness.In fact, labeling affects the brain so p owerfully it works with other people too.Labeling emotions is one of the primary tools used by FBI hostage negotiators.(To learn more of the secrets of FBI hostage negotiators, click here.)Okay, hopefully youre not reading this and labeling your current emotional state as Bored. Maybe youre not feeling awful but you probably have thingsgoing on in your life that are causing you some stress. Heres a simple way to beat them3) Make That DecisionEver make a decision and then your brain finally feels at rest? Thats no random occurrence.Brain scienceshows that making decisions reduces worry and anxiety - as well as helping yousolve problems.Via The Upward SpiralMaking decisions includes creating intentions and setting goals - all three are part of the saatkorn neural circuitry and engage the prefrontal cortex in a positive way, reducing worry and anxiety. Making decisions also helps overcome striatum activity, which usually pulls you toward negative impulses and routines. Finally, makin g decisions changes your perception of the world - finding solutions to your problems and calming the limbic system.But deciding can behard. I agree.So what kind of decisions should you make? Neuroscience has an answerMake a good enough decision. Dont sweat making the absolute 100% best decision. We all know being a perfectionist can be stressful. And brain studies back this up.Trying to be perfect overwhelms your brain with emotions and makes you feel out of control.Via The Upward SpiralTrying for the best, instead of good enough, brings too much emotional ventromedial prefrontal activity into the decision-making process. In contrast, recognizing that good enough is good enough activates more dorsolateral prefrontal areas, which helps you feel more in controlAs Swarthmore professor Barry Schwartz said in my interview with him Good enough is almost always good enough.So when you make a decision, your brain feels you have control. And, as Ive talked about before, a feeling of contro l reduces stress. But heres whats really fascinating Deciding also boosts pleasure.Via The Upward SpiralActively choosing caused changes in attention circuits and in how the participants felt about the action, and it increased rewarding dopamine activity.Want proof? No problem. Lets talk about cocaine.You give 2 rats injections of cocaine. proposition A had to pull a lever first. Rat B didnt have to do anything. Any difference? Yup rat A gets a bigger boost of dopamine.Via The Upward SpiralSo they both got the saatkorn injections of cocaine at the same time, but rat A had to actively press the lever, and rat B didnt have to do anything. And you guessed it - rat A released more dopamine in its nucleus accumbens.So whats the lesson here? Next time you buy cocaine whoops, wrong lesson. Point is, when you make a decisionon a goal and then achieve it, you feel better than when good stuff just happens by chance.And this answers the eternalmystery of why dragging your butt to the gym can be so hard.If you go because you feel you have to or you should, well, its not really a voluntary decision. Your brain doesnt get the pleasure boost. It just feels stress. And thats no way to build a good exercise habit.Via The Upward SpiralInterestingly, if they are forced to exercise, they dont get the same benefits, because without choice, the exercise itself is a source of stress.So make more decisions. Neuroscience researcher Alex Korb sums it up nicelyWe dont just choose the things we like we also like the things we choose.(To learn whatneuroscientists say is the best way to use caffeine, click here.)Okay, youre being grateful, labeling negative emotions and making more decisions. Great. But this is feeling kinda lonely for a happiness prescription. Lets get some other people in here.Whats something you can do with others that neuroscience says is a path to mucho happiness? And something thats stupidly simple so you dont get lazy and skip it? Brain docs have an answerfor you4) Touch PeopleNo, not indiscriminately that can get you in a lot of trouble.But we need to feel love and acceptance from others. When we dont its painful. And I dont mean awkward or disappointing. I mean actuallypainful.Neuroscientists did a study where people played a tanzfest-tossing video game. The other players tossed the ball to you and you tossed it back to them. Actually, there were no other players that was all done by the computer program.But the subjects were told the characters were controlled by real people. So what happened when the other players stopped playing nice and didnt share the ball?Subjects brains responded the same way as if they experienced physical pain. Rejection doesnt just hurt like a broken heart your brain feelsit like a broken leg.Via The Upward SpiralIn fact, as demonstrated in an fMRI experiment, social exclusion activates the same circuitry as physical pain at one point they stopped sharing, only throwing back and forth to each other, ignoring the p articipant. This small change was enough to elicit feelings of social exclusion, and it activated the anterior cingulate and insula, just