What your body knows about happiness How to use your body to change your mind

Janice Kaplan

Book - 2025

"In school, we're taught that the central nervous system, including the brain, is the big computer telling our bodies how to respond to a trigger. But there's a growing body of research proving that in fact the system often works in reverse, that it's our body programming the brain by acting without being told what to do. For example, the act of smiling can improve your mood. Or when you pass a dark alley and your body tenses and your heart starts pounding, your cardiovascular system is sending a message to your brain to be scared. In this book, Janice Kaplan, the New York Times bestselling author of The Gratitude Diaries, will explore the mind-body connection and show that our feeling bodies are often smarter than our t...hinking minds, by weaving together new scientific research from experts from around the globe and from various disciplines, including psychologists, neuroscientists, and environments. And she'll provide tips and strategies for discovering this vital mind-body connection so they can work together to make you happier"--

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2nd Floor New Shelf 152.42/Kaplan (NEW SHELF) Due May 18, 2025
  • Introduction
  • Part 1. The Science of Happy Bodies
  • 1. What Your Apple Watch Can't Tell You
  • 2. How Your Body Makes You Happy
  • 3. Your Mixed-Up Mind
  • 4. How Your Senses Give You Joy
  • Part 2. The Best Places on Earth to Be Happy
  • 5. Why Blue and Green Are the Happiest Colors
  • 6. Places That Make Your Spirits Soar
  • 7. Why Wine Tastes Better in Paris
  • Part 3. The Unexpected Power of Sex, Exercise, and Diet
  • 8. What Body Positivity Really Means
  • 9. The Happy Body Food Plan
  • 10. How Exercise Makes You Happy
  • Part 4. How Your Brain Resolves Pain
  • 11. Everybody Hurts (Sometimes)
  • 12. Pain, Pain, Go Away
  • 13. Sugar Pills Are Sweeter Than You Think
  • Part 5. Why Pleasure and Creativity Come from Within
  • 14. The Neuroscience oflnvention
  • 15. How Your Body Makes You Smart
  • Part 6. Your Optimistic Body
  • 16. What Language Does Your Body Talk?
  • 17. The Body-Mind Happiness Plan
  • Suggested Reading
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • Index
  • About the Author
Review by Booklist Review

Descartes famously said, "I think, therefore, I am." Kaplan, author of The Gratitude Diaries (2016), argues convincingly here that the body has an equal role in who we are. You may have noticed that it's easier to feel empowered when standing up straight. Or that a soft chair and a warm drink evoke gentle thoughts. Kaplan interviews experts and examines studies that show that it's often the body that reacts first, with the brain following to explain it all. These body messages, says Kaplan, can be spun to be positive, such as when feeling anxious before performing a task can be transposed into excitement. By looking at a bouquet of flowers, gazing at the ocean, or catching a glimpse of a sunset, you can lighten stress. You can use smell and touch to evoke memories or take advantage of practices to manage pain. Kaplan proposes a "happy body diet" which involved eating what your body is seeking and only enough to satisfy it. Throughout the book, she outlines how messages from the body can be used to increase gratitude, creativity, health, and happiness. Kaplan's accessible manner, logical thinking, and practical examples make all these ideas easy to understand and help the body and mind work together.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

The modern belief that joy originates in the mind discounts the body's role in well-being, according to this persuasive guide from novelist Kaplan (The Gratitude Diaries). Arguing that "happiness isn't exclusively a conscious decision," she details how physical signals--reactions to sensory cues, hormones that affect mood--are translated by the brain into emotions. As modern technology continues to promote virtual rather than face-to-face interaction, people have grown increasingly disconnected from their bodies, viewing them as a burden "rather than a partner in making us happy." Kaplan shows readers how to better read physical signals, find healthy ways to address them, and implement such body-centered practices as surrounding oneself "with soothing objects that bring physical pleasure" (a steaming cup of coffee, a fuzzy sweater). Casting a wide net, the author cites a wealth of illuminating research on why the body reacts as it does, noting, for instance, that the visual system triggers emotional responses to architectural styles--gentle curves and fractal-inspired design patterns that are reminiscent of nature inspire more joy than brutalist, utilitarian buildings. Her commonsense suggestions may not be groundbreaking, but they're sound and easily implemented. This is a worthy addition to the recent wave of books on the mind-body connection. (Jan.)

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