Brand New Research: 8 Simple & Surprising Changes That Improve Your Life

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Hey, it's your friend Mel, and welcome to Science Hour on the Mel Robbins Podcast. Are you ready for this? I'm ready for this.
I am such a nerd about research and science, and today we are digging into eight brand new studies that we've found, literally hot off the press's studies. All of these studies are so exciting because it is brand new research that gives you and me eight simple changes that we can make.
These are free. They take almost no time at all.
They are proven based on research to improve your life. How cool is that? And we're going to dig into the studies.
And what I love about this conversation today is reading scientific studies, unless you're a total geek about this stuff like I am, it's really boring. Talk about a snooze fest.
You want to know how to fall asleep faster? Try reading the citations on a research study and the abstracts. Holy cow.
Well, you don't need to worry about that because we have nerded out. We love science here at the Mel Robbins podcast, and I love researching these studies.
And let me tell you why. The reason why is very simple.
Oftentimes, when you are facing a challenge or you have some huge goal or you're trying to create new habits, when you hear advice from experts, you're like, are you kidding me? That stupid thing is going to work? And it's easy to dismiss simple changes as not being effective when you have big goals and dreams or big challenges. But the truth is, when you

understand the research that proves why this simple change is something that matters, you tend to pay attention, you feel more motivated, you feel like you can trust the advice and apply it to your life. And so I love science and I use it in everything that we do here, whether it's an online course, or it's one of the six number one

releases we've had producing projects for Audible, or I have two self-published international and New

York Times bestsellers, The Five Second Rule, The High Five Habit. There is so much research packed

into everything that we do. I sometimes joke that I feel like at this point in my life, I should have

like seven PhDs. In fact, The High Five Habit, this is a perfect example.
So I stumble upon this

Thank you. do, I sometimes joke that I feel like at this point in my life, I should have like seven PhDs.
In fact, the high five habit, this is a perfect example. So I stumble upon this habit of adding a high five to your morning routine in the mirror.
And we did a incredible research study with that that has 175,000 data points from people in 91 different countries. We have studied that extensively now for over two years, and the research is there.
And so science matters because it makes you feel smarter. It makes you feel more motivated to try the advice.
It makes you feel a little less alone in some cases. And another reason why I like science, because I feel smart when I'm reading science and I feel like a a smarty pants when I'm like, hey, did you see that study? So without further ado, are you ready? I'm ready.
I can't wait for this conversation. It is sexy to care about science.
It is celebratory to care about science. And it makes you smarter to care about science.
So welcome to Science Hour on the Mel Robbins podcast. and get ready, because we are about to unpack eight brand new pieces of research and the simple advice that you can use to change your life.
And I'm triple-dipple excited. That's cheesy balls as hell, but triple-dipple excited because I'm also going to introduce you to one of my favorite people on the planet.
Oh, thank you. That is Tracy.
Tracy and I have worked together for years. She is no joke, the smartest person I know.
I have a huge brain crush on her. She heads up the research that we do here on all projects that we do.
Tracy has done the research on six audio productions for Audible, two self-published audiobooks and hardcover books, all of the courses that we have taught for folks like Starbucks, LinkedIn, Creative Live, the list goes on and on and on. And Tracy and I geek out on research.
We absolutely love it. Right, Trace? Yes, definitely.
And everything that we talk about here on the Mel Robbins podcast, we have meticulously researched. In fact, Tracy and I get in fights all the time, like mental fights.
She's like, technically, you can't say that. Or that science, that research study that everybody's talking about technically does not say that so you can and so we are meticulous and super interested in this.
And so I am so excited for today's show. Because we are about to talk about eight things.
What are we talking about? What do we do? There's eight things we're talking about. So we've been diving in all day to all the newest, most awesome research.
And we wanted to share it with you guys today. This is also like a behind the scenes because this is how we produce the show.
We look at your DMs, your questions, we look at what's trending, we consider what's going on in my life, your life, people's lives on the team and our extended families and friend groups. And then we dig into research.
Yeah. So today we've got brand new research, everybody.
Yes. And we are going to introduce you to very simple behavior changes that you can institute immediately that will improve your life.
Yeah. All grounded by research.
And some of them quite shockingly weird and surprising. Yes.
And these are all brand new, just released, amazing, legit studies. So we're super excited to share them.
Okay. What is the first change we need to make? So there was recently a huge brand new study from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, UChicago, all about the power of random acts of kindness.
And this study is called A Little Good Goes an Unexpectedly Long Way, Underestimating the Positive Impact of Kindness on kindness on recipients. Okay, but we all know that

acts of kindness are things that make us feel good. But why is this brand new research something

we have to pay attention to? So like in the year ahead, acts of kindness people all day long,

how come we have to pay attention to this? What the researchers really looked into is

why do we not do random acts of kindness? Because what they found is they're actually pretty

uncommon, because we actually don't think it's going to matter to other people.

