INNER LIFE®
SCARE UP SOME ENERGY!
Want a quick energy kick? Banish your inner
scaredy-cat and take a risk! Researchers
have found that heart-pounding activities
such as riding a roller coaster or watching
a creepy movie—even taking a turn at
karaoke—can rev you up in a jiffy. These
stimulating events trigger your body to
release energy-boosting adrenaline, which
in the absence of an actual crisis gives you
the benefits of increased energy without
the stress, says Esther M. Sternberg, M.D.,
director of the Integrative Neural Immune
Program at the National Institute of Mental
Health. Other types of risks, like ge ing a
ta oo, also release adrenaline because of
the physical pain. But since body art will
last longer than the energy boost, stick to
amusement parks. —Jennifer Castoro
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM TOP JEREMY MAUDE/MASTERFILE DASHA WRIGHT
The Joy of JUSTICE
It turns out that the receiving just treat-Golden Rule—treat ment activates the
others as you want reward center in our
to be treated—may brains, which receives
be wired into our the feel-good chemical
brains. UCLA research- dopamine from our
ers found that treating midbrain. “It appears to
others fairly and be the same kind of
emotional reaction
we get when we eat
chocolate or win
money,” says study
researcher and postdoctoral fellow Golnaz
Tabibnia, Ph. D.
—Megan McClure
Sure, there are good
smells and bad smells,
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS…
Over & Over & Over
Money can buy happiness, but there’s a catch:
You have to keep appreciating things your money
buys you, say Texas Tech University researchers.
“Just having a nice car or beautiful handbag won’t
make you happy in the long run,” says Jeff
Larsen, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology,
“unless you continue to value it even after
you’ve had it for a while.” How to maintain fresh
gratitude for your not-so-fresh belongings?
At least once a week take a moment to reflect on
why you fell in love with your possession in
the first place. (It might work when you’re mad
at your spouse, too!) —Courtney DeWet
but did you know that
About to fly off the
handle? If you’re at work,
keep your cool, say
researchers at Yale and
Northwestern universities.
Women who lose
their tempers on the
job are seen as less
capable. But when men
lose it, they’re accepted
and rewarded. Grrr!
scents can also be
happy or sad? The part
of our brain that stores
emotional memories
is intricately linked
with smell, researchers
have found. As a result,
aromas that remind us
of past experiences can
flood us with the same
