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The Scientific Guide to Health and Happiness

Trailer

01: The Health and Happiness Connection

Are health and happiness intertwined? In this opening lesson, Dr. Robin Miller suggests they go hand in hand. She begins by defining health and happiness and then explores the areas of the world which report the most happiness. She explains the deep connection between happiness and your health, longevity, and even your genetics.

32 min

02: How Happiness Is Created in the Brain

Like any other emotion, happiness is rooted in your brain. Here, we explore the inner workings and complexities of your brain to understand how happiness originates. Take a peek at your brain’s physical structure and learn about neurotransmitters—the communication system that produces and manages your emotions.

20 min

03: What Do We Know about Living Longer?

Our motivation to improve our health is driven by the desire to live longer, yet nobody wants to be old or endure the aging process. In this lesson, we will look at how we can maintain happiness and satisfaction with life as we age by studying the aspects of longevity. The secret is in learning how to grow old without feeling old.

31 min

04: Happy Heart, Healthy Heart

Learn the intricate connection between your mood and bodily functions as it pertains to heart health. Failing to care for your heart health not only impacts your whole body but also decreases your lifespan as well; on the flip side, increasing happiness and decreasing stress lowers your risk of heart disease.

30 min

05: The Gut: Our Second Brain

Your heart may drive your happiness, but the road to happiness probably runs straight through your gut. Thought of as the second brain, your gut holds a significant key to your health. Discussed are common conditions that affect the gut and treatment ideas to improve your gut health.

30 min

06: The Microbiome: How Bacteria Keep Us Happy

Hippocrates once said, “All disease begins in the gut,” and he may be proven right—Your gut houses 100 trillion microbes on average. These microbes communicate with your brain in ways we’re just beginning to understand. Find out how your brain health, weight, and mood are tied to your microbiome.

33 min

07: Which Diet Is Best for Happiness?

In this lesson, we discuss the concept of food as medicine. When it comes to your health, diet is your most important lifestyle choice—but is there one that's best for everybody? Dr. Miller discusses options, as well as a groundbreaking way to find out what works best for you.

17 min

08: Better Habits for Healthy Eating

With calories being cheap and abundant in society, the psychology behind healthy eating habits and attitudes becomes crucial. In this lesson, find out the main reason why diets fail and what you can do to structure your surroundings so that your habits support your efforts to maintain health and happiness.

27 min

09: Fun Foods for Health and Happiness

Is there room in a healthy diet for fun foods such as chocolate, wine, peanut butter, and sugar? Listen to the research and learn which of these foods are good additions to your diet, which foods are okay in moderation, and which foods are flat-out bad for your health.

21 min

10: Do You Need to Take Supplements?

Multivitamins have become a booming business in the health industry. Dr. Miller challenges the efficacy of supplements, stating that while they can sometimes be helpful, often they either do nothing, or worse, cause harm. Find out which ones can assist with certain conditions and which ones to stay away from.

19 min

11: Mushrooms: A Superfood for Well-Being

Find out about this superfood that is often ignored but can be magical to your health: mushrooms. This is the one superfood that Dr. Miller recommends you start with. Not only do they have potent anti-carcinogenic powers, but they're also a fantastic way to nurture your microbiome, and they provide a host of benefits.

19 min

12: Sleep: Getting a Happy Night’s Rest

Good sleep may be the simplest improvement you can make to your health—and it's free. This lesson covers sleep hygiene, sleep cycles, and sleep disorders to convince you that sleep is not a luxury but a vital component of your health and happiness.

33 min

13: Recognizing and Treating Depression

Depression is becoming a global epidemic, and nobody is immune to this serious mental health illness. Understand the primary causes, from genetics to trauma to lifestyle and find out about the most effective treatments currently available, including several emerging therapies that show great promise and success.

30 min

14: Building Community and Ending Loneliness

Did you know that loneliness is a predictor of early mortality? Social isolation and loneliness pose a health risk equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day—higher than obesity. While there is no prescription for loneliness, here are ways we can build community and relationships to combat it.

33 min

15: Preventing and Managing Neurodegeneration

Losing your mind is a fear that most adults experience as they grow older. When your brain is compromised, so is your happiness and health. Dr. Miller goes through neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, dementia, and Parkinson's, giving solutions to prevent or slow the progression.

35 min

16: Meditation for a Happy Mind and Body

Have you ever wondered how to grow biologically younger and how to become a happier, healthier you? Discover the ancient practice of meditation and create a connection to your inner self, activating your physical body.