Thank you. looked into is why do we not do random acts of kindness? Because what they found is they're actually pretty uncommon because we actually don't think it's going to matter to other people.
Oh. Yeah.
And what the researchers found is it does. No matter how tiny, a random act of kindness makes a massive difference for someone else and you are happier as a result of doing it.
So that's interesting. We know that we should be doing this.
But what you're saying is that we don't do this. And this is where the insight comes in.
Yes. Is that we assume it's not going to matter.
Exactly. And a random act of kindness, it's like the littlest thing.
Yeah. Smiling at somebody.
Mm-hmm. Putting your arm around somebody.
Yeah. Waving somebody into traffic.
Yeah. You know, even tipping.
Yes. Somebody that's a huge one.
And looking at them and saying thank you. Mm-hmm.
Which, by the way, you know how everybody starts doing the pay it forward chains typically around the holidays where you're going to buy the coffee for the person behind you. I saw this interesting post by somebody who used to be a barista who says that is a complete nightmare for operations because it gets confusing whose drink is whose and what got paid for.
And that if you want to do something nice in a super busy coffee shop, look at the person making the coffee, tell them thank you and how much you appreciate them and give that minimum wage person a tip that is the cost of a cup of coffee that you would have bought for the stranger behind you, which I thought was really interesting. But these are all small things that make a difference.
And we think it doesn't make a difference. And so I think that's where the learning is, at least for me, is that you're not doing it because you don't think it matters.
And honestly, there are so many benefits to random acts of kindness. Another study from UC Berkeley found that random acts of kindness make people feel stronger, more energetic, calmer, less depressed, increased feelings of self-worth.
It even can increase your serotonin, which are those feel good chemicals that really calm you down and make you happy. I know that you talked about this on the episode with Dr.
Amen. In general, there are just so many benefits.
And one of them is also happiness. People who do good things for others are happier.
And honestly, we all know how good an act of kindness feels. When we've done them for other people, we feel good.
And there's so much more research out there showing that doing good things for others makes you happier. It makes you feel better.
It actually increases your energy. But beyond that, why don't we do them that much? We know that we feel good, but we totally underestimate how they're going to make other people feel.
And that's why this study from UT Austin, which by the way, got really widely shared online. When I had looked it up, I saw so many news outlets picked up this piece of academic research, which is pretty rare in today's world for a piece of academic research to go viral like that.
And it's because a lot of people resonated with this. We love the idea of a random act of kindness.
We don't know how much it matters to others. And this study proves that other people truly benefit pretty much just as much as you do from that random act of kindness.
All right. So science says, takeaway number one, random acts of kindness.
They matter, and you and I, this year, we are going to be more intentional about doing them. All right, got it.
Yes, exactly. And the New York Times picked up this brand new study, ran a huge article on it, and there were thousands of comments of people sharing their stories of random acts of kindness.
And it's a reminder that these do matter to people. And here's the interesting twist about the story.
And it's why Tracy was so excited to talk about this particular piece of research. All of the comments were not about people bragging about their acts of kindness.
It was people sharing stories about how an act of kindness from a stranger or a teacher or somebody in their life changed the trajectory of their life. Their entire life.
Yeah. Why don't you read that one comment that had us all just get goosebumps? So this is a comment that was within the article.
The comment said, as a child, I lived in absolute poverty with an abusive parent. I had a music teacher who one day stopped me while walking down the hall and simply said, Are you okay? I broke down.
He took me to his office, fed me his lunch, and allowed me the space to pull myself together. He told me, You're in a bad spot, but it doesn't have to be your life.
That small gesture gave me the hope to believe in myself and allowed me to start considering a future where the cycle of abuse and poverty don't exist. 30 years later, he was right and the cycles have been broken.
That small moment changed my life, it changed my partner's life and it changed my children's lives. I want you to take a minute and I want you to think about an act of kindness that somebody else did for you that was meaningful.
And when you think about it from being on the recipient's end,

from you being the one, even if it's just as simple as like you were running super late for

something and traffic was monstrous and a stranger waved you in with a smile, how that makes your

