Healthy Pleasures

By Robert Ornstein and David Sobel

Imagine a medical treatment that can decrease heart disease, boost immune function, relieve depression, and block pain—whose only side effect is that it makes you feel good. It’s safe, inexpensive, and readily available, No, it’s not a miracle drug; rather, these benefits come from the experience of pleasure itself. And this pleasure prescription is filled in the internal pharmacy of the brain. Psychologist Robert Ornstein and physician David Sobel deliver the latest scientific evidence that pleasures—from saunas to siestas, chocolate to charity—and positive attitudes—from happiness to optimism—are not only enjoyable but also good for you.