like physical pain would.Relationships are very important toyour brains feeling of happiness.Want to take that to the next level? Touch people.Via The Upward SpiralOne of the primary ways to release oxytocin is through winzigkeiting. Obviously, its not always appropriate to touch most people, but small touches like handshakes and pats on the back are usually okay. For people youre close with, make more of an effort to touch more often.Touching is incredibly powerful. We just dont give it enough credit. It makes you more persuasive, increases team performance,improves your flirting heck, it even boostsmath skills.Touching someone you love actually reduces pain. In fact, when studies were done on married couples, the stronger the marriage, the more powerful the effect.Via The Upward SpiralIn addition, holding hands with someone can help comfort you and your brain through painful situations. One fMRI study scanned married women as they were warned that they were about to get a small electric shock. While anticipating the painful shocks, the brain showed a predictable pattern of response in pain and worrying circuits, with activation in the insula, anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. During a separate scan, the women either held their husbands hands or the hand of the experimenter. When a subject held her husbands hand, the threat of shock had a smaller effect. The brain showed reduced activation in both the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex- that is, less activity in the pain and worrying circuits. In addition, the stronger the marriage, the lower the discomfort-related insula activity.So hug someone today. And do not accept little, quick hugs. No, no, no. Tell them your neuroscientist recommended long hugs.Via The Upward SpiralA hug, especially a long one, releases a neurotransmi tter and hormone oxytocin, which reduces the reactivity of the amygdala.Research shows getting five hugs a day for four weeks increases happiness big time.Dont have anyoneto hug right now? No? (Im sorry to hear that. I would give you a hug right now if I could.) But theres an answer neuroscience says you should go get a massage.Via The Upward SpiralThe results are fairly clear that massage boosts your serotonin by as much as 30 percent. Massage also decreases stress hormones and raises dopamine levels, which helps you create new good habitsMassage reduces pain because the oxytocin system activates painkilling endorphins. Massage also improves sleep and reduces fatigue by increasing serotonin and dopamine and decreasing the stress hormone cortisol.So spend time with other people and give some hugs. Sorry, texting is not enough.When you put people in a stressful situation and then let them visit loved ones or talk to them on the phone, they felt better. What about whenthey just texted ? Their bodies responded the same as if they had no support at all.Via The Upward Spiralthe text-message group had cortisol and oxytocin levels similar to the no-contact group.Authors note I totally approve oftexting if you make a hug appointment.(To learn what neuroscience says is the best way to get smarter and happier, click here.)Okay, I dont want to strain your brain with too much info. Lets round it up and learn the quickest and easiest way tostart thatupward spiral of neuroscience-inspired happinessSum UpHeres what brain researchsays will make you happyAsk What am I grateful for?No answers? Doesnt matter. Just searching helps.Label those negative emotions. Give it a name and your brain isnt so bothered by it.Decide. Go for good enough instead ofbest decision ever made on Earth.Hugs, hugs, hugs.Dont text - touch.So whatsthe dead simple way to start that upward spiral of happiness?Just send someone a thank you email. If you feel awkward about it, you can send them this post to tell them why.This really can start an upward spiral of happiness in your life.UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex KorbexplainsEverything is interconnected. Gratitude improves sleep. Sleep reduces pain. Reduced pain improves your mood. Improved mood reduces anxiety, which improves focus and planning. Focus and planning help with decision making. Decision making further reduces anxiety and improves enjoyment. Enjoyment gives you more to be grateful for, which keeps that loop of the upward spiral going. Enjoyment also makes it more likely youll exercise and be social, which, in turn, will make you happier.So thank you for reading this.And send that thank you email nowto makeyou and someone you care about very happy.Join over 285,000 readers.Get a free weekly update via emailhere.This articleoriginally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.You might also enjoyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule th at will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong peopleNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyYou get all kinds of happiness advice on the internet from people who dont know what theyre talking about. Dont trust them.Actually, dont trust me either. Trust neuroscientists. They study that gray blob in your head all