19 min

17: Faith, Prayer, and Spirituality in Health

You need every tool in your arsenal against illness and unhappiness. Luckily, your mind is powerful and can be a great form of intervention. Dr. Miller explores the science of prayer and faith, presenting a study on bush baby primates that suggests intercessory prayer may come with healing properties.

16 min

18: Have More Sex—for Health Reasons!

You might be surprised how much sexual health affects your happiness. Orgasm releases endorphins, and studies show this effect can last for hours afterward. Here, Dr. Miller discusses what it takes to have a healthy sex life, including frequency; fitness; and dysfunctions, and how to overcome those.

33 min

19: What Is a Healthy and Happy Weight?

Here you will address the relationships between weight, health, and body image. While someone can be overweight and happy, the more complicated question is whether someone can be overweight and healthy. Consider this issue as Dr. Miller discusses the risks of obesity and dives into social standards, eating disorders, and permanent weight loss.

21 min

20: Music: Happy Stimulation for the Mind

What does music have to do with health and happiness? Our brains and emotions are activated when listening to pleasant sounds and music. Study ways you can use music to influence your mood and behavior positively and as therapy for neurodegenerative disease.

18 min

21: Dance: Happy Exercise for the Whole Body

We know that staying active is essential, but in this lesson, Dr. Miller discusses why dance specifically offers impressive benefits from a health and happiness standpoint. Discover how you can use dance to prevent or halt neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's, even by a considerable percentage.

18 min

22: Healthy Management of Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is one of the biggest barriers to the enjoyment of life. While it is complex to diagnose and medically treat pain, you will learn that it is far more critical to realize that chronic pain and disability do not have to prevent you from living a happy life.

19 min

23: Using Technology to Support Your Health

Not too long ago, measuring health tenets with technology used to be the things of science fiction. Dr. Miller discusses the usage of personal monitoring devices, apps, fitness trackers, and genetic tests that are now widely accessible to all.

18 min

24: Finding a Doctor to Support Your Journey

What do your health and healing have to do with your doctor? It turns out, a lot, but not in the ways you traditionally have thought. Learn about integrative medicine and the importance of having a partnership with a physician or practice that supports you and, most important, be ready to seek improvement.

21 min

Overview Course No. 80070

There is one thing that every human wants and we spend our entire lives searching for it: happiness. In our journey to seek it, we have concocted ideas and theories to explain the concept, but very few of them are based on science. What scientists are now learning is that happiness is intertwined with your health. Now, you can uncover the essential secrets to a healthy mind and body with our 24-lesson course The Scientific Guide to Health and Happiness.

Taught by Dr. Robin Miller, an integrative medicine specialist and popular TV and radio host, this course is backed by the latest research and scientific studies about health and happiness and cases from Dr. Miller’s practice over decades. You will take a deep dive into the major systems of the body and how keeping them in good shape supports your happiness and satisfaction of life.

You will also learn about diet and weight management, lifestyle habits such as sleep and sex, and ways to powerfully impact your internal health by using external methods like music, dance, meditation, and cutting-edge technologies.

It may feel like there are so many pieces to the health and happiness puzzle that you don’t know where to begin. Dr. Miller not only boils each aspect down to its nitty-gritty details using scientific examples, but she also weaves it all together to show you how they relate to one other.

As you go through the course, you will begin to see that every little step you take to improve your lifestyle can build up and have a domino effect. Using this roadmap to find your best self, you will be empowered to take charge of your health.

Before you know it, your efforts to improve your health, diet, and lifestyle will come together to create a symphony of great health and happiness.

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About

Robin Miller

Believe it or not, the heart, brain, and gut are the keys to happiness and well-being.

ALMA MATER

University of Illinois College of Medicine

Dr. Robin Miller is a general internist and integrative medicine expert who has been tapped nationally as a consultant for physicians who need help with complex patients. She is also the founder and medical director of Triune Integrative Medicine. She earned her MHS in Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her MD at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, and she completed a fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona with Dr. Andrew Weil.

Dr. Miller’s passion for using the latest research to promote a holistic understanding of health has been frequently recognized in the media. For more than a decade, she has hosted a medical call-in show and produced a medical advice slot for NBC5 News and a weekly radio show on KMED. She also produced the award-winning health series Is There a Doctor in the House? Her books include Healed: Health & Wellness for the 21st Century (with David Kahn), Kids Ask the Doctor, and The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife & Beyond: A No-Nonsense Approach to Staying Healthy after 50 (with Janet Horn).

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