Healthy Travel Series: Summer Reading List

This book is a great read if you feel like you’ve been going and going and going and you’ve just got nothing left to give. Or if you find that by the time you get home from work you’re exhausted and the thought of doing anything productive, or even something simple like playing with your dog, feels like too much. This book emphasizes that our “more, bigger, faster” mindset is impacting our energy levels in a big way. Our natural strategy is to hunker down and work harder until we get to that point when things slow down (do they ever really slow down?), but Schwartz argues that when things get busy, we should actually devote more energy to slowing down, resting and renewing. Instead of the marathon approach (working longer and harder) we should adopt a sprint approach (working intensely for short bursts, followed by periods of rest and renewal). It’s fascinating stuff! If you feel like your energy is at an all-time low, pick up this book! Editor’s note: Our Boost presentation is based on this book. If you think your department could benefit from this information, invite us out!

Imagine a drug that was proven to add years to your life, reduce risk of heart attack and stroke, cut your risk of Alzheimer’s by more than half, increase your good cholesterol, and repair your hormones. What if this imaginary drug reduced hospital stays so much that it put a dent in the national health care crisis? The inventors of the drug would receive Nobel Prizes and have institutes named for them. But it’s not a drug. It’s purpose. And it’s free. Strecher’s smart, personal, and highly practical book will fundamentally change the way we understand what it means to lead a good life.

This is a great book to help with emotional intelligence and understanding how you are interpreting the world and how to regulate responses to life stressors. It addresses the stories we tell ourselves and how we exaggerate and catastrophize the intentions of others, primarily to our own detriment. It talks about social intelligence and the way we react in a group as well as how we respond to our own thoughts and feelings.

This book drives home the point of mindfulness and how to be content and happy when and where you are. It teaches a new level of consciousness and how we get caught up in daily life and going through the motions without stopping to think about the purpose and meaning behind what we do.

A must-read for everyone! Learning what things make you feel loved and accepted and how those around you (whether in a romantic relationship, family members, friends, coworkers) receive love and appreciation. This is an eye-opener!

This book is a comprehensive guide to understanding the elements of happiness based on years of groundbreaking research. The book teaches you various happiness strategies and new ways of thinking based on your individuality, to help you realize your innate potential for joy and ways to sustain it in your life. This is a phenomenal summer read for anyone who wants to take their happiness into their own hands!

Arianna Huffington’s personal wake-up call came in the form of a broken cheekbone and a nasty gash over her eye- the result of a fall brought on by exhaustion and lack of sleep. She wondered, Is this really what success feels like? Drawing on the latest research and science in the fields of psychology, sports, sleep, and physiology that show the profound and transformative effects of meditation, mindfulness, unplugging, and giving, Arianna shows us the way to a revolution in our thinking, our culture, our workplaces, and our lives.