energy shift. That's what I want you to think about when it comes to this brand new research.
Please act of kindness, all of us start incorporating it into our day-to-day lives. All right, what's next? Okay, great.
So this second piece of research is very exciting. As we think about the new year is coming, a lot of us want new fitness routines, but it always seems to be easier to talk about creating that new routine than actually implementing.
Okay. Especially when you're busy like you and I both are.
This is a brand new study that is called Less Gym Time, Same Results. I'm down.
Less gym time, same results. Let's, people.
Brand new big study from researchers at Edith Cowan University in Australia, along with whole research teams in Japan and Brazil. Listen to this.
All you need to do to build your strength is do what's called the eccentric muscle contraction, aka the second half of any exercise. Okay, I don't know what you're talking about.
Imagine that you were standing up to sit down in your chair or to squat. Okay.
It's simply the motion of the sitting down part, not the standing up. Okay, so let me see if I'm getting this through.
So you basically saying that so many of us are losing the benefit of certain things we do all day long? Like for me, plopping into a chair. Yes.
I let gravity do the work. I do not consider sitting in a chair exercise.
Are you telling me that this study says that I can consciously sit in a chair differently and I will be exercising? Yes. It says that one muscle contraction in this downward movement for just three seconds a day can increase muscle strength if you do it each day.
What? Okay. So you're not even necessarily talking about how like if you're doing bicep curls, you know how people are like, you got to slow down and not just flump the weight down? And that is true.
And that in the research, they did use bicep curls to say people who just did the downward and then put their weights down. And then maybe they just got them back up, but it wasn't part of the motion.
Yep. Yes.
In exercise, they're saying you can cut your routine in half by just doing the second half of each exercise, but you can apply this in your life for passive exercise. Okay.
I'm down with passive exercise. I remember when my mom found this revolutionary way of exercising where you literally lay on a table and they strap your feet into things and they lift your legs for you.
I'm like, I'm pretty sure that's not exercise, but if it works for you and it gets you there, great. But so I'm going to unpack this because there's two benefits to this passive exercise, everybody.
What was the fancy word? Eccentric. Eccentric.
So it's true. When I do strength training, I focus on lifting up the weight.
I don't get intentional about resisting it dropping down. And the lifting up doesn't seem to matter that much, according to the research.
Whoa. Yeah.
Whoa. Now let's do the

chair thing. From what I gather, you're basically saying you sit down super slow and you hover above

the chair about an inch and hold it for three seconds before you actually plop down. Right?

Yeah. Okay.
I want to try this. So I'm standing up.
Okay. And normally when I go to sit down,

I don standing up. Okay.
And normally when I go to sit down, I just like plop down. Yeah.
You just went right into the chair right now. Yeah.
And the chair took the beating. Yes.
Okay. So now I'm going to stand up and I'm going to.
You are slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly, slowly going down.

Okay.

Now my shins are engaged. Great.

And now I'm holding.

You're holding down for one, two, three.

This is like an ab exercise.

My butt is like an inch above the chair.

And this is like a squat.

The research is saying if you can once per day for three seconds slowly chair sit, you have just exercised. Building your muscles.
I'm doing this. Could be easier than a whole weight training New Year's resolution.
Okay. And honestly, Mel, I know this research might sound silly.
Three seconds a day, how can that even create any impact in your life? But one thing we do know from so many studies is that the best exercise is the one that you do. Honestly, cardio, strength training, yoga for flexibility, there are so many different kinds of exercise, but you have to do what actually you can do.
And this study is so groundbreaking because it shows three seconds slowly moving down, sitting into your chair is extremely effective. And we often think I don't have the time for exercise.
I want to set a resolution. I don't know what to do.
Why not just add a tiny, tiny, tiny micro movement into your day? And in the process, you will get many benefits that you get from strength training of improving your muscle mass. And that is something that's so important for all of us.
And that gives you the benefit of ultimately more muscle mass for just three seconds a day. I'm glad you said that, Tracy, because honestly, this sounds kind of stupid.
I would love to think that I could be completely in amazing shape by not hitting the gym, but by slowly sitting on the chair and hovering for an inch for three seconds. So I'm glad you said that.
And for those of you who work out, who strength train like myself, I'm a big strength trainer. You know that it just feels good to feel like you're building your muscles.
But if not for every single person, your muscles are described as quote, the engine of your entire body's systems. And so just this three seconds a day is going to make you feel better.
And if you are a strength trainer like me, then doing more emphasis into those downward movements is also going to make the biggest difference, the bang for your buck. And you can honestly cut your workout times in half if you're a busy person.
My life has just been changed by passive exercise research. Ladies and gentlemen, Tracy, genius.
Thank you. So we've got acts of kindness, remembering how profound they are for somebody, even just a smile.
Oh, you know, one act of kindness that I do all the time, whenever I see somebody that has their nails done, particularly like the tips and the cool stuff and the designs, I always compliment them. And the reason why is I know that they took the time to do it.
And try this, compliment somebody's nails.

You will see somebody light up like a Christmas tree

when you compliment their nails.

They feel seen, they feel acknowledged.

It's a simple way to do it.

Okay.

What do you think of my sparkly nails?

Oh, Tracy with the gold.

You are not a nail polish person either. No, I'm not.
Well, show them to the to the YouTube community. It's gold, everybody.
All right. Next study.
So this study, when I first read it, I was a little bit floored by it. So this is a in the this is stupid or floored? A mix.
It felt stupid. And I cannot believe how big of an impact and how big this study is for what it is.
But I think this is a very simple thing that anyone can do for one second each day. Wait, one second? One second.
Well, you know, I think five seconds can change. Five seconds.
You are taking it down, Tracy. This one thing is going to give you an improvement in mental well-being for eight hours.
And it works in healthy people. It works in those with depression.
It works in those with all different kinds of mental health challenges. Here is the study.
This was a huge study in the UK at King's College London, huge reputable research university that was published in Scientific Reports. Can I just stop you? Yeah.
Because I'm trying to think of what this is. Okay.
I don't think you're going to get it right. Orgasm? No.
No? Okay. No.
I can't think of anything else. So this study took place across a four-year span.
They collected data of 20,000 assessments, and they had global participants in the study. And do you know what

