How Exploring New Places Can Make You Feel Happier

Published: July 4, 2024, 10 a.m.

Exploring novel places and having diverse experiences is important to our well-being and can make us feel happier. This week, Ike Sriskandarajah, a producer for This American Life, takes us with him as he explores new parts of New York City.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/seystc6c

Episode summary:\xa0

Shaking yourself out of your normal routine can be hard\u2013but studies show it\u2019s worth it. Creating space for variety, novelty, and awe in our lives is essential for our well-being. Exploring new and diverse environments in our daily life can lead to better stress resilience and can make us feel better. In this episode, investigative journalist Ike Sriskandarajah, shares his experience exploring new places with his family in New York City. Then, we hear from Aaron Heller, a neuroscientist and assistant professor at the University of Miami's Department of Psychology, who studies how exposure to novel places can make us happier.\xa0

Practice:\xa0

Break out of your usual daily routine\u2013take a route to work you have never taken before, or visit a park you\u2019ve never gone to. Explore a place you have never been to.

Today\u2019s guests: Ike Sriskandarajah is an investigative journalist and Producer at This American Life.

Aaron Heller is a neuroscientist and assistant professor at the University of Miami's Department of Psychology.


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Tell us about your experience exploring new places!\xa0

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