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Happiness is not a factory setting. It’s a skill you learn.
The brain and the mind are trainable. There are evidence-based ways to cultivate calm, focus and patience.
—Dan Harris Host of the “10% Happier” podcast
Aging is a good thing.
Getting older makes you wiser, more resilient, more accepting and happier. There will be changes and challenges. Focus on what you can do — not what you can’t.
—Dr. Alison Moore Director of the Stein Institute for Research on Aging and Center for Healthy Aging
The way to health is through the gut.
The gut talks to the brain and to the immune system, the two most important organ systems for maintaining our health and preventing age-related diseases. It turns out that the gut is center stage.
—Dr. Eric Topol Founder and director of Scripps Research Translational Institute
Sleep is important, but not important enough to lose sleep over.
Sleep affects almost every aspect of our mental and physical health. But some people get so anxious about it that bedtime becomes a battleground. When we fixate less on sleep, and find professional help if needed, often it improves.
—Dr. Sujay Kansagra Pediatric sleep specialist at Duke University Medical Center
Parent less, play more.
If your kid isn’t asking for help, leave them alone! Spend less time managing their feelings — especially unpleasant ones — and more time sharing things that you love. Not everything needs to be a learning experience.
—Carla Naumburg Clinical social worker and the author of “How to Stop Losing Your Shit With Your Kids”
The vagina is a self‑cleaning oven.
It’ll take care of itself. Stay away from deodorant soaps, don’t douche or steam or put herbs and other crazy stuff in there.
—Dr. Mary Jane Minkin Gynecologist and a clinical professor at the Yale School of Medicine
Mental fitness is a lot like physical fitness.
Figure out which exercises work best for you. There are dozens of tools, such as journaling, talking to a trusted adviser, contemplating the vastness of nature and so many more. Different combinations help different people in different situations.
—Ethan Kross Author of “Shift: Managing Your Emotions — So They Don’t Manage You”
A healthier future is possible.
If “someday” were tomorrow, what would you do differently today? Track the most important predictors of your health and keep them healthy. Consult with your doctor, but the CliffsNotes are: Aim for blood pressure under 120/80 and LDL (that’s “bad” cholesterol) less than 70.
—Dr. Tom Frieden Former director of the C.D.C. and author of “The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives — Including Your Own”
Some relationship problems are paradoxes that can’t be solved.
They can only be managed. Complex issues demand that we hold contradictory feelings, needs and loyalties at the same time. Tidy solutions often do not exist.
—Esther Perel Psychotherapist, author and host of the podcast “Where Should We Begin?”
Ultraprocessed foods aren’t really food.
They are designed to taste good. That misses the point of why we eat, which is nutrition.
—Andrew T. Chan Chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital
Listen to your body. Then listen to your doctor.
A patient’s self-knowledge and a physician’s expertise make for a powerful partnership. Don’t neglect either.
—Dr. Chidinma Nwakanma Associate professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Movement is life.
If you want to stay healthy, you have to be physically active. It keeps your brain, heart, lungs, bones and joints healthy. It fights depression, lowers your risk of dementia, cancer, stroke, heart attack, depression — all medical conditions that are likely to shorten your life.
—Dr. Mary I. O’Connor Orthopedic surgeon, co-founder and chief medical officer, Vori Health
Make healthy behaviors your default.
Healthy eating, exercise and sleep are foundational, like having air to breathe. There’s proven data that doing the basics can prolong your life, so treat them like nonnegotiables.
—Dr. Latha Palaniappan Associate dean for research at Stanford University School of Medicine
Caring for kids takes compassion — for them and for yourself.
None of us is perfect, whether we’re a pediatrician or a parent, so give yourself some grace. We’re all doing the best we can.
—Sean O’Leary Professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
Our relationships are our biosphere.
It is in our interest to keep the biosphere healthy and happy, because we live inside of it. You have to operate like a team with the other members of your ecosystem. That means connecting with your own feelings and needs, and those of the people around you.
—Terry Real Therapist and founder of Relational Life Institute
Food is medicine. Food is love. Enjoy it as both.
What you eat connects you to your culture and the people you care about. So let loose a little when you have something to celebrate. The rest of the time, choose foods that nourish your body.
—Dr. Nate Wood Director of culinary medicine at Yale School of Medicine
Know your numbers.
There are crucial numbers you should know about your health and you can’t know them without measuring them: body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol. If they’re high, make a plan with your doctor for how to address them.
—Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones Preventive cardiologist at Boston University
Happiness comes from the spaces between.
Build the right relationships between yourself and others, between yourself and your work, between yourself and something larger than yourself.
—Jonathan Haidt Author of “The Anxious Generation”
Spend less time treating disease and more time treating health.
Death is inevitable. But there are tools we can use — exercise, nutrition, sleep, social connectivity and drugs — to extend not just our life span, but our health span.
—Dr. Nir Barzilai President of the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research
The quantity and quality of your connections matter.
Build a broad social circle, take care of each other and nurture high quality connections. If any one of those things is missing, we have strong evidence of the risks to physical health and premature mortality.
—Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad Professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University
A balanced immune system knows when to respond — and when not to.
A relaxed, calm immune response is the goal. Three things that support that are a healthy gut microbiome, exercise and stress reduction.
—Dr. Rita Kachru Section chief of clinical immunology and allergy at the U.C.L.A. David Geffen School of Medicine
Sometimes you have to put sleep first.
Work, screens, weekend plans, alcohol and caffeine — so much can get in the way of a good sleep routine. Control what you can control. To fix your sleep, you might have to make some trade-offs.
—Dr. Brienne Miner Geriatrician and sleep medicine physician at Yale School of Medicine
Wellness isn’t the same as not being sick.
Our well-being is kaleidoscopic, including not just physical and emotional health, but also social, financial, intellectual and other dimensions. You need to balance all of them to thrive and flourish.
—Dr. Jessi Gold Psychiatrist and chief wellness officer at the University of Tennessee System
Life is finite. Live with it.
Once you acknowledge the limitations of being human, you can plunge your energy into what matters to you. Procrastination, distraction, impatience and all the rest of it are the consequences of trying to avoid reality.
—Oliver Burkeman Author of “Four Thousand Weeks” and “Meditations for Mortals”
