The Default Mode Network: Unlock the Brain’s Hidden Power

by | Self-Management

AI generated Ap. 30, 2025

Your Default Mode Network (DMN) is a road trip playlist curated by your subconscious—one minute it’s a nostalgic bop, the next it’s that song you can’t stand, but can’t skip.

The DMN is the detour you didn’t expect, but sometimes leads to cool adventures and amazing sites. Our Default Mode Network may sometimes wander aimlessly, but that mind wandering also can be a time for creative exploration and problem solving.

Understand Your Brain’s Resting State

When we aren’t doing anything that demands our focused attention, the Default Mode Network takes the driver’s seat and hits shuffle on the entertainment dashboard.

Researchers have identified four areas of the brain that activate when a person isn’t performing a specific, externally driven task. They are the dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, lateral parietal cortex, and the precuneus. These regions play a role in emotion, personality, introspection, and memory.

The DMN is important in three areas:

  1. Self-representation. The way we see ourselves, including our traits and dispositions.
  2. Theory of Mind (ToM). Our attempt to figure out the intentions of other people.
  3. Simulations. Led by the question, “What if?”, the DMN runs a variety of scenarios.

Our brain likes to be busy—even in resting awake states, like daydreaming, mind wandering, meditation, and some mindfulness activities.

Mind wandering and daydreaming aren’t necessarily dependent on a particular outside (external) stimulus and are typically unrelated to a specific task. Both experiences also can be intentional or unintentional. Some researchers use mind wandering and daydreaming interchangeably. We’re not doing that. So, what’s the difference?

Mind wandering is broader and described as “task unrelated thought.” It can be deliberate or spontaneous, with the former more often associated with positive thoughts, and the latter with negative thoughts (Barnett & Kaufman, 2020).

Researchers also consider the plausibility of the mind wandering. Does it relate to a real-life situation about which running simulations in your mind helps you plan, prepare, and problem-solve? Are those events happening now or in the immediate future? Barnett and Kaufman (2020) view mind-wandering on a spectrum, with one end reflecting thoughts that are closer to real life and the opposite end being “impossibly fanciful.”

When mind wandering involves scenarios that aren’t realistic, i.e., the likelihood of their occurring is highly unlikely or near zero, then we’re daydreaming. For example, maybe you’re daydreaming about what it would be like to be an eagle or travel to Mars. The first is fantastical, but the second is possible, though remote.

Daydreaming is future-oriented and often deliberate. When it leans more toward fantastical imaginings that disrupt your day, then it’s considered maladaptive.

With our better understanding of the DMN, we can use its strengths to our advantage.

DMN Action Steps

  • Use a mood tracking app to notice correlations between mental states and DMN activity.
  • Identify which activities (e.g., walking, showering) enhance your insights.

Reframe the Default Mode Network

The Default Mode Network is about our inner world — how we see ourselves and how we assess our social world as it relates to us. We can choose to reflect on its musings, positive and negative, so we can become the best versions of ourselves. We also can delve into those negative thoughts, evaluate their truthfulness and accuracy, then purposely reframe them in a more positive way.

Reframing is looking at a problem or a challenging situation from a more constructive perspective. For example, in April 2025, the stock market plummeted. If you had money in retirement or self-directed investment accounts, you might have experienced anxiety and panic watching the value of your portfolios drop.

Your anxious thoughts might have scolded you for selling, not selling, not buying the dip, buying the dip, borrowing to buy the dip, or not putting your money into something safer. As you kept a close eye on the news, your thoughts might have shouted, “You’re going to lose everything! You’re an idiot!”

But are those thoughts true? Are your emotions and feelings taking over?

The value of stocks always goes up and down, sometimes dramatically, other times slothlike. Either way, it’s out of your control. If you want to continue investing, reframing the highs and lows of investing is an important skill. Reframing looks like, “Stocks are on sale now!” (I’m not suggesting you borrow to buy the dip, though.)