day and have learned a lot about what truly willmake you happy.UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb has some insights that can create an upward spiral of happiness in your life. Heres what you and Ican learn from the people who really have answersFollow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more1) The Most Important Question To Ask When You Feel DownSometimes it doesnt feel like your brain wants you to be happy. You may feelguilty or shameful. Why?Believe it or not, guilt and shameact ivate the brains reward center.Via The Upward SpiralDespite their differences, pride, shame, and guilt all activate similar neural circuits, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, insula, and the nucleus accumbens. Interestingly, pride is the most powerful of these emotions at triggering activity in these regions - except in the nucleus accumbens, where guilt and shame win out. This explains why it can be so appealing to heap guilt and shame on ourselves - theyre activating the brains reward center.And youworry a lot too. Why? In the short term, worrying makes your brain feel a little better - at least youre doing something about your problems.Via The Upward SpiralIn fact, worrying can help calm the limbic system by increasing activity in the medial prefrontal cortexand decreasing activity in the amygdala. That might seem counterintuitive, but it just goes to show that if youre feeling anxiety, doing something about it - even worrying - is better than doing noth ing.But guilt, shame and worry are horrible long-term solutions. So what do neuroscientists say you should do? Ask yourself this questionWhat am I grateful for?Yeah, gratitude is awesome but does it really affect your brain at the biological level? Yup.You know what the antidepressant Wellbutrin does? Boosts the neurotransmitter dopamine. So does gratitude.Via The Upward SpiralThe benefits of gratitude start with the dopamine system, because feeling grateful activates the brain stem region that produces dopamine. Additionally, gratitude toward others increases activity in social dopamine circuits, which makes social interactions more enjoyableKnow what Prozac does? Boosts the neurotransmitter serotonin. So does gratitude.Via The Upward SpiralOne powerful effect of gratitude is that it can boost serotonin. Trying to think of things you are grateful for forces you to focus on the positive aspects of your life. This simple act increases serotonin production in the anterior cingulate co rtex.I know, sometimes life lands a really mean punch in the gut and it feels like theres nothing to begrateful for. Guess what?Doesnt matter. You dont have to find anything. Its the searchingthat counts.Via The Upward SpiralIts not finding gratitude that matters most its remembering to look in the first place. Remembering to be grateful is a form of emotional intelligence. One study found that it actually affected neuron density in both the ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortex. These density changes suggest that as emotional intelligence increases, the neurons in these areas become more efficient. With higher emotional intelligence, it simply takes less effort to be grateful.And gratitude doesnt just make your brain happy - it can also create a positive feedback loop in your relationships. So express that gratitude to the people you care about.(For more on how gratitude can make you happier and more successful, click here.)But what happens when bad feelings completely overta ke you? When youre really in the dumps and dont even know how to deal with it? Theres an easy answer2) Label Negative FeelingsYou feel awful. Okay, give that awfulness a name. Sad? Anxious? Angry?Boom. Its that simple. Sound stupid? Your noggin disagrees.Via The Upward Spiralin one fMRI study, appropriately titled Putting Feelings into Words participants viewed pictures of people with emotional facial expressions. Predictably, each participants amygdala activated to the emotions in the picture. But when they were asked to name the emotion, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activated and reduced the emotional amygdala reactivity. In other words, consciously recognizing the emotions reduced their impact.Suppressing emotions doesnt work and canbackfire on you.Via Your Brain at Work Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day LongGross found that people who tried to suppress a negative emotional experience failed to do so. While they thought the y looked fine outwardly, inwardly their limbic system was just as aroused as without suppression, and in some cases, even more aroused. Kevin Ochsner, at Columbia, repeated these findings using an fMRI. Trying not to feel something doesnt work, and in some cases even backfires.But labeling, on the other hand,makes a big difference.Via Your Brain at Work Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day LongTo reduce arousal, you need to use just a few words to describe an emotion, and ideally use symbolic language, which means using indirect metaphors, metrics, and simplifications of your experience. This requires you to activate your prefrontal cortex, which reduces the arousal in the limbic system. Heres the bottom line describe an emotion in just a word or two, and it helps reduce the emotion.Ancient methods were way ahead of us on this one.Meditationhas employed this for centuries. Labeling is a fundamentaltool ofmindfulness.In fact, labeling af fects the brain so powerfully it works with other people too.Labeling emotions is one of the primary tools used by FBI hostage negotiators.