Why do people - even professional runners - get bored while going on long runs? And what does it mean? Chris Halter discusses in his article reasons behind getting bored on runs after talking to Dr. Erin Westgate. He also shares tips and ways to deal with boredom (like making runs more challenging, listening to music...) To find out more tips and information on our feelings of boredom, click here!

Our graduate student Yijun Lin was featured on UF news in an article by Alisson Clark exploring bedtime procrastination and its effects. Bedtime procrastination is very common, and with research on it being still limited, there's a crucial need to understand the phenomenon and how it affects us. Do we procrastinate going to sleep because we don't have enough "me" time? Do our feelings impact our engagement in procrastination? As a bedtime procrastinator herself, Yijun explains and shares some ideas and insights from recent research, as well as suggests some ways / tips to deal with bedtime procrastination. 

Click here to read the article !

What is a good life? For some time, the two main definitions of a good life were either a hedonic one or a eudaimonic one. A hedonic life is a pleasurable and happy life, while a eudaimonic life is one filled with purpose and actions contributing to the greater good. However, as Dr. Erin Westgate suggests, a good life doesn't have to be happy or meaningful; it can be "psychologically rich". 

This article by Sarah Todd, featuring Dr. Erin Westgate from the University of Florida and Dr. Shige Oishi from the University of Virginia, explains what a psychologically rich life means and how it affects our perceptions of a good life. According to Dr.  Westgate, by broadening our idea of a good life to include psychological richness, we're creating room for challenges and illustrating that even challenging or difficult lives can be good in ways. 

Click here  to read the full article!

Dr. Erin Westgate had the chance to give some insights on boredom in this article written by Sydney Ember. 

This article discusses the impact of boredom during the pandemic on the U.S economy. From home investments to stock markets, people have been looking for ways to be more engaged and stimulated, all in an effort to reduce their boredom. 

As Dr. Westgate says, "Feeling bored may result in different kinds of behaviors, like increasing novelty seeking and increasing reward sensitivity".

Check the article out for more information!