Reframing is powerful. You can use it to change any negative thought.

DMN Action Steps

  • Track your DMN activity for 1 -2 days. Are your thoughts negative or positive? When are they happening? Is there a time of day when your thoughts are more positive than negative?
  • Keep a journal to track insights or creative ideas that come during downtime.
  • Practice mindfulness meditation for 5–15 minutes daily. Start small.
  • Schedule quiet, tech-free moments to allow your mind to wander naturally.
  • Use reflective questions like, “What patterns of thought keep resurfacing?”
  • Go outside. Bonus points if you can do this for a few minutes in the morning. Morning light exposure helps reset your internal clock. This helps you sleep better!

Harness the Power of Visualization

Most people can create mental images. In fact, only 2 – 4% of people experience aphantasia (the brain doesn’t create pictures) and this inability isn’t a disability, medical, or mental health condition. It’s simply a difference in how a person’s brain works.

Some people construct vivid images, noting even minute details. Others think more broadly. Wherever you land on the continuum, you can use visualization to harness your creative spirit and move in a consistently positive direction.

While you can practice visualization anywhere, when you’re just getting started, it’s a good idea to find a quiet spot. Position yourself comfortably. Then,

  1. Choose an object in your environment. Examine it for 1 -2 minutes.
  2. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. If softening your gaze, then turn away from the object.
  3. Use belly breathing to ready your mind. Inhale through your nose, allowing your belly to fill with air. Let this breath flow into your chest without raising your shoulders. You can track this by resting one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. Exhale through your pursed lips or your nose. If it helps you, count in for four and out for four.
  4. Recall as many details about the object as possible. What shape is it? What colors? What’s its size? Does it have a scent? Is its surface soft, rough, hard?

Practicing visualization in this way several times each week will improve your ability to create mental pictures. Before long, you’ll be able to use visualization to “see” every step in any goal you want to accomplish. Visualizing the process is as important, if not more important than, “seeing” the end goal.

As your visualization skills strengthen, you can choose to use a first or third person perspective. Which one is better? To gain more insight into this, think about a work of fiction you’ve read. What drew you into the story? Was it written in first or third person? These usually are the dominant choices in fiction writing.

Books written in first person, particularly ones written in first person present tense, give readers a sense of being part of the action. Readers discover and experience everything in the story simultaneously with the main character. This also happens in first person, past tense, but not to the same degree. Present tense is the critical piece.

Third person is about observation. As readers, we’re on the outside watching the characters do clever, baffling, annoying, and sometimes foolish things. We don’t feel the same sense of control, emotion, or feelings.

This isn’t how we want to engage in our visualization activities. We’re not meant to be outside observers of our lives. We’re meant to be involved in the thick of it!

DMN Action Steps

  • Gradually increase the time you spend visualizing.
  • Create a vision board or digital collage to solidify your mental imagery.
  • Revisit your visualization practice weekly to reinforce positive thinking.

Manage Default Mode Network Overactivity

It’s three a.m. Your eyes pop open. Thoughts scramble, each worse than the last. You’re spiraling. Worry sets into your spine. Something’s different this time, though. Now, you know it’s your default mode network in action. Maybe you’ve given your DMN a name (helpful), but controlling it still isn’t automatic.

Like any new skill, we have to engage in deliberate practice to reap the rewards. Crafting a memorable line of dialogue, a witty joke, an efficient piece of code, whatever the skill, repetition is the key. There’s no failure because each opportunity gives us insights. We learn bit by bit, tweak by tweak. Eventually, the behaviors necessary to complete our task automatize.

DMN Action Steps

  • Recognize signs of rumination or overthinking.
  • Use grounding techniques like deep breathing or body scanning.
  • Consider cognitive-behavioral strategies. For example, journaling, distraction, or self-compassion to redirect unproductive thought loops.
  • Can’t sleep? Mind racing? Practice cognitive shuffling.
  • Read Fundamental Forward Shift: The key to Sustainable Growth and learn how small, positively skewed, consistent actions and thoughts control the default mode network.