they found, Mel? That would improve my life for eight hours after just doing this for one second. No.
The study is called Feeling Chirpy. It is hearing a bird sound or seeing a bird.
what yeah being around birds is linked to lasting mental health benefits is the rest of the title. Really? There is something about a bird sound that is incredibly powerful to the human mind.
Wow. It creates a massive mental well-being effect.
So in this study, what's really interesting too is you might think, okay, you're out in nature. That's the benefit.
But no, they isolated. It is not about trees.
It is not about plants. It is not about being by the water.
It works if you listen on an app. Really? There is something about the sound of birds.
You can go on YouTube. You can listen to a bird song app.
You could get outside. But that deeply resonates with us, even at a subconscious level, for eight hours of improved mental well-being.
That's incredible. Up here in Vermont, when my in-laws owned this house, there was a clock that used to hang in the kitchen.
And every single hour was the photo of a different bird. And when the clock would hit the hour, the chirping of the bird would happen.
And it didn't matter how many people were in the kitchen, everybody would stop and turn toward the clock. And so on some level, this seems like one of those studies where you're like, honestly, who the hell even got this? You funded this? You funded this? Yeah.

Like... clock.
And so on some level, this seems like one of those studies where you're like, honestly, who the hell even got this? But if they've got more than 26,000 assessments. Over four years.
Over four years, there's something here. And I wonder if this has to do with evolution and the fact that if you think about our ancestors truly navigating and migrating and following patterns of nature and wind and stars and the migratory patterns of birds.
Yeah. That I wonder if there is this connection.
And, you know, I agree. I love the sound of birds, except for a crow.
I don't like a crow. But if I hear a songbird chirping, it does cause a lift in mood.

Yeah. Now, here's what's so interesting about the birds.
I was at first really surprised when I saw that this was the topic of such a massive, large-scale study that went on for four years. I mean, this study was probably extremely expensive and resource-intensive to run.
And at first, I wondered, why is this so impactful? Why does this matter so much? And so I did dive more into the research around birds and bird sounds. And here's what's interesting.
Bird sounds are a powerful example of sound therapy. And you've heard about Himalayan singing bowls and you may have heard about, like a really nice, really just relaxing sound.
Did you know that bird sounds are actually an example of sound therapy? In fact, we naturally attune to noises around us, whether it's a jackhammer outside or really loud noise that puts us on more alert. It turns out that bird songs remind us of being in nature, of our really relaxed, it's called a parasympathetic, just relaxed response that's built into us.
And I think in some ways, Mel, what you were saying about humans coexist with birds, there is something really powerful about bird sounds just transporting us right into nature. I'm always amazed by what you find, Tracy, and how one study that you dig up seems to somehow connect with research that we had just been talking about, like, for example, about the parasympathetic nervous system.
And it always makes so much sense. And one more thing, too.
Other research has actually shown that listening to bird sounds can make you think you're in a natural, nature-based environment. It is a way to hack if, you know, like you and I, we work on our computers, we work inside, we are inside all day.
It turns out just hearing bird sounds for a little bit is a really simple way to hack your mind, make you think you're outside and actually get some of those benefits of being outside. But it definitely goes deeper because there is something actually about the sound of a bird that really does it.
And so, yeah, it's a really, really, really simple thing. And it has a huge impact.
That's incredible. Wow.
So now I'm sitting down mindfully. I'm listening for birds.
Yeah. To put it on YouTube after your episode of the Mel Robbins podcast.
Maybe we should just play some birds. Let's play the bird sound.
That was nice. It was really nice.
I am so down for this, Tracy. I am so excited.
Three seconds of passive exercise, one second of listening to the birds,

throw in an act of kindness, bada bing, bada boom. I am feeling positive because you know what?

These are doable. Don't you love that? That it's not only research back, but it's doable.
And even better, you've got five more to share with us. So we're going to pick up this science train

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You want to know why? I think you can tell. Here at the Mel Robbins Podcast, we are not only obsessed with helping you create a better life, we are super obsessed with finding simple research-backed ways that you can do it.
And when they're fun and surprising, even better. So we've already covered three.
Tracy, you got a bunch more. Let's move on to science says number four.
What do you got for us? Well, now that we're

so grounded after our bird sound, there is a huge, brand new, like just published study from

Georgetown Medical Center published in the JAMA Psychiatry Journal, which is a really big,

prestigious journal. So this research is legit.
My dad used to get that. The journal, I think it's

of American Medical Association. Probably.
I can't believe. So this is legit.
They compare

