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Pilot Treats Passengers to Pizza After Emergency Landing Delays Flight
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, a United Airlines pilot showed kindness to passengers during a 7-hour flight delay caused by an emergency landing. The pilot ordered 30 pizzas for the 150 stranded passengers, turning a frustrating situation into a heartwarming one. Passenger Tanya Stamos shared the story on social media, praising the pilot's thoughtful gesture as he handed out pizza at the gate. The act of generosity brought smiles and gratitude to those affected by the unexpected delay.
Score (97)
Art Therapy Could Cut Burnout in Half, New Study Shows
Art therapy sessions may hold the key to reducing burnout among healthcare workers, according to a new study out of London. Researchers at Queen Mary University and Barts Health NHS Trust found that medics who participated in group art therapy sessions reported significantly lower levels of stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion. The study involved 129 doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff from across London. Half attended weekly art therapy sessions led by trained professionals; the other half were placed on a waitlist. After just six sessions, the group that received therapy showed “much lower emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation” compared to those who didn’t. Those who didn’t participate were nearly twice as likely to report feeling burnt out. The benefits weren’t short-lived either. Participants still reported improved mental well-being three months after the sessions ended. Megan Tjasink, principal art psychotherapist at Barts Health and one of the study’s leaders, said the approach helps staff process the emotional weight of their jobs — something many aren't given the space or tools to do. “While they're very good at solving problems in a rational way, they can be less well practised at processing feelings,” she said. “Using the art therapy method helps people to communicate with colleagues in a very different way and to share feelings that might otherwise be difficult to express.” Tjasink added that sessions are led by psychological professionals, which allows participants to explore difficult emotions in a safe, supported environment. The idea has since spread. Following the pilot, art therapy has been rolled out across five hospitals in the Barts Health NHS Trust, funded by Barts Charity. And researchers believe the benefits could extend well beyond the NHS. “Burnout is an issue across numerous professions such as teaching and social care, and in the corporate sector,” Tjasink said. “Group art therapy could make a difference there too.” Still, she cautioned it’s not a standalone solution. “Art therapy must go alongside other tools to deal with burnout and mental health pressures.” For many of those who participated, though, the impact was immediate and personal. “They definitely helped me,” said oncologist Dr Umur Guven, who attended sessions at St Bartholomew’s Hospital. “Our shifts are so busy, but this gives us time to pause, to remember we are human again and to express our feelings through art.” Dr Lani Walshaw, also in oncology, described the experience as “really therapeutic.” “Working in oncology is obviously quite emotionally challenging,” she said. “We see a lot of difficult disease and patients going through the hardest times of their lives. To take some time out from that to do these art sessions is really therapeutic.” Anaesthetist Dr Francesco Rosato said the group setting helped counter the isolation many feel on busy shifts. “In these sessions when you find out others share the same feelings as you, you don’t feel alone anymore.” For consultant anaesthetist Dr Giampaolo Martinelli, who helped conduct the study, the sessions offered a rare moment of calm. “The session is protected time where I come in here and I feel like I’m in a suspended space, completely different from the hospital, where nothing else matters apart from me,” he said. As the pressures on healthcare workers continue to grow, the research suggests that even a small creative outlet could be a powerful tool to protect staff from burnout. And if early results are any indication, it might be a model worth replicating far beyond hospital walls.
Score (94)
Boss Surprises Employees With $240M Bonuses After Selling Family Company
In an era when corporate buyouts often leave workers behind, one CEO decided to flip the script. Before selling his company earlier this year, Fibrebond CEO Graham Walker made sure 15% of the $1.7 billion deal would go to his 540 full-time employees. The result? A $240 million bonus pool — or an average of $443,000 per worker — spread out over five years for those who stay with the company. It’s one of the most generous employee payouts in recent corporate memory. And for many of the factory workers in Minden, Louisiana, where Fibrebond is based, it was life-changing. “Before, we were going paycheck to paycheck,” said longtime employee Lesia Key. “I can live now; I’m grateful.” Fibrebond, which manufactures complex electrical modules for data centers and industrial projects, was acquired by power management giant Eaton earlier this year. But Walker, 46, wasn’t willing to finalize the sale without ensuring that the people who built the company shared in the reward. “I hope I’m 80 years old and get an email about how it’s impacted someone,” he told The Wall Street Journal. Asked why he pushed for 15% of the sale price to go to staff, his response was blunt: “It’s more than 10%.” Founded by his father, Claud Walker, in 1982, Fibrebond has weathered more than its fair share of turmoil. A fire in 1998 nearly wiped out operations. During the recovery, the Walkers continued to pay employee salaries. The early 2000s were equally grim, with the dot-com crash shrinking Fibrebond’s customer base to just three companies and forcing layoffs that brought its workforce down from 900 to 320. Graham and his brother took over in the mid-2000s and began rebuilding. Over time, some of the laid-off workers were rehired. The company’s defining pivot came in 2020, when it invested $150 million into infrastructure for data centers — a gamble that paid off during the AI-fueled tech boom. Over the past five years, Fibrebond’s sales grew by 400%. As of this year, the company had deployed more than 51,000 modules across the U.S. and was recognized as a national leader in its field. It was that success that led to the acquisition by Eaton, finalized on April 1. The next day, Walker gathered the entire company to share the news — not just about the sale, but the surprise bonuses. “We shared the same humbling question, how did we build this?” he wrote in a letter. “Forty-three years of memories, failures, successes, and opportunities came forth as tears, hugs, and profound joy.” Inside the company, the mood was disbelief. “It was surreal, it was like telling people they won the lottery,” said Hector Moreno, a Fibrebond executive. “There was absolute shock. They said, ‘What’s the catch?’” There was no catch. Some used the money to pay off debt or send kids to college. Others put it toward retirement or took long-delayed vacations. A few still didn’t quite believe it. The bonuses are being paid out gradually over five years — a timeline designed to reward long-time staff and keep institutional knowledge within the company. Walker will formally step away from Fibrebond on December 31. “It’s time, for the good of the business and all involved,” he told The Journal. He may be leaving, but his impact is likely to linger for years — not just in bank accounts, but in the lives changed by a rare act of generosity.