The next time your thoughts wander and your DMN shuffles to a song you’d rather skip, remember you’re in the driver’s seat. You choose the adventure.

References

  • Galinato, M. (2022 Aug 30). Rest: The Default Mode Network. BrainFacts.org. Retrieved Ap. 4, 2024.
  • Menon, V. (2023). 20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis. Neuron, 111(16) DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.04.023
  • Barnett, P. J., & Kaufman, J. C. (2020). Mind wandering: Framework of a lexicon and musings on creativity In D. D. Preiss, D. Cosmelli, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Creativity and the wandering mind: Spontaneous and controlled cognition (pp. 3-24).San Diego: Academic Press.
  • Marks, T. (10 Feb 2021). Maladaptive daydreaming vs. Mind Wandering: How to tell the difference. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Qt-8WxxdTPQ
  • Huberman, A. (24 Jan 2023). Using light for health. Huberman Lab. Retrieved April 11, 2024 from https://www.hubermanlab.com/newsletter/using-light-for-health
  • Cleveland Clinic (31 Aug 2023). Aphantasia: What it is, causes, symptoms, and treatments. Retrieved April 29, 2025 from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/25222-aphantasia
  • Cleveland Clinic (30 March 2022). Diaphragmatic breathing exercises and benefits. Retrieved April 29, 2025 from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/9445-diaphragmatic-breathing
  • Calm (n.d.). How cognitive shuffling can quiet racing thoughts at bedtime. Retrieved April 30, 2025 from https://www.calm.com/blog/cognitive-shuffling

Fundamental Forward Shift: The Key to Sustainable Growth

by | Personal Development

Image by James Wheeler from Pixabay

What does a fundamental forward shift and learning to swim have in common?

When I was a kid, my parents put me into swimming lessons. I don’t remember how old I was, but I remember not wanting to go. Up to that moment, I’d been content with life in the shallow end.

But staying there wasn’t an option.

The first day of lessons, kids eager to launch themselves from the side of the pool surrounded me. Meanwhile, I stood shivering and waiting for the lesson to be over. I knew that eventually, maybe not this day, but soon, I’d have to go into the deep end.

Along the edge of the pool, the other kids giggled and squirmed. I wasn’t having any of it and backed further away. One instructor waved, encouraging me to move closer. From the viewing gallery, I sensed the Wise One’s eyes on me. (He’s my inspiration for “the look” that I cultivated so well it still stops misbehaving children mid-tantrum.)

I inched forward.

One-by-one, we jumped into the pool. This was the easy part. I’d done it hundreds of times before, and loved it — in the safety of the shallow end.

But when the instructors announced that to pass the class we’d have to jump from the diving board, a detail of which my parents failed to mention, panic shot through me like a ball racing around a pinball machine.

One added, “Your toes have to dangle at the end of the board.” The other gave us a visual. One hand plopped over the other, fingers fluttering. I hated these people.

Surely they were joking. Why would our toes need to be in that specific spot?

The day finally arrived. We marched dutifully to the deep end of the pool, each awaiting our fate. Some exuberant, others, mainly me, not so much.

Splash! Plop!

“Can I do it again?” Over and over, until …

It was my turn to step onto the board, my sloth skills in full effect.

“A little bit more. Get your toes over the edge.”

One tiny step forward.

“More. You’re almost there.”

The scratchy bumps of the board scraped along the bottoms of my feet.

“Jump!”

“No.”

“You can do it. We’re right here. Jump!”

“No.”

Actions or thoughts that propel us forward or yank us backward require consistency. It’s the key. The only question is if we’re willing to break the connection between our consistent negative actions or thoughts, in favor of positive, more healthful ones.

