![]() ![]() Americans tend to value high-energy positive emotions more highly than low-energy ones (Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008). To better understand positive emotions, we also often think of positive emotions as either high-energy (e.g., excitement, joy) or low-energy (e.g., calm, content). So I might say "I'm happy" or I might say "I'm sad" to indicate where I am on a continuum from pleasant to unpleasant emotion. That being said, we use labels or adjectives to help communicate and understand our emotions. Compared to moods, positive emotions generally arise as a result of some experience, they are short-lived, and they are closer to the forefront of our consciousness (Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008).Īll emotions are thought to exist on a continuum from very pleasant to very unpleasant (Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008). Positive emotions are also distinguished from moods. Positive emotion is different than sensory pleasure (which is more about sexual pleasure, satisfying hunger and thirst, or remedying pain). Positive emotion versus sensory pleasure and positive mood Other people suggest that our experience of pleasantness is simply a mental assessment of our rate of goal attainment compared to our expected rate of goal attainment ( Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008). It's thought that the purpose (or function) of positive emotion is to facilitate approach behavior-it leads us to pursue things and move out into the world versus withdrawing (which is what sadness and anxiety lead us to do). They are multicomponent because they involve more than just our internal feelings they also include changes in our nervous system, hormones, facial expressions, thoughts, and more ( Fredrickson & Cohn, 2008). (Notice that watching your favorite show is not on this list: screen time before bed hurts the quality of your sleep, so put your phone or tablet away at least a half-hour before you end the day.Positive emotions can be defined as pleasant multicomponent response tendencies. It doesn’t have to be complicated or take a lot of time - just make it something that nourishes you. ![]() Light a candle you love, take a warm shower, drink your favorite tea (watch out for caffeine), read a bit from a book you enjoy, write in your journal, do some yoga stretches, anything that makes you feel really really good. When you write down your to-dos or reminders, you give your brain permission to stop thinking about them since now they're somewhere and won’t be forgotten.ģ. It might be a reminder to order new sneakers for my daughter or call my mom in the morning - anything that can be moved from my mind to a piece of paper. I keep a small notepad in my nightstand and before I go to bed, if there's something swirling in my mind, I try to write it down. Write down anything you need to remember. ![]() When you practice gratitude, when you notice and appreciate the small good things and experiences and people that were part of your day, you’re choosing to focus on them and make it harder for your brain to think about negative things.Ģ. It’s a quote from Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray, Love, in which she says that if you want to improve your life, you should choose your thoughts every day, like you choose your clothes. This is a really powerful idea and I read something recently that inspired me to think about it more. ![]() Taking a few minutes to write down what you’re grateful for before going to bed focuses your brain on positive thoughts and makes it harder for it to get stuck in the long-list-of-things-that-stress-me-out cycle.Įssentially what you’re doing with your gratitude practice is choosing what thoughts you want to be thinking. Studies show that gratitude helps you feel more optimistic and reduces stress and anxiety. (Try this really simple breathing technique to help you fall asleep.) Here are 3 things you can do before bed to wake up happier:ġ. It’s hard to wake up refreshed if you haven't gotten enough sleep, so make that something you aim for as often as possible. So it’s worth putting a little effort in the night before to make your mornings better. You know that awesome feeling when you wake up well-rested, energized, and ready to tackle the day? It’s pretty great. ![]()
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