(To learn more of the secrets of FBI hostage negotiators, click here.)Okay, hopefully youre not reading this and labeling your current emotional state as Bored. Maybe youre not feeling awful but you probably have thingsgoing on in your life that are causing you some stress. Heres a simple way to beat them3) Make That DecisionEver make a decision and then your brain finally feels at rest? Thats no random occurrence.Brain scienceshows that making decisions reduces worry and anxiety - as well as helping yousolve problems.Via The Upward SpiralMaking decisions includes creating intentions and setting goals - all three are part of the same neural circuitry and engage the prefrontal cortex in a positive way, reducing worry and anxiety. Making decisions also helps overcome striatum activity, which usually pulls you toward negative impulses and routines . Finally, making decisions changes your perception of the world - finding solutions to your problems and calming the limbic system.But deciding can behard. I agree.So what kind of decisions should you make? Neuroscience has an answerMake a good enough decision. Dont sweat making the absolute 100% best decision. We all know being a perfectionist can be stressful. And brain studies back this up.Trying to be perfect overwhelms your brain with emotions and makes you feel out of control.Via The Upward SpiralTrying for the best, instead of good enough, brings too much emotional ventromedial prefrontal activity into the decision-making process. In contrast, recognizing that good enough is good enough activates more dorsolateral prefrontal areas, which helps you feel more in controlAs Swarthmore professor Barry Schwartz said in my interview with him Good enough is almost always good enough.So when you make a decision, your brain feels you have control. And, as Ive talked about before, a f eeling of control reduces stress. But heres whats really fascinating Deciding also boosts pleasure.Via The Upward SpiralActively choosing caused changes in attention circuits and in how the participants felt about the action, and it increased rewarding dopamine activity.Want proof? No problem. Lets talk about cocaine.You give 2 rats injections of cocaine. Rat A had to pull a lever first. Rat B didnt have to do anything. Any difference? Yup rat A gets a bigger boost of dopamine.Via The Upward SpiralSo they both got the same injections of cocaine at the same time, but rat A had to actively press the lever, and rat B didnt have to do anything. And you guessed it - rat A released more dopamine in its nucleus accumbens.So whats the lesson here? Next time you buy cocaine whoops, wrong lesson. Point is, when you make a decisionon a goal and then achieve it, you feel better than when good stuff just happens by chance.And this answers the eternalmystery of why dragging your butt to the gym can be so hard.If you go because you feel you have to or you should, well, its not really a voluntary decision. Your brain doesnt get the pleasure boost. It just feels stress. And thats no way to build a good exercise habit.Via The Upward SpiralInterestingly, if they are forced to exercise, they dont get the same benefits, because without choice, the exercise itself is a source of stress.So make more decisions. Neuroscience researcher Alex Korb sums it up nicelyWe dont just choose the things we like we also like the things we choose.(To learn whatneuroscientists say is the best way to use caffeine, click here.)Okay, youre being grateful, labeling negative emotions and making more decisions. Great. But this is feeling kinda lonely for a happiness prescription. Lets get some other people in here.Whats something you can do with others that neuroscience says is a path to mucho happiness? And something thats stupidly simple so you dont get lazy and skip it? Brain docs have an answerfor y ou4) Touch PeopleNo, not indiscriminately that can get you in a lot of trouble.But we need to feel love and acceptance from others. When we dont its painful. And I dont mean awkward or disappointing. I mean actuallypainful.Neuroscientists did a study where people played a ball-tossing video game. The other players tossed the ball to you and you tossed it back to them. Actually, there were no other players that was all done by the computer program.But the subjects were told the characters were controlled by real people. So what happened when the other players stopped playing nice and didnt share the ball?Subjects brains responded the same way as if they experienced physical pain. Rejection doesnt just hurt like a broken heart your brain feelsit like a broken leg.Via The Upward SpiralIn fact, as demonstrated in an fMRI experiment, social