Think how consistent our behaviors and thoughts are when we’re stopping ourselves from moving toward the thing we say we want. That level of consistency, applied in a more beneficial, perhaps more challenging, direction, is a fundamental forward shift.

A fundamental forward shift is understanding that we get what we want through small, positively skewed, consistent actions and thoughts. It doesn’t matter if those actions are successes or failures, but how we think about those failures matters tremendously.

Like a lot of things in life, failure ain’t all bad. This reminds me of something Captain Jack Sparrow said in Pirates of the Caribbean.

The problem isn’t the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.


Few people would say, “I love failing!” Most times, failure sucks. It’s mentally and physically draining. Sometimes it’s embarrassing, like when you mean to dive gracefully into a pool, but bellyflop instead. Other times, no one sees our failure, but we feel like we’re drowning in it.

Consider this: without failure, we wouldn’t know how great success feels. In fact, we wouldn’t be able to define success. Failure builds resiliency. We learn and grow through our mistakes. When we navigate a failure, we feel better about ourselves and we learn what to avoid or change the next time. It teaches us we have the stuff it takes to succeed. We also figure out how to manage the negative emotions that bubble to the surface when we fail.

All that’s great, but the best thing about failure is that we don’t have to experience it to learn from it. When we see other people fail, we learn the obvious “don’t do what they did,” and we gain empathy. Seeing other people fail also confirms we’re not the only ones who struggle. For some, it might temporarily increase their sense of self-worth as they compare themselves to the person who failed.

Failure and the Art of Juggling

How to change your mindset and unleash your potential

Redefine F.E.A.R.

There I was, toes dangling, dare I say fluttering, ever so slightly off the end of the diving board, and wanting desperately to be anywhere else but on the precipice of … okay, I’m being dramatic.

The point is, I wanted off that board and the only way off was into the water. I had to trust the instructors, but more importantly, I had to trust and believe in myself.

Through consistent effort (and an attitude adjustment care of The Wise One), I’d developed the fundamental skills that would move me forward. Had I attended the lessons, but refused to practice, that consistent, but negative behavior would have held me back.

The key is consistency, so why not choose the route that benefits us most? Why not choose positively skewed actions and thoughts?

Because we’re scared.

It’s okay to be afraid. Change is exciting, often overwhelming, and filled with uncertainty. But we’ve all heard it before. Uncertainty is where the action is. If we want different anything, then we have to embrace uncertainty.

DId I jump into the pool? Yes, and I did it again and again. Each time with less hesitation and uncertainty about the outcome. Experience does that, but consistency in thoughts and actions, positively skewed, made me keep climbing the ladder.

Here are 5 questions to help you with your fundamental forward shift.

  1. What contributes to your fear of failing or succeeding?
  2. What have you already learned about failure and success?
  3. How can you reframe your thoughts about failure and success?
  4. How would you describe failure? Is your description negatively skewed? Reframe it.
  5. What was your last success (big or small)? Describe it. How does remembering it make you feel?

If you want to dig deeper, grab a copy of ANCHOR: It’s not your every day journal … but it could be. Then, head over to Deckible and check out VIBE: The Extrovert’s Recharge Deck, The Confidence Reset, and The Stronger Man Project. Our digital card decks make personal growth practical.



Who’s in your corner?

Who’s in your corner?

by | Personal Development

When you think about the things you’ve accomplished in your life, how did you do it? Who were the people who helped you?

Nothing is accomplished by a lone individual. Someone somewhere helped pave the way, or even more directly, gave you their time or access to resources.

For example, several years ago I made the decision to fulfill a lifelong goal. I’d studied martial arts off and on since I was 17-years-old, but hadn’t stayed anywhere long enough to get higher than the rank of brown belt.

When we relocated to our current home, I found a dojang that taught Hapkido. I fell in love with this art. Training was fun! My instructor and many senior students worked with me to prepare for each testing.