Thank you. This research is legit.
My dad used to get that. The journal, I think it's of American Medical Association.
Probably. I can't believe I heard that.
So this is legit. They compared in people who have anxiety, taking Lexapro versus doing mindfulness-based stress reduction, which often looks like a body scan or gratitude journaling.
Now, by body scan, you don't mean climbing into an MRI. No, I mean, how is my body feeling right now? So a lot of times in yoga, they'll use this relaxation technique in a class where you're like, you know, scrunch up your feet, relax them, scrunch your ankles, relax them, you know, like flex your quads, relax them.
That's sort of a way to kind of body scan. So that's one example.
What's another example they use? Gratitude journaling. Really? Yes.
That's a powerful example of mindfulness-based stress reduction. Okay.
So they studied Lexapro. Yes.
And then they also studied these mindfulness techniques that bring you into your body and into the moment. Yes.
And there are a number of them, but those are just two to highlight is the gratitude journaling. And what they found is the drop in anxiety was equal between Lexapro and just doing these deliberate mindfulness-based stress reduction practices like a gratitude journal.
Wow. I think I have a hunch for why that might be.
Well, because as somebody who has dealt with and felt anxiety for almost my entire life, I mean, I have it under control now and I profoundly understand it. So I'm annoyed by it, but I'm not scared by it anymore.
What's interesting is that anxiety, as we know, is an alarm. And anxiety is signaling that something's up and you need some reassurance.
And anxiety also typically takes you immediately into the future that something bad's about to happen. If you crack open a journal and you have to direct your mind to writing about something that you're grateful for, if you're directing your mind to pick up a pen and to start writing what you're grateful for, you're activating a part of your mind that's different from the part of the mind that takes over when you're anxious.
And so it's a way of pulling yourself into the present moment. And if you are having a panic attack or you're anxious, you're not in the present moment.
Exactly. And so this makes a lot of sense.
And the research, you know, still emphasizes that there's a need for medication and for practices, but in conjunction can have a really, really powerful effect, especially in how your brain actually changes what areas are active. So this mindfulness based stress reduction program, it's actually based on really groundbreaking research from a really famous man named Jon Kabat-Zinn, who's based out of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
And the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is an entire program that you can find online for free. There is tons of free information on YouTube.
If you look up Jon Kabat-Zinn, you will find tons of free resources about this, but you don't have to do an entire full program to get these benefits, the research shows. That's where simply just doing a gratitude practice, really doing that body scan you just discussed, Mel, you can get these from just tapping into a simple gratitude practice or a body scan.
I love that you just gave everybody a free program that they can do online, led by an expert. That is super cool.

And everybody, don't worry, this episode, like all episodes, will have all the resources linked. In fact, we do even more resources and more detailed write-ups at the show pages on melrobins.com.
So you can check those out, but the links will be below wherever you're listening to this. And, you know, I love knowing why, why things work.
But why do I want to know that researchers have confirmed that these things work? Because a lot of this stuff, Tracy, it's common sense. But I think there's something about knowing your time spent in your gratitude journal is worth it.
That it matters. It matters.
It really does. Yeah.
All right. What else you got for us? This is really great.
This next one is super interesting, and it is about willpower. So a big study from UPenn in Michigan looked at 20,000 high schoolers as they studied for and took the SAT exam.
Okay. What they found, taking into account socioeconomic status,

all of their prior achievements throughout high school even,

what matters the most for their study plan and their scores

is if they didn't rely on willpower

and set themselves up with strategies

to better be able to study.

So you're saying if the students didn't do what I did, or didn't do what I see my kids doing, which is basically you got the laptop open, you got the phone on, you got piles of books all around you, and you're just going to try to plow through it. Yes.
If instead you get deliberate about chunking it out, putting the phone to the side, having deliberate blocks of time to study that you're going to do better on the test. Yeah.
In particular, the ones they mentioned was disabling your cell phone. Okay.
So turn the phone off. If you're serious about performing better.
Yes. You got to turn the phone off when you're preparing.
Okay. That's number one.
Setting up a distraction-free place to get your work done. Setting up a distraction-free place.
I'm starting to smile, Trace, because yesterday Tracy and I were going over the final draft to our newsletter that goes out twice a week. It's amazing.
Just go to melrowans.com to sign up for it. Tracy was trying to get me to focus.
Mel was doing some online shopping while writing the newsletter to you guys. Two tabs open.
And so Tracy was so awesome. She, without skipping a beat, you didn't even look at me.
You just reached your hand over and shut the laptop and then shoved it away from me. I did.
You did with the study's challenge. And do you know how quickly we wrapped up the final 11? Yeah, we focused right in and an awesome newsletter went out.
Totally. Yeah.
And then the other strategy as well, in addition to distraction-free and disabling your cell phone, is creating a schedule to study. So take a look at the week.
If you've got a big project or you've got something and schedule in blocks of time where you're going to go to that distraction-free thing and you're going to turn off your cell phone. And that if you were to do that, did they find anything about how it also took less time or just that you were more effective? More effective, yes.
And one thing they found that did not work was when people said that they willed themselves to study. Willpower did not lead to results because willpower fades.
We can't rely on willpower. And what's really interesting, I think, about this study is that it did take into account differences in socioeconomic levels and also prior achievements.
You know, usually you would assume, okay, the people who score the highest in the SAT are the ones who are just naturally have the highest intellect. They're just good test takers.
And it's really interesting that this research, which they did do in conjunction with the College Board, who's the creator of the SAT, completely was able to distill

