Hello happiness seekers. My name is Claudia. Welcome to the summer break at the Happiness Challenge. Summer break is all about short, practical episodes inspired by my favorite topic of all, the Science of Happiness to help you rest, reset and rediscover happiness this summer. Summertime is a perfect time for adventure, but you don't need to have a big trip coming up to spark joy. So today I'm talking about the science of Micro adventures mini escapes that bring novelty and happiness to our everyday lives. Before I dive into the episode, I would like to give a big shout out to all book lovers and reviewers who last month have read and reviewed the digital copy of the Alphabet of Happiness before its launch on 30th of September. So thank you so much to all of you for taking time to read my book and I'm really eternally grateful for all your five star reviews. I've been really spoiled with that, but also for all your insights because it's just incredible to see that everyone had something different that resonated with them from the book. So thank you so much and I know that many of you are listening. So I am eternally grateful for your help. And if you are curious what people are saying about my book, you can check out their reviews on Goodreads. Just search for the Alphabet of Happiness there and you will see what are they thinking and talking about. Okay, let's dive into this topic of mini adventures and how they can help us to spark joy this summer. So research shows that novelty trying new things, even on a very small scale, it's really beneficial to our happiness. And this is really important to notice, especially if you have lots of routine and you're very much a routine driven individual. That's great. But we do need some small breaks of novelty and benefits are boosting dopamine and increasing our overall feeling of well being. Trying new things also motivate us to explore and seek out even more adventures. It enhances our learning and memory because we are engaging with something new. It help us to reduce stress because it help us to get out of our own head for a moment because again, we're engaging with something new. So we are getting out of our self. Care talk and Micro Adventures are short local explorations that can break routine and still create those lasting memories. And interestingly, research also showed that Micro Adventures slow down the perspective of time for us. And for me personally that resonates with me a lot because I often feel I'm really busy, I'm always rushing. I have really packed skills schedule and to have a moment when A time actually slows down for an afternoon, for a weekend, it's just like priceless. So one study showed that actually chasing peak experiences speeds up time because when we are in those peak experiences, often we have adrenaline pumping. While experiencing some micro adventures slows down because we are just in the moment. We're exploring something it doesn't. We don't have any specific expectations towards it. And there's also lots of interesting studies of how children tend to perceive time. And they tend to perceive time based on the content of events. So what's actually happened rather than actual duration. So it doesn't matter how short the joy or a happiness moment. It is about happiness. That's what the most important aspect is. So really, in a simpler words, when the children experience joy, the time, their time tends to slow down for them. And when we embracing micro adventures as adults, that can really reconnect us with that childlike perspective where the experience, not just the clock, really shapes our sense of time. That's great news. Lots of positives there. And the best thing about this, we don't need to travel far to have our micro adventures. So here are a few ideas to get you started, which I think are lovely and can be done anywhere. So let me know what you think. Number one, take a sunrise or sunset walk. I think that's really interesting and really fun, especially in the summer. Number two, try a new cafe or a restaurant in your neighborhood. Have this mindset of I'm traveling somewhere new, I'm going to put a bit of effort and I'm trying this new place. Number three, go on a photo scavenger hunt. So go around your neighborhood, go around your area that you live and capture five figs you've never noticed before. Again, I think we often acting on autopilot and just stopping for a moment and noticing things we've never noticed before. It just gives us that sense of refreshment. Number four, have a picnic in your local green space. Summer, fantastic for picnics. Why don't we not do this more often? Number five, take a different route home and see what you discover. That one is really interesting. I probably will get lost very easily just because I don't have a great sense of direction. But when I often get lost, when I take a different route home, it's really. Well, it's interesting because I'm like, I never knew this existed. Number six, find a dark spot away from a city light and enjoy stargazing. I just love that. And I again, it always makes me feel really wow. I'm such a tiny element in this big, big universe. And I yeah, I really appreciate stargazing. So that one is definitely my favorite. And seven Go on a Dawn Chorus walk to spot birds. They are so honored in the summer and if you wake up early, it's incredible. Even in a city as busy as London. The dawn chorus is incredible in the summer. And the key here is to approach this moment with curiosity and openness. It doesn't matter how long they last, but it's just very much about those small changes that can wake up our brain and bring that sense of adventure to our everyday and make us feel that yes, the summer is a special time. So my dear, to you this week, plan one micro adventure, no matter how small. Notice how that shifts your mood and sense of happiness. And really, the best adventures are the ones that are just around the corner. So have a go. Thank you so much for listening. I wish you a wonderful micro adventure and I hope to see you at my substack newsletter when I'm sharing lots of fun summer break exercises. But otherwise, have a wonderful rest of the day. Bye.