They weren’t the only ones, though. My husband practiced locks and other drills with me hours before I’d leave for each testing. If he couldn’t do it, which wasn’t often, our son would help me.

Grappling was part of our training, and I had no experience doing it. Other instructors broke it down for me, and I started to understand what to do, and when to do it.

I began to flourish under the guidance of my instructors and senior students. It was a fabulous experience filled with challenge and growth, but not just physically.

When I wanted to quit due to an injury, my instructor encouraged and pushed me not to give up. I was one rank away from my goal.

But, that injury was at the hands of the head instructor of the school. I was angry and frustrated. Why had he intentionally hurt me?

Every student who witnessed it, including my instructor, knew two things about me that day. First, I could take a serious hit, and second, I was going to walk out and never come back.

The anger I felt had to be overcome if I was going to reach the next level. If my instructor hadn’t been there to talk me out of it, I would have quit. And I would have regretted it.

I spent the next few months recovering and preparing for the next test. The week of black belt testing, I decided to get in a little more training in a different class. The instructor of that class paired us off and told us to practice techniques.

My partner, who wasn’t an Hapkidoist, asked me to throw a kick. He caught it, ripped my leg forward, and pulled it a bit out of its socket. I fell to the mat. He thought it was funny. When I was finally able to get up, I didn’t retaliate.

In the back of my mind, I heard my instructor telling me “don’t quit.”

When it was my turn, I explained what I was about to do. I had a cane — my weapon of choice. If I hadn’t explained the technique and what to expect, he would have had a broken arm or dislocated shoulder. Either way, lots of pain.

My instructor’s patience, encouragement, and understanding helped me reach first dan. He also prepared me to move on knowing that I couldn’t stay in that dojang. The anger I felt still was below the surface. Any trust I had for the head instructor and some of his students was gone.

That’s what touchstones do.

How familiar are you with “touchstones?” The first time I recall hearing the term I was reading a Marcia Muller novel more than twenty years ago. I recall thinking, “I like that idea.”

The idea wasn’t new, but the way it was used resonated with me. I’m fortunate to have family, friends, and instructors who filled this role then, and now.

No one can exist in a vacuum and flourish. We need other people.

Perhaps the most tragic examples that illustrate this are the more than 153 million children worldwide living in orphanages. Institutional life isn’t compatible with forming strong attachments with a primary caregiver.

Researcher Nathan Fox found that young children in institutionalized settings have reduced grey and white matter in their brains. His Child Development Lab at the University of Maryland has ongoing studies with children in Romanian orphanages.

Neglect is positively correlated “with significant cognitive delays, increased risk for psychological disorders, and stunted physical growth.” Early interventions can reverse some and possibly all of these negative effects.

We need people. Not just any people, but supportive, life-affirming people.

This might seem obvious, but I’ve met hundreds of people throughout the United States who know this but don’t take steps to ensure it for themselves.

My father used to say, “If someone is an albatross around your neck, kick’em to the curb.” (That’s a bit of mixed imagery, but you get the point.)

When you think of a “touchstone,” it’s usually a person with whom you can share your deepest desires, hopes, fears, frustrations, and dreams. This is your “go-to” cheerleader/accountability partner.

It’s Buffy and Angel, Laverne and Shirley, Fonzie and Richie — wait, let me give a few contemporary examples. How about Bella and Edward, Patrick and Spongebob, or Aphmau and Aaron?

  • Who are your touchstones?

If you don’t have these kinds of people in your life right now, what can you do?

I’m borrowing this approach from all those dating websites. They always ask what kind of person you’re searching for in a mate. Well, this isn’t any different.

Image credit: John Hain via Pixabay

Start identifying the traits you’d like for the people you want in your life. You can do this through journaling. Yes, you want the person to be supportive and encouraging, but what else? How would you like them to do this? How do you want them to give you feedback?

We all know that what we focus on gets our attention. Finding your tribe and touchstone takes effort, time, and attention.

