CHAPTER 5
Happy Hormone Research

Good news bolsters health and well-being

Reducing Stress and Anxiety

Fortunately, there’s been as much research on the effects of good news as there has been on the effects of bad news. While reading studies conducted at ten major universities, I compiled a list of twelve major benefits from the intake of good news. The benefit reported on most frequently and extensively was the reduction of stress and anxiety.

Many of the researchers point out that good news can significantly lessen stress and anxiety while also contributing to peace of mind and a greater sense of well-being. These studies provide scientific evidence that good news and enjoyable experiences make us feel healthier and more optimistic. The more positive information we take in, the better we feel. Obviously, everything can’t be positive, but savoring what is positive enhances our lives.

Jessica Harrell, PhD, a psychology professor at Western Michigan University, conducted an extensive study on TV news viewing in 2000. She and her colleagues already knew that viewing bad news regularly causes “elevations in anxiety and a generally negative effect.” The aim of the research project was to discover if viewing good news leads to the opposite—the lowering of anxiety and a generally positive effect. It did, indeed. The students who took part in that study frequently asked questions afterward that could be crystallized by this one: “If watching and hearing good news is so health-inducing, why isn’t there more of it?” There weren’t many sources of good news in 2000. There are now, and they grow daily. That’s one of the most encouraging discoveries I made while doing my own research.

Other Benefits of Receiving Good News

Several other benefits come with the intake of uplifting information. I want to list them here without using a lot of the complex scientific terms that challenged me while studying this. I learned about research methods, parts of the brain, and hormones. But I doubt that things like covariates, the cingulate gyrus, or the names of more than 200 hormones will get you excited. I must admit, though, that the happy hormones (serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin), the ones that kick in when we receive good news, are kind of fun. Here are eleven other benefits I found, minus the scientific terms. I’m sure there are others as well.

1. Improves mood

2. Contributes to better mental health

3. Promotes better physical health

4. Leads to a more positive outlook and worldview

5. Raises level of energy

6. Leads to more productivity personally and on the job

7. Increases feelings of gratitude

8. Improves relationships, especially when shared

9. Develops hopefulness about the future

10. Diminishes selfishness while expanding altruism

11. Increases happiness

Obviously, this doesn’t mean that, after watching a three-minute clip of news about a little girl being reunited with her missing kitty, your life will suddenly be transformed into an eternal state of bliss. But it does mean that positive news has positive effects. The researchers in these studies remind us that bad news gets our attention much more quickly. It’s our job, then, to balance it with some positive input.

Another important point: None of the researchers who conducted these studies advises us to ignore all the bad news. That would not only be unwise but almost impossible. A suggestion from a Harvard study was to retrain the brain to absorb more of the positive information available to help us stay balanced.

These studies also identified five practical suggestions:

1. Decrease consumption of major media bad news.

2. Reduce time spent around negative people.

3. Increase awareness of the many forms of good news.

4. Understand the positive impact good news has.

5. Form the habit of getting a daily dose of positive input.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

What makes one person feel good doesn’t necessarily have the same warm and fuzzy impact on others. The little girl reuniting with her kitty may bring tears of joy to one person while eliciting “What’s the big deal?” from another. The reasons for this are simple: our genetic makeups are different, our life experiences have been different, and our brains function differently. We’re not all wired the same way. We’d be a pretty boring lot if we were. There’s a plentiful supply and a wide variety of good news sources out there. The key is to find the ones that stir up your happy hormones. There are several suggestions at the end of this book.

Good News Comes from a Variety of Sources

Our culture basically has two different understandings of the word news. The first refers to the news media—reports about what’s currently happening in the world, in our country, and locally. When someone asks us to turn on the news, we understand clearly what they mean. But there’s another kind of news that also gets our attention. It’s information that touches us in a more personal way. This news usually comes from family, friends, colleagues, organizations, and social groups we’re part of. Since most of what the media gives us is bad news, we’re going to get the bulk of our good news from these other sources. Good news usually comes from life going on all around us. Both my teenage and adult students taught me this regularly.

While they were opening their eyes and ears more to the good around them, they helped me to do the same. One of the most frequent Aha! realizations they shared was expressed by Carlos, who was then thirty-one: “Since the negatives get our attention more naturally than the positives, we’d be better off giving equal time to the positives.” I think most of my students, regardless of age, came to this realization. We were retraining our brains even before they started teaching it at Harvard.

