Dr. Laurie Santos: How to Achieve True Happiness Using Science-Based Protocols

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2024

⏱️ 188 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, my guest is Dr. Laurie Santos, Ph.D., a professor of psychology and cognitive science at Yale University and a leading researcher on happiness and fulfillment. We discuss what truly increases happiness, examining factors such as money, social comparison, free time, alone time versus time spent with others, pets, and the surprising positive impact of negative visualizations. We also explore common myths and truths about introverts and extroverts, the science of motivation, and how to adjust your hedonic set point to experience significantly more joy in daily life. Throughout the episode, Dr. Santos shares science-supported strategies for enhancing emotional well-being and cultivating a deeper sense of meaning and happiness. Read the full show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman David: https://davidprotein.com/huberman Timestamps 00:00:00 Dr. Laurie Santos 00:02:52 Sponsors: Eight Sleep & ExpressVPN 00:06:00 Happiness, Emotion & Cognition; Emotional Contagion 00:11:18 Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Rewards 00:14:43 Money, Comparison & Happiness 00:21:39 Tool: Increase Social Connection; Real-Time Communication 00:32:16 Sponsor: AG1 00:33:47 Technology, Information, Social Interaction 00:39:22 Loneliness, Youth, Technology 00:42:16 Cravings, Sustainable Actions, Dopamine 00:47:01 Social Connection & Predictions; Introverts & Extroverts 00:57:22 Sponsors: Function & LMNT 01:00:41 Social Connection & Frequency; Tools: Fun; “Presence” & Technology 01:07:53 Technology & Negative Effects; Tool: Senses & Grounding; Podcasts 01:15:11 Negativity Bias, Gratitude, Tool: “Delight” Practice & Shifting Emotions 01:25:01 Sponsor: David 01:26:17 Importance of Negative Emotions; Judgements about Happiness 01:34:16 Happiness & Cultural Differences, Tool: Focus on Small Pleasures 01:41:00 Dogs, Monkeys & Brain, “Monkey Mind” 01:47:40 Monkeys, Perspective, Planning 01:53:58 Dogs, Cats, Dingos; Pets & Happiness 02:00:49 Time Famish; Tools: Time Affluence Breaks; Time Confetti & Free Time 02:07:46 Hedonic Adaptation; Tool: Spacing Happy Experiences 02:15:27 Contrast, Comparison & Happiness; Tool: Bronze Lining, Negative Visualization 02:24:08 Visualization, Bannister Effect; Tool: Imagine Obstacles 02:29:12 Culture; Arrival Fallacy, Tool: Journey Mindset 02:37:11 Mortality, Memento Mori, Tool: Fleeting Experiences & Contrast 02:44:33 Awe 02:48:15 Timescales; Community Engagement & Signature Strengths; Tool: Job Crafting 02:56:55 Strength Date, Leisure Time; Tool: Doing for Others, Feel Good Do Good 03:01:42 Tool: Asking for Help 03:05:32 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Social Media, Protocols Book, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:08.9	I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:15.3	My guest today is Dr. Lorry Santos. Dr. Lory Santos is a professor of cognitive science and psychology at Yale University.
0:23.2	She is a world expert in happiness and in the science of emotions generally. Today we talk about
0:29.0	true happiness, not in any kind of loose and aspirational way, but instead what the research
0:35.5	really tells us about how to create lasting happiness for ourselves.
0:40.3	We talk about relationships and happiness, that is relationships of all kinds, between friends,
0:45.3	between romantic partners, between family members, and of course, with ourselves.
0:49.3	We talk about all of that in the context of what to do, what not to do, and how to frame your whole
0:55.6	notion of what happiness is and how to attain it in the context of daily to-do's.
1:00.7	For instance, most all of us by now have heard about the power of gratitude and gratitude
1:04.7	practices. In fact, I've done an entire episode about gratitude and the science of gratitude.
1:09.4	But Dr. Lori Santos today explains that by shifting our orientation toward gratitude, towards
1:14.6	something more aligned with what delights us, we are able to better tap into the mechanisms
1:19.9	that enable us to feel happier in a more pervasive way.
1:23.5	We also discuss topics such as hedonic adaptation, that is how our pursuit of things and
1:28.9	our whole experience of pleasure sets the stage for what's going to feel like a meaningful
1:33.4	pursuit and pleasureful in the days and weeks to follow.
1:36.8	This is very important for everyone to hear, especially in this modern age of so-called
1:41.1	dopamine hits, easy to achieve dopamine, highly processed foods,
1:45.6	and the various things that you can find online. And speaking of online, we also discuss
1:50.1	the role that smartphones and social media play not just in our happiness, but in our cognition.
	...

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