It also takes courage to move away from your core group when you realize they’re a weight not worth lifting. Leaving my dojang and all the people I enjoyed training with was a difficult decision, but it was the right one.

I ran into my former instructor from that school not so long ago. He gave me an interesting update that he believed might open the door for my return. We’ll see.

Touchstones are your inner circle. They look after you, mentally and sometimes physically. They challenge and uplift you. In colloquial terms, “They’ve got your back.”

Who’s got your back?

Humor helps us live longer. Here’s how!

Humor helps us live longer. Here’s how!

by | Happiness and Well-being

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What's so funny?
Image Credit: Quinn the Islander via Pixabay

Humor, or more specifically, laughter is contagious. Have you ever gotten a case of the giggles, that you couldn’t stop? How many other people around you started laughing, too? Did they know what you found so amusing?

The endorphin hit we get from laughing, helps us relax and the laughter can signal safety. So, we’re attracted to people who are laughing.

What is humor?

Definitions of humor vary by culture, but one thing is true, we all laugh. Even babies do it, and we don’t usually know why.

Was it useful from an evolutionary perspective? It must have been otherwise why did it stick around? Why isn’t everyone walking around scowling?

Humor relieves tension and stress, so maybe that’s why the trait stayed with us. It also bonds people together. That would have been useful back in the day.

Humor helps us in many ways. The Mayo Clinic lists several benefits. Among them are,

  • Activate and relieve your stress response
  • Sooth tension
  • Improve your immune system
  • Relieve pain
  • Improve your mood

Regardless of the reason, humor is a trait we all have. We don’t express it the same way, or with the same comedic timing of, Robin Williams, but we all use it.

Before we go much further, let’s get on the same page with a few definitions and research about humor.

Humor is:

the quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech.

It’s important to make a distinction between humor and laughter. Humor is an evoked response to storytelling and shifting expectations. Laughter is a social signal among humans. It’s like a punctuation mark. — Carl Marci, MD

To understand humor, it’s also good to distinguish between a sense of humor and a style of humor. The former involves our ability to understand, laugh at, and appreciate jokes. The latter is our approach to using humor.

Dr. Rod A. Martin created the Humor Styles Questionnaire to study how people use humor. His work isn’t about the jokes themselves. It’s about the adaptive or maladaptive use of humor in everyday life. He and his colleagues identified four styles of humor. As you read each, a few examples will likely pop into your head right away.

They are:

  • Self-enhancing humor helps us feel good. If you’re able to cheer yourself up or poke fun at yourself in a good way, then this is you. You find humor in everyday life.
  • Affiliative humor helps us build relationships with others. We banter back and forth. It’s all good, clean fun. It’s witty.
  • Aggressive humor makes us feel good but at the expense of others. These are the jibes, snarky remarks, and hurtful teasing we do to put someone down.
  • Self-defeating humor helps us build relationships with others, but at the expense of ourselves. We’re the butt of every joke.

Martin notes that we usually have a combination of the styles, but lean more toward one than the others. Take the quiz and discover your style.

Sarcastic humor — Is it all bad?

How do you feel about sarcasm? If you’re like most people, you think it’s okay, but believe there’s a line you shouldn’t cross — unless it’s with a sibling. They’re fair game.

Sarcasm comes from the Greek word sarkazein, which meant “to tear flesh like a dog.” This word led to the Greek noun sarkasmos, meaning “a sneering or hurtful remark.” Sarkasmos made its way through French and Latin first. Then showed up in English around the mid-16th century.

Today sarcasm means,

a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain.

the use of irony to mock or convey contempt

We use it so often, and have for so long, that to not appreciate it could be a sign that your brain isn’t working quite right. Researchers have studied sarcasm for more than 20 years. They’ve discovered a few interesting side effects of using sarcasm.

For instance, our brains work harder to understand and breakdown sarcastic comments. It requires us to think about how someone is saying something (tone), and that the meaning isn’t literal. This last part involves the theory of mind (ToM).

