Reignite Your Spark: Defeating Languishing

Welcome to Effective Habits, a weekly newsletter where I share evidence-based strategies and tools to help you live a happy, healthy, and productive life.

Today at a Glance:

• How to Get Your Mojo Back

• A Cooler Body Temperature at Night Leads to Less "Stressful" Sleep

• Rich in Good Decisions

How to Get Your Mojo Back
Dr. Frank Martela

Lights, Camera, ...
Feeling stuck between "meh" and "miserable"? You might be in a state of languishing, where life feels monotonous and joyless. It's not full-blown depression, but it's far from flourishing. Research suggests that languishing can sap your motivation and increase the risk of future mental health issues. The good news? Unlike battling major depression, overcoming languishing could be as simple as tweaking your daily routine. Research-backed strategies, from connecting with the situation to fostering connections with others, yourself, or your desired future, might just be the key to revitalizing your mental state.

Action!

1. Connect with the situation: Recognize your feelings by giving them names, accept your emotions, and learn to be present in the moment, allowing yourself to experience both positive and negative emotions fully.

2. Connect with others: Engage in small acts of kindness to boost your own happiness, make time for genuine interactions with loved ones, and challenge yourself to connect with strangers.

3. Connect with yourself: Take the time to understand your own interests and values, and step out of your comfort zone to discover new aspects of yourself.

4. Connect with the future you desire: Commit to inspiring long-term goals that align with your values, start with achievable small wins to build confidence and a sense of progress, and challenge yourself to maintain a state of flow through gradual, meaningful growth.

A Cooler Body Temperature at Night Leads to Less "Stressful" Sleep
Brady Holmer

Lights, Camera, ...
Discoveries about the relationship between body temperature and sleep quality have unveiled intriguing insights. Our body's temperature rhythm, aligned with our sleep cycle, plays a vital role. Cooling down before sleep sparks better sleep and heart health by calming our heart's "fight or flight" mode and boosting its restorative functions. A recent study revealed that insufficient temperature decline before sleep could lead to higher overnight heart rate and weaker cardiovascular activity, resulting in less satisfying sleep and potential health issues. Enhancing sleep by optimizing body temperature – whether through cooling mattresses, light evening walks, or controlled pre-sleep activities – could pave the way to better sleep and overall wellness, highlighting the interconnected nature of body temperature, sleep, and heart health.

Action!

• Improve sleep quality by lowering core body temperature before bed. Strategies may include:

  • Sleeping on a cooling mattress

  • Going for a walk outside (if it’s cool)

  • Taking a warm shower, which will lead to heat dissipation via the skin due to enhanced vasodilation.

  • Avoiding body-temperature-elevating activities like vigorous exercise or digesting a large meal.

Rich in Good Decisions
Jade Bonacolta

Lights, Camera, ...
Tired of agonizing over life decisions and fearing you'll miss out on something better? Enter the 37% Rule—a gem from the book "Algorithms to Live By" by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths that uses computer science to solve human dilemmas. It's about "optimal stopping" - the sweet spot where exploring more costs more than missing out. Maximize probabilities, minimize time, and trust the process; that's how you escape FOMO and make smarter decisions.

Action!

1. Set a Time Limit: Determine the maximum time frame for your decision, like aiming to hire someone in 6 months.

2. Evaluate Initial Options: Review the first 37% of your choices. If you're selecting from 10 applicants, interview the first 4 to establish a benchmark.

3. Ready for Action: Continue exploring, but be prepared to commit as soon as an option surpasses the initial 37%. For instance, if the 6th candidate is better than the first 4, extend the offer without further interviews.

TOOL TIP

WiFi Mouse: Transform your phone into a wireless mouse, keyboard, remote desktop, trackpad and more.

FUN FACT

People who are currently alive represent about 7 percent of the total number of people who have ever lived.

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Disclaimer: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We are not liable for any risks or issues that may arise from using this information.