down being able to account for factors around you, setting up distraction-free place to study, creating a study schedule, disabling your cell phone has such massive implications. It's a really incredible study.
Wow. And here is something so interesting.
This is from a different study, but constantly being distracted is really bad for all levels of focus. In fact, there was a different study out of the University of London.
It actually showed that constant emailing and texting reduced mental capacity by an average of 10 IQ points. Simply, you cannot be at your best.
You cannot focus at your best. You cannot perform at your best when you're highly distracted.
It is much more efficient to just focus on one thing at a time. If you want to be studying, set your space up and go study.
And while this is about the SAT, you could probably generalize these results for anything where high performance or studying or preparation is needed. So are you suggesting that sitting on the couch with Netflix on and my laptop open is not a good way to research podcast episodes? Probably.
Depending on how long you want it to take, if you want to study more efficiently, faster, and just perform better, yeah. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb.
Go your other room, shut the laptop, shut the laptop, and also look at your calendar in the morning and say, what am I going to get done today? Simple strategies lead to a huge result. And again, like, I think that these are the things that in the back of your mind, we kind of go, duh, but having these validated studies, 20,000 high school students, like why wouldn't you do this unless you just want to shoot yourself in the foot and make life harder?

Yeah.

Tracy, you just made us smarter.

And when we come back, we've still got three more brand new, simple, surprising and science-backed changes from brand new research that will improve your life. So stay with us.
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Okay, welcome back. We're on number six, the six simple surprising change you can make right now to improve your life this year.
Lay it on us, Tracy. Hit us with the research.
So now we have number six. This is a really interesting study that once you hear it, you're going to resonate with this in your own life.
And it's about smell and food, recalling a memory instantly when you smell something that brings you back to an old time and place. So this is a study out of Lancaster University in the UK, brand new study, where they actually asked older people who at this point in their life, you know, maybe they're not having as many exciting new experiences for a really amazing memory of their past.
And they created something for them to smell and taste that took them back to a big moment. They actually 3D printed these tastes and smells on like a little Listerine strip type thing.
So crazy research. Like the taste of your favorite ice cream treat from a vendor? Like I'm thinking about- The one couple, it was the food at their wedding.
They were able to taste it

or someone who had a curry tasting one,

they took them back to that memory.

Strawberries from a day when they were young

and instantly people were vividly transported

back to this memory, instantly.

Wow.

And the researchers say,

this is a very powerful implication

for creating happiness hacks. If you knew that in the past, you had the best vacation, the best memory, you can instantly access that deep memory by smelling that smell, having that food.
That makes a lot of sense. My wheels are spinning because I'm thinking about my friend Pete Sheehan, who made me a cup of tea once.
And he was very particular about how he made it because he said only his mother has ever been able to make tea that tastes as good as this certain way. And what I bet is I bet it brings him back to his childhood.
Yeah. Now, what's interesting about this, because this research that you're talking about in terms of how taste and smell cues memory, this is specifically applied to very positive memories.
Very positive, yes. And it's really kind of cool when you stop and think about the fact that you can, as you said, hack happiness by bringing very positive memories.
I remember a really interesting story that has always stuck with me because we know that this is true based on trauma research, that smell in particular can trigger a trauma response. So I read this story in a book about trauma that was written, you know, by a PhD medical doctor, talking about how trauma can immediately bring you back to that just terrible thing that happened.
And so the researcher or the psychiatrist was talking about how he was treating a high school student who had had severe abuse. And all of a sudden, this kid had gone from being like a really great student and doing well in class to almost flunking out of this math class and being really disruptive in this math class.
And it was very uncharacteristic of this kid to act this way, particularly in the math class.

And so the therapist leaned in to try to figure out what the heck was going on.

And what he discovered was this, that the math teacher had recently switched his cologne.

And he was wearing cologne that was the same cologne that this kid's abuser had worn. Wow.
And so just the math teacher coming up behind him. Wow.
And the smell of that would trigger all of the trauma, which of course made him agitated and untrusting and not able to pay attention.

The therapist got the math teacher to stop wearing the cologne.

Issue gone.

Wow.

And so we know based on research that this is true around trauma and negative experiences.