Big News and Little News

When I started asking my adult students who had good news, most of them thought I was referring to what we came to call big news, that is, major life events. So, they were sharing things like a cancer healing, engagements and weddings, big promotions, scholarships, the birth of a child or grandchild, a service award, graduations, a favorite team winning the Super Bowl, a first home, and other occasions of great joy.

I asked, “How about the little news—those not-so-dramatic things that also lift our spirits?” Examples include a call from a friend, help from someone, a new book, tickets to a big game or concert, discovering a new restaurant, a neighbor’s chocolate chip cookies, a family event, a compliment, and other little happy events that occur regularly.

Whether major or minor, there’s plenty of good news out there. Finding it and spreading it enriches our lives and helps us to realize what Emma Seppala meant when she wrote in Scientific American:

Positive experiences happen to us every day, yet we don’t always take full advantage of them. Research suggests that we actually have three more times positive experiences than negative. It also shows that discussing positive experiences leads to heightened well-being, increased overall life satisfaction, and even more energy.

A New Version of an Old Sign

I made a follow-up to my “Who has good news?” sign. It was about the same size, but with larger letters.

Naturally, on the day I put it up, my students asked about what it meant. As if surprised, I smiled and answered, “I’m so glad you asked. Let me give you a little history lesson first.”

Since high school kids can’t imagine life without computers, I told them about the early days, when the term GIGO was used frequently. It means “Garbage In—Garbage Out,” and refers to programming. Flawed or nonsense input (garbage) produces flawed and nonsense output (garbage). The term isn’t used as much today, but it still has the same meaning. I said, “Your minds operate the same way. But since you already know that, let’s give GIGO a new definition that fits better with what we do.”

I suggested Good In—Good Out. If our brains are the personal processors of our lives, and we’re free to choose what goes into them (most of the time), it makes sense to put good in. I asked them to give me a few examples, and they had several: uplifting music, happy or funny TV shows, inspiring books, being with fun people, family gatherings, and positive things on the Internet, especially funny video clips on YouTube.

The Mind Is Like a Garden

“Your mind is like a garden / Your thoughts are the seeds / You can grow flowers / Or you can grow weeds.” At least three people have been given credit for this little poem. To whoever said it first, I thank you. It’s both clever and wise and makes a good point about caring for the mind. As the poem says, the seeds are thoughts, and it takes only a little imagination to realize that the flowers are positive words and actions, and the weeds are negative words and actions.

As clever as the poem is, it leaves out two important elements of caring for the mind. First, where do the seeds (thoughts) come from? Are you putting in any old seeds that are available, seeds that someone else forces on you, or seeds that you’ve carefully selected? Thoughts don’t just happen. They’re the result of what you allow into your processor.

Second, even if you select the healthiest seeds possible, they need to be nourished regularly. You have to keep the weeds (negative words and actions) out. This requires constant care.

James Allen (1864–1912) was another writer who compared the mind to a garden. His short book, As A Man Thinketh, written in 1903, is considered a classic. Popular authors of the past, such as Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking) and Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends and Influence People) were greatly influenced by Allen’s book. Many successful business leaders of the twentieth century praise Allen for his work. And modern-day success coach Tony Robbins claims it as his favorite and most influential book.

Allen wrote the book in old-fashioned English (notice that he said thinketh rather than thinks in the title). I’ve read this little gem many times over the years, so I’m going to take the liberty to put his overall theme into modern-day English. Here are his main points:

• A person’s mind has some similarities with a garden.

• It can be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild.

• Whether cultivated or neglected, it will produce results.

• If no useful seeds (positive information) are put into it, weeds (negative information) will take it over.

• You have to put good seeds in, nourish them on a regular basis, and keep the weeds out. It needs good care.

We Reap What We Sow

Allen’s points are yet another way of saying GIGO, whether you’re referring to garbage or good. Let’s first clarify two more old-fashioned words. Sow means plant, or what you put in. Reap means harvest, or what you get later. Sow a good lemon seed, care for it, and you’ll reap a good crop of lemons from a lemon tree. Many people are familiar with this process because it’s in the Bible. Yet actually, the concept of sowing and reaping goes back a lot further. It was considered to be a natural law of the universe, often called karma or the Tao. Ancient teachers like Buddha, Confucius, and others believed that being good puts us in harmony with nature. They taught that goodness leads to individual happiness and a peaceful society.