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- SleepShort sleep makes good moods rarer and bad moods stronger. Improving sleep improves how you feel. For the how-to, go to sleepgood.now.
- Evidence: Strong
- Takes: 7 or more hours a night
- Alcohol and caffeineAlcohol helps you fall asleep but breaks up the second half of the night, and hangovers often bring anxiety. Caffeine can make you jittery, especially in large doses.
- Daylight and time outdoorsAim for about two hours a week in green spaces and some daylight every morning. The evidence is mostly surveys, but it's consistent and the cost is low.
- Evidence: Some
- Takes: about 2 hours a week
- Sunday-night dreadPlan the week on Sunday afternoon, write a specific to-do list, give the worry a set time, then do something that fully takes your attention.
- Evidence: Some
- Takes: 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon
- What reliably improves wellbeing (and what doesn't)People, movement, sleep and time outdoors have the best evidence. Many famous psychology tricks have small effects or didn't replicate.
- Writing down the worryWrite the worry on paper, add one next step and a time to deal with it later. Some trials support setting worry aside like this, but results are mixed and one famous study didn't replicate.
- Evidence: Weak
- Takes: 3 minutes