I think it's really, really encouraging to hear that smell conjures up positive experiences. In fact, I'm thinking about the fact that my grandmother used to wear a particular perfume.
My father used to wear a particular cologne. And whenever I smell it or smell traces of it, I immediately remember them.
Yeah. Oh, this is so cool.
And you may wonder, why do smells trigger such vivid memories? It's really interesting and it actually lies in neuroscience. Scents go straight to the brain's smell center.
It's called the olfactory bulb. And that is directly connected right to a part of your brain called the amygdala and another part called the hippocampus.
Those are extremely important parts of the brain. And so all this is to say, it helps explain why smells can so immediately trigger such a detailed memory or even a really intense emotion.
Smells go right to some of the most important parts of your brain. And they can bring you to a place that either you really want to go, like the memory of the food at a really big event, or as you just shared, Mel, to a really dark place too.
In fact, there was a recent article that Harvard published and they even called the title What the Nose Knows. And it was all about discussing the science of smell.
It is because of the brain's anatomy that smell and memory are so closely linked. It is super interesting.
You know, we don't need to all know exactly why it is, but just knowing how connected they are means that we can hack them. Didn't you have a friend that did this with her wedding? Yeah, definitely.
Intentionally? What happened? Yeah. So I'm going to be getting married this year and I was talking to someone who just recently had their wedding and I asked if she had any advice for me.
And she said something that I have never heard before. She said, figure out what your smell is gonna be at the altar of your wedding ceremony.
Because that is a smell that for the rest of your life can transport you back to that moment. She said she picked out a very specific flower, one of her favorites with her

favorite smell, and did a massive arrangement right where she was going to be standing at the

altar during her wedding ceremony. And she even sprayed something, a smell there, so that she said

for the rest of her life, she can instantly transport into that memory. And she said to me,

I highly recommend more than anything else that you do that. And even not just for weddings, for any big moment of your life where you know that you're gonna wanna look back at this forever, create a signature scent.
Know what your smell is gonna be and you will go back to that forever. Speaking of smell, my cat Noodle just walked in.
Noodle has been giving his signature scent to all of your rugs lately. He's been really naughty.
We've got this new puppy, as you may know. And so he has got a signature scent that he sprays around.
All right. You know, that's interesting because you think about marking rituals with a certain cake or a certain this or a champagne, but getting intentional around the type of flower or the perfume that you wear or those sorts of things.
That's super cool. Yeah, definitely.
And you can apply that right now about things going forward or about any positive memory that you want to remember. Okay, cool.
What else? Okay, great. So we're getting near the end of these new studies.
This one I thought was so much fun. It's a study from Indiana University, the University of Connecticut and Duke.
And here's what it's about. It's about those mundane secrets that we hide from the closest people in our life.
Here's what the researchers define mundane secrets as. Hiding small online purchases, foods that you don't want your partner or friends to know that you eat, or things like watching a TV show ahead of your partner when you guys are doing it together and they don't know that you're sneaking ahead.
And then you sit there and pretend that you haven't when you watch the episode. I can't do that.
I can sneak ahead. But when the episode comes on, I can no longer sit there and pretend that I haven't seen it.
That's the part where to get this up for me. So the researchers found that 90% of people have recently kept one of these everyday consumer behaviors a secret from a very close person in their life, a friend or their partner.
And they report, you know what, my partner probably wouldn't care if they knew I watched ahead or I snuck a piece of cake, but they keep it a secret. 90% of us have these tiny little guilty secrets.
Now, is this something we should do? Because everything that you've recommended so far is additive. Yeah.
So, yes, I am guilty of watching a show ahead and not telling Chris, but I always confess when we're sitting there. What's interesting is they actually found this is not a bad thing.
It is okay to have your little guilty pleasures. You can hide little things from your partner.
This is not about being dishonest. Listen to this.
Tiny feelings of guilt, which don't hurt anybody, actually drives you to want to be better to your partner. Well, that makes sense because guilt has two forms.
Destructive, which is the guilt that you use against yourself where you just beat yourself up and make yourself feel bad. And then the guilt that is really productive because it motivates you to want to do better.
And so are you saying that if, let's say, I'm trying to think of an example. I can give you an example that the study researchers found very common.
Okay. What they found common is usually both partners do the same secret behavior and they hide it from the other.
And a very common one is around diet. Okay.
Like both partners are vegetarians when they're together and they secretly eat meat, not together. What? They said this little secret might propel both partners to try to show up in a bigger way because they feel bad about this when they're both doing it most of the time.
Watching a show ahead, Chris might be doing the same thing. It's very common that both people do this and kind of propels you guys to show up and invest more.
And maybe it's not the worst thing in the world. Wow.
Okay, so what's the takeaway? Don't feel guilty. The first takeaway is if you

like 90% of people have made an impulsive online purchase that your partner doesn't know about, or you snuck a piece of cake, or you're watching ahead on the TV show. First off, don't beat yourself up about it because the research shows they are probably doing it too.
like your partner's probably doing this. That is killer.
Yeah. Like, so don't feel bad about that Amazon box showing up and you quickly sneaking it into the back of your closet so that nobody knows that you yet again ordered another pair of pants.
Yes. And this is not about betrayal.
This is not about shopping addiction. This is about, they're calling it mundane things, things that do not affect your partner.
It does not affect your partner that you went and had the extra piece of cake or that you went and ordered another t-shirt for yourself. Or ate the gluten amazing bread at the dinner with your friends, but came home and ate the cardboard bread that was there.
Yeah. And I think

also, you know, as we go into the new year, a lot of people might do challenges with others. I know you've talked about taking on a big fitness challenge with Chris.
And there might be times when you slip up and don't want to say, and that is okay, is what the researchers are saying. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, it could be okay.
It sounds like it's more than okay. It sounds like it amplifies your wanting to show up.
This is so cool. Yeah.
So, so far we've covered seven things, how important it is to add random acts of kindness, even just smiling at people, complimenting their nails. I love passive exercise.
Sit down slowly in that chair. I'm doing it now.
It's a squat. That's what it is.
You are going to get an inch above the chair and hold it for three seconds. Yes.
That's a legit squat is what I'm doing because my quads are fully engaged. Okay.
Sit on down. Now you can hear my voice shift because I'm not efforting anymore.
That is backed by researchers from Australia,