exclusion activates the same circuitry as physical pain at one point they stopped sharing, only throwing back and forth to each other, ignoring the p articipant. This small change was enough to elicit feelings of social exclusion, and it activated the anterior cingulate and insula, just like physical pain would.Relationships are very important toyour brains feeling of happiness.Want to take that to the next level? Touch people.Via The Upward SpiralOne of the primary ways to release oxytocin is through touching. Obviously, its not always appropriate to touch most people, but small touches like handshakes and pats on the back are usually okay. For people youre close with, make more of an effort to touch more often.Touching is incredibly powerful. We just dont give it enough credit. It makes you more persuasive, increases team performance,improves your flirting heck, it even boostsmath skills.Touching someone you love actually reduces pain. In fact, when studies were done on married couples, the stronger the marriage, the more powerful the effect.Via The Upward SpiralIn addition, holding hands with someone can help comfort you and y our brain through painful situations. One fMRI study scanned married women as they were warned that they were about to get a small electric shock. While anticipating the painful shocks, the brain showed a predictable pattern of response in pain and worrying circuits, with activation in the insula, anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. During a separate scan, the women either held their husbands hands or the hand of the experimenter. When a subject held her husbands hand, the threat of shock had a smaller effect. The brain showed reduced activation in both the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex- that is, less activity in the pain and worrying circuits. In addition, the stronger the marriage, the lower the discomfort-related insula activity.So hug someone today. And do not accept little, quick hugs. No, no, no. Tell them your neuroscientist recommended long hugs.Via The Upward SpiralA hug, especially a long one, releases a neurotransmitter and hormone oxytocin, which reduces the reactivity of the amygdala.Research shows getting five hugs a day for four weeks increases happiness big time.Dont have anyoneto hug right now? No? (Im sorry to hear that. I would give you a hug right now if I could.) But theres an answer neuroscience says you should go get a massage.Via The Upward SpiralThe results are fairly clear that massage boosts your serotonin by as much as 30 percent. Massage also decreases stress hormones and raises dopamine levels, which helps you create new good habitsMassage reduces pain because the oxytocin system activates painkilling endorphins. Massage also improves sleep and reduces fatigue by increasing serotonin and dopamine and decreasing the stress hormone cortisol.So spend time with other people and give some hugs. Sorry, texting is not enough.When you put people in a stressful situation and then let them visit loved ones or talk to them on the phone, they felt better. What about whenthey just texted? The ir bodies responded the same as if they had no support at all.Via The Upward Spiralthe text-message group had cortisol and oxytocin levels similar to the no-contact group.Authors note I totally approve oftexting if you make a hug appointment.(To learn what neuroscience says is the best way to get smarter and happier, click here.)Okay, I dont want to strain your brain with too much info. Lets round it up and learn the quickest and easiest way tostart thatupward spiral of neuroscience-inspired happinessSum UpHeres what brain researchsays will make you happyAsk What am I grateful for?No answers? Doesnt matter. Just searching helps.Label those negative emotions. Give it a name and your brain isnt so bothered by it.Decide. Go for good enough instead ofbest decision ever made on Earth.Hugs, hugs, hugs.Dont text - touch.So whatsthe dead simple way to start that upward spiral of happiness?Just send someone a thank you email. If you feel awkward about it, you can send them this post totell them why.This really can start an upward spiral of happiness in your life.UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex KorbexplainsEverything is interconnected. Gratitude improves sleep. Sleep reduces pain. Reduced pain improves your mood. Improved mood reduces anxiety, which improves focus and planning. Focus and planning help with decision making. Decision making further reduces anxiety and improves enjoyment. Enjoyment gives you more to be grateful for, which keeps that loop of the upward spiral going. Enjoyment also makes it more likely youll exercise and be social, which, in turn, will make you happier.So thank you for reading this.And send that thank you email nowto makeyou and someone you care about very happy.Join over 285,000 readers.Get a free weekly update via emailhere.This articleoriginally appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.You might also enjoyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that wi ll double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people