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Bug or feature? Boredom feels aversive, and this is why it matters

In class, during exercise, at work: boredom is an everyday experience that is generally regarded as an annoying and rather useless nuisance. In keeping with this attested uselessness, boredom had not gathered much research interest for a long time. Fortunately, this has changed and new and exciting research paints a different picture of boredom, highlighting its function and its relevance for human behavior. Indeed, boredom appears to play a key role in goal-striving because it acts as a catalyst for change. Simply put, boredom tells us that we are wasting our resources and that we should look for other things to do. To provide an overview of the emerging research on boredom, this article covers what boredom is, when it occurs, what it does, and why it matters. / more

How to get into shape like the Hulk

Do you want to get into shape but find it hard to carry out your good intentions? The Hulk can help you!

After summer vacation, chances are you are trying to get back into shape. Your goals may include fitting into your pants again, training for a 5k in the winter, or improving your overall physical strength and endurance. Each day you try to start off with...

Does Exercise Truly Make You Happy?

A healthy mind in a healthy body or mens sane in corpore sano, as Decimus Junius Juvenalis put it in his time, is a phrase that seems to imply some causal relationship between exercise and a sound mind. However, when Juvenalis (one of the great Roman satirists of his time) made himself immortal with these words, he at least seemed to care to make a causal statement. / more