Japan, and Brazil. Just sit down slowly in your chair once a day.
Yeah, birds. Birds are something

we're going to add in. Who knew? I love this.
Listen to a bird sound for up to eight hours

of just a better day. Well, you're not saying listen to birds for eight hours.
You're saying

if you just listen to birds chirping for a second or two. Yeah.
Eight hours of benefits. And then the fourth one is the mindfulness practice that study out of Georgetown around bringing in some mindfulness into your day, like a gratitude journal, can cause as much reduction in anxiety as taking an antidepressant.
A week ago, we did this episode about doing nothing. And in it, I recommended that we set an alarm in our smartphones for 213 with a little note that says, stop, take a breath, do nothing.
I even had a little song that I play when it happens. And that's an act of mindfulness.
Yeah. So I know you know this, but when you start to understand how compelling the research is, not only about how it changes the neural pathways in your brain, makes you a more positive and calm person, but to also know that in research studies, it has the same effect of dropping anxiety by 30% as prescription medication.
That's worth paying attention to. Definitely.
And then our study number five was do not rely on willpower for success, for accomplishment, and for getting important work done. Go on, do not disturb, go into a quiet room, just like those students who succeeded on the SATs did.
Awesome. Schedule in success.
Don't just muscle through it. What else we got? Oh, smell.
I like this one. Think about putting more positive smell associations into your life, whether it's bringing positive memories to mind, or it is creating positive experiences by getting intentional about the smell.
I love this. Yeah.
And then we had our one sneaky TV show watching, sneaky meat eating. So just giggle about it.
Stop making yourself feel bad. Stop making yourself bad because everyone else is doing it too.

And there's one final change.

Yeah. So this piece of research is something that researchers actually show is the easiest habit to make the largest impact in your life.
And what is it? It's being kind to yourself. This is so profound that I want to dedicate the next episode to just the research on how to be kinder to yourself.
Because this recent study I know, and the irony is, of all the things that you could change in the coming year, the research is conclusive. that learning how to be kind to yourself as a daily practice has the single biggest impact on your happiness, on your meaning, on your sense of purpose.
And the sad thing is, it is the one we practice the least. And this is so important that the very next episode that we drop in the Mel Robbins podcast is going to go deep on the topic of being kinder to yourself, how to make it a habit, why it matters.
And we are also going to do a bonus episode with it where we're going to take people's questions about it because, yes, let's squat down on the chair. Let's listen to the birds.
Let's structure our study time. Let's get the smells going, people.
Let's be mindful. What was the first one we did? See, I've already forgotten.
The first one we did is around the random act of kindness. The kindness.
Let's go. And kindness towards self is the biggest thing you should do, which is why we're going to talk about it in the next episode.
Tracy, you are amazeballs. Thank you for having me on, Mel.
Having you on. You are the brains behind this operation.
We are going to have you on more. We, of course, are going to put together copious show notes.
We're going to link to every single study.

What's the one you're most excited to do?

I think the study I'm most excited about is the bird chirping because I never listened

to the birds, honestly.

And if I'd known it was that important, I would.

So now I'm going to.

Now I'm going to.

I think I need to change my ringer.

That'll be happier.

I think that I should change my morning alarm to be a bird chirping sound to set myself up for eight amazing hours the rest of the day. You are so awesome.
I love you because you're so positive. You're so smart.
You make me smarter. You make all of us smarter.
So I just want to say thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for how much you put into all of the research that you do. Your intellectual rigor and curiosity is something I deeply admire.
Thanks, Mel. And it makes the impact of what we're doing just awesome.
Thank you so much for listening. I hope that you feel like this whole episode made you a little bit smarter, made you feel like you learned something new, that you saw not all change has to be as hard as you think, especially when you get science involved.
Changes can be really simple because if we know exactly what works, then we can apply those things. And so, yeah, thank you so much for being here.
That's right. Well, in case nobody else tells you, I'm going to tell you that I love you.
I believe in you. And I believe in your ability to take every single one of these things.

Let's do some passive exercise.

How about that?

I'm down.

Let's listen to the birds.

Let's be kind to people.

And when I talk to you in the next episode, we're going to be talking about how to be

kind to yourself because that is how you improve the most important relationship you have in

life.

And that's the one with you. All right.
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