Even if you don’t look at or touch your phone when it rings, your performance on attention‑related tasks still drops. The drop is roughly the same as …
Cost
No cost at all. It takes just a few minutes to adjust the settings, and hardly any willpow…
Benefit
Merely receiving a notification — without looking at or interacting with the phone — notic…
For the top 20% of students with the most irregular sleep schedules, their circadian rhythm runs roughly 2.5 hours later than that of the top 20% with…
Cost
No cost involved. Sticking to this on weekends requires a bit of willpower.
Benefit
Sixty-one university students tracked their sleep patterns over 30 days. The group with th…
After two full weeks of getting only 6 hours of sleep each night, brain performance drops to a level equivalent to going two full nights without any s…
Cost
No cost at all. You simply need to set aside 1–2 extra hours each day for sleep. Going to …
Benefit
In a randomized controlled trial, 48 healthy adults aged 21–38 were asked to get just 6 ho…
Consuming a large cup of coffee containing 400 mg of caffeine 6 hours before bedtime reduces measured total sleep time by over 1 hour, yet personal sl…
Cost
No cost involved. People accustomed to drinking coffee in the afternoon must summon some w…
Benefit
Intake of 400 mg of caffeine 6 hours before sleep results in a measurable reduction of 1.1…
The same group of participants was studied over two weeks. During the week when they limited email checks to just three times per day, their daily str…
Cost
No monetary cost. However, it takes some time to explain to colleagues how often you’ll be…
Benefit
In a two-week self-controlled trial involving 124 adults, those who limited email checks t…
Even a brief interruption lasting 2.8 seconds on average doubles the chance of errors in subsequent steps of a sequential task. An interruption of 4.4…
Cost
No cost at all. Just close the door, put on headphones, or hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign.
Benefit
On average, a 2.8-second interruption doubles the error rate for sequential tasks, while a…
Every time you switch tasks, your reaction time slows down and errors become more likely. People who regularly keep multiple screens open at once don’…
Cost
No cost at all. It does take a bit of willpower to resist replying to messages during a me…
Benefit
Switching between tasks clearly slows reaction time and raises the chance of mistakes. Thi…
Reading from glowing screens before bed delays sleep onset by roughly 10 minutes compared to reading paper books. It also lowers melatonin production …
Cost
No cost involved. Giving up phone use one hour before bed requires willpower, especially w…
Benefit
In controlled lab experiments, the same participants were tested under both conditions (cr…
In 2025, Chinese people slept an average of 6.97 hours per night, with an average bedtime of 12:10 a.m. Those who used phones or tablets before bed we…
Cost
No monetary cost. The real challenge is overcoming the habit of “just one more episode.” T…
Benefit
In 2025, Chinese residents averaged 6.97 hours of nighttime sleep, with an average bedtime…
People who stayed awake for 49.5 hours were asked to take part in risk decision experiments. When well-rested, they quickly learned to avoid high-risk…
Cost
No cost at all. You simply postpone these tasks until after you’ve woken up.
Benefit
Thirty-four healthy participants completed the Iowa Gambling Task after going 49.5 hours w…
A 10‑minute nap gives an immediate boost of alertness that lasts about two and a half hours. A 5‑minute nap provides almost no benefit, while a 20‑min…
Cost
It costs nothing. Just set aside 10 minutes and find a place where you can lie down or rec…
Benefit
After a night of insufficient sleep, a 10‑minute nap quickly reduces drowsiness, fatigue, …
When background noise rises from 39 dB to 51 dB, people remember fewer words, feel more tired, and are less motivated to work. Watching nature videos …
Cost
Earplugs cost just a few dozen yuan. Booking a quiet meeting room takes some time and effo…
Benefit
Students working in simulated open offices showed similar effects: at 51 dB LAeq backgroun…
Records from British munitions factories during World War I show that when workers kept weekly hours under 49, output rose in direct proportion to the…
Cost
You might earn less in overtime pay. You may also need to put in effort to negotiate with …
Benefit
Data from British munitions factories in World War I demonstrates that output rises steadi…
Endlessly dwelling on the same bad memory won’t yield any answers. It only deepens depression, cements negative thoughts, makes it harder to solve pro…
Cost
No cost at all. The hard part is first recognizing that you’re stuck in this loop – a skil…
Benefit
A review of multiple studies shows that repetitive rumination on distressing events worsen…
In a 20-year twin study, each additional step up on a pessimism scale correlated with a roughly 13% higher risk of dying during that period, and a rou…
Cost
No cost involved. The hard part is viewing such thoughts as symptoms rather than as object…
Benefit
This study followed 2,978 twins aged 50 or older in Australia for an average of 20 years; …
The harm caused by a draining person is greater and more consistent than the benefits brought by a supportive one. That is why it makes sense to first…
Cost
No monetary cost. In the short term, this may cause social friction and possibly lead to l…
Benefit
A survey of 120 widowed women aged 60–89 found that unpleasant interactions showed a stron…
Reframing what just happened or trying to see things from the other person’s perspective can genuinely lower emotional intensity; the latter approach …
Cost
No cost at all. You must resist the urge to retort on the spot, turn around and leave, the…
Benefit
A meta-analysis combining 306 separate experiments shows that reframing events (cognitive …
Extensive clinical trial data confirm that brisk walking and running produce the strongest benefits for depression, with yoga and strength training al…
Cost
Costs little to nothing. Just a few brisk walks, runs, or strength workouts each week. Spe…
Benefit
This meta-analysis combined data from 218 randomized controlled trials involving 14,170 pa…
Children tend to think “police exist to catch bad guys; doctors exist to heal people.” Adults should instead view these professionals as employees bou…
Cost
No expense involved. You only need to adjust your expectations and the sequence of actions…
Benefit
Switching to this approach means moving from “pleading, getting angry, and reiterating you…
People who habitually compare themselves to others online tend to feel worse emotionally and have lower self‑esteem. Pooled clinical findings show a c…
Cost
This costs nothing. Setting time limits or deactivating an account takes just a few minute…
Benefit
The combined results of 54 independent studies — 94 effect sizes and a total N of 36,583 —…
When walking into a room wearing an embarrassing T-shirt, people assume roughly half of onlookers recognize who is on the shirt, when in reality fewer…
Cost
No cost at all. It simply requires asking yourself once, when you’re nervous: “Did they re…
Benefit
Experiment 1: Participants donned T-shirts featuring Barry Manilow’s portrait and entered …
The correlation between the feeling of “people around me expect me to be perfect and will reject me if I fail” and suicidal thoughts is 0.28. When the…
Cost
No cost involved. The hard part is viewing this thought pattern as something that needs ad…
Benefit
A comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted using data from 45 studies involving 11,747 pa…
Activities that rev up the body — like punching a bag, throwing things, or going for a run — generally don’t help you cool off. On the other hand, tec…
Cost
No cost at all. When you’re angry, try a few minutes of activities that slow your heart ra…
Benefit
A meta-analysis of 154 studies involving 184 sample groups and 10,189 participants shows t…
Writing about upsetting matters generally provides a small benefit on average, though the results are inconsistent. Two meta-analyses found no effect …
Cost
This costs nothing. Typical practice in studies is to write 3–4 times, each session lastin…
Benefit
One meta-analysis combined data from 146 randomized studies in which participants wrote or…