Here’s an interesting tip the next time you encounter a customer service representative. Sarcastic complaints work better with customer service agents than anger. It helps the agent get more creative when solving problems.

Francesca Gino and her research partners found a connection between sarcasm and creativity. The right amount, with the right tone, in the right situation can increase creativity.

That’s a lot to get right, though. And they do acknowledge that trust is a big factor in those situations.

Keeping all that in mind, step lightly when using your sarcasm. We all know that in emails it doesn’t work. It’s also not a good idea in close relationships.

The Gottman Institute is a leader in the study of what makes marriages and couplehood work. Dr. John Gottman, a founding partner, is well known for his ability to predict divorce with 90% accuracy. He discovered that six behaviors predict divorce. Of the six, the Four Horsemen are the most lethal. They are,

  • Criticism
  • Contempt
  • Defensiveness
  • Stonewalling

Contempt is the most destructive because it involves defensive joking, aggressive/hostile humor (sarcasm), and mockery. You can stop this behavior from destroying your marriage or partnership. They explain how in, This one thing is the biggest predictor of divorce.

Is sarcasm all bad? No, not if it’s used a little to spice things up. Used too often though, and it erodes relationships. And, since we tend to use sarcasm with the people we’re closest to, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Cultural differences

Humor is difficult to translate. It takes into account the subtleties of a culture, that if you aren’t aware of, can mystify you. Oh, and cause you to miss the joke.

For example, British and American humor differ.

Dr. Tom Verghese shares a great example. Watch as he explains effective use of humor during a presentation.

Understanding cultural nuances is important in all communication, but especially humor.

Our Brain on Humor

When we hear a joke, the frontal lobe starts to search for patterns. Between the start of a joke and the punchline, our expectations get tossed around like a sack of laundry. Incongruity piques our curious prefrontal cortex located in the frontal lobe. This center for information processing devotes more attention to the story (joke). Then it starts to expect that the speaker meant something else. A data check happens between the prefrontal cortex and the nucleus accumbens. If everything checks out, this triggers an emotional response.

When we laugh, dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins all release. Dopamine helps us process our emotions and experience pleasure. Sounds awesome, right? It gets better. Serotonin gives us a mood boost. Endorphins take care of pain and stress, and when we’re laughing we feel euphoric.

What are you waiting for? Get yourself a hit of happy brain chemicals!

Michael Jr. I was just jogging

The Humor-Resilience Connection

Everyone experiences hardships. For some people, humor is their go-to coping mechanism. For those for whom it’s not, consider developing this trait. Here’s why,

…high levels of coping humor are associated with more positive challenge appraisals for various life events. In turn, these positive appraisals can also generate greater enthusiasm and enjoyment for dealing with these events, and are thus strongly associated with more positive affect. — Nicholas A. Kuiper

He’s describing an upward spiral. How we respond to challenging events can influence our emotional and psychological outcomes. Viktor Frankl, Anne Frank, Nelson Mandela, and many others are great examples. They used humor to cope with horrible circumstances.

After the 9/11 attacks in NYC, humor is what helped me deal with the experience. I had no home and no clothes except what I wore the day it happened. Life as a consultant meant living in hotels for extended periods. Everything I had was in my hotel room, but I was in Brooklyn.

There wasn’t much to laugh about the day of the attack. There wasn’t even much to find amusing several days after. But, one night as I walked from a Walgreens back to the Saddle Down B&B, I chatted with my brother. He was “walking me home” via the phone. I joked about the noise of fighter jets passing overhead. I don’t recall now what I said, but it wasn’t the only time jokes saved conversations from tumbling into an abyss. And, kept me and others pushing forward.

The American Psychological Association (APA) created a resource to help people build resilience. 10 Ways to build resilience offers several strategies. Humor isn’t mentioned, but this is more a function of timing than a denouncement of humor as a strategy. Research in this area of positive psychology is on-going.

Interesting Research Tidbit

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine discovered that stimulating a specific area of the brain causes immediate laughter. A sense of calm and happiness follows the laughter. The electrical stimulation targets the cingulum bundle. When done, the effect is a reduction in anxiety. The cingulum bundle is beneath the cortex. It curves around the midbrain and looks like a girdle.

Why is this important? Stimulating this brain region helps patients feel happy. This means it could be useful in the treatment of disorders like depression, anxiety, and chronic pain.

Want to know more? Check out the article published in Science Daily.

Curious about the actual surgery? Watch this video:

How to create a humor habit

Improv is a fun way to learn more about humor. It can positively affect our cognitive processes in several areas. For example,

  • divergent thinking
  • flexibility
  • language
  • memory
  • problem-solving
  • co-construction

You might have experienced some of this if you’ve been part of a high-functioning team.

But, it also can happen when strangers come together, hit it off, and bounce banter like a ping-pong ball.

Have you tried improv? If so, let me know in the comments. I’ve considered it, but have been a bit chicken. I bet I’m not alone. Why should those of us who’ve never done it, try it?

The Fountain of Youth

Having a good sense of humor increases your life expectancy. Norwegian researchers’ findings from a 15-year study show,

  • 73% lower risk of death from heart disease for women
  • 83% lower risk of death from infection for women
  • 74% reduced risk of death from infection for men

* Culture can play a part in the development of humor. I don’t have data on the original study. If you do, please share it!

Genetics and socialization are two aspects of humor. This tells us that we can influence some aspect of our humor development. Improv anyone?

The Bottom Line

Life is a lot more enjoyable with humor, and it’s consequence — laughter. It gets us through the rough times and makes the happy times more enjoyable.

Want to learn more?

Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute (2010, Spring). Humor, laughter and those ah-ha moments. On the Brain, 16(2), 1–3.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article be sure to check out some of my others.

Be sure to check out the challenges page if you’re looking for a new goal to achieve in the coming weeks or months.

Funny or not? Learn your humor style

Funny or not? Learn your humor style

by | Happiness and Well-being

Being funny wasn’t a career choice growing up, it was my way out of situations; a way to survive another day.

Tracy Morgan

For the past few weeks I’ve been intrigued by humor. What makes us laugh? Why do we smile? Is it possible to gauge how funny a person is?

My research stopped for a week while I took a deep dive into another subject — positive aging. But one of the interesting connections between the two subjects is that positive aging includes being able to take yourself less seriously. It includes laughter alone and with others as part of a long life.

Laughter helps us get through the bad storms, protecting us from the worst of them.

Case in point about being funny

Yesterday I spent time selling cookies with my daughter’s girl scout troop. We had a prime location inside the entryway of a grocery store. An older man walked in and struck up a conversation with an employee. The entire time, the older man spoke in rhymes.

After a while, he started talking with our troop, again all in rhymes. He entered the store smiling, saw another person, and did the same thing. On his way out, he stopped to chat with us one more time.

Before leaving he mentioned a few comments about growing old, but all in jest because it’s really the best.

I don’t know if the man has always been funny or had a good sense of humor. He clearly uses humor to brighten other peoples’ day. From his perspective, if he can’t make someone else smile, he hasn’t done his job for the day. But, it obviously lifts him up, too.

As I drove home in the start of a blizzard, recalling how happy and funny he was made my drive a bit less stressful. See, that’s another thing humor does for us — ease tension and stress.

Cat Tiger GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY
Giphy.com

If you want to know what kind of sense of humor you have, check out Roni Jacobson’s article over on The Cut.

Being funny or having a sense of humor is a skill. You can learn to do it by taking an improv or acting class. Or, you can just start watching funny shows or comedians.

Remember to check the Challenges page. In the next few months, I’ll add one or two more for you to try!