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Score (98)
The Joy of Fixing Things: How Repair Cafes Are Building Community and Saving Memories
In community halls across the West Midlands, a quiet revolution is underway. Armed with toolboxes, sewing kits, and a whole lot of patience, groups of volunteers are helping people fix what they once might have thrown away — and in the process, finding connection, comfort, and meaning. “It all came about because people started to get fed up with throwaway culture,” said Clare Beckhelling, who volunteers with Repair Cafe Redditch. “In this day and age, we shouldn't be throwing it all away, we should be repairing it and keeping it going.” That idea has taken root in places like Worcestershire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire, where repair cafes are cropping up as alternatives to both landfills and loneliness. Their mission is simple: keep things out of the bin and bring people together. Pam Beale runs two of them — the Lichfield Repair and Share Cafe at the Curborough Community Centre and another at St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Burntwood. Together, they see around 60 visitors a month, bringing in everything from broken tools and appliances to deeply personal items. “Our oldest repairer is 96,” Beale said. “He was an expert in furniture and marquetry and he knows about how a lot of things are put together.” Some fixes are purely practical — a lamp that won’t light, a torn shirt. But many are deeply emotional. “We had two or three record turntables in particular,” Beale said. “One belonged to a woman whose husband had passed away and she really wanted to play their records again. She was in floods of tears [when it was fixed]. Another woman wanted hers mended because her husband had dementia and she wanted the records to bring back memories for him.” Over in Redditch, the local repair cafe has been running for eight years and now has 31 volunteers. It meets once a month at Webheath Village Hall and recently inspired a spin-off in the nearby town of Studley. The repairs range from vintage tech to toys from another era. A porcelain doll from 1947 was brought back to life, as was a 70-year-old teddy bear. “People are very attached to [dolls and bears] because it’s one of the things their parents gave to them when they were young,” Beckhelling said. One of the most unusual items they’ve seen recently was a set of fairy lights from the West Indies, wrapped in delicate skeleton leaves — brought to the UK by a woman who arrived as part of the Windrush generation. The lights had failed and the fragile leaves were in danger of falling apart. The team at Studley’s repair cafe removed each one, ironed them flat, and carefully reattached them to a new string of lights. “When he saw it glowing again, his face said everything,” the team recalled. “A moment of pure joy – shared by all of us.” In Shrewsbury, the local repair cafe has more than 45 volunteers and uses the festive season as an opportunity to encourage people to reuse and repair, rather than buy new. “We have all been faced with the situation of bringing down the storage box from the roof or out of the garage, getting the familiar decorations out and finding that the lights don’t flicker or that musical ornament doesn’t play,” said Pete Martin, a repairer and administrator for the group. “Instead of rushing out to replace them, at the repair cafe we may be able to repair them, either by checking the wiring or simply by cleaning the contacts as the batteries were left in all year.” Even a favourite Christmas jumper with a hole in it can be given new life — “we can patch or darn it so it can be worn again,” he added. Sustainability is at the heart of all of these efforts. Beckhelling and Beale both volunteered with environmental groups before joining the repair cafes, and their message is clear: it’s not just about fixing objects, it’s about rethinking consumption entirely. “It did come out of a need, a desire to improve, to be more environmental and ecological and less wasteful,” Beckhelling said. “Some things just need a fuse, for the sake of 50p. A Sony Walkman was put back to use for the sake of a very specific elasticated band that cost £6.87.” Beale added, “It’s about taking responsibility for all aspects of your life rather than just an impulse thing. Many of which are made out of something that might never biodegrade, that will last forever. Think of the supply chain and the creation of items – the mining of minerals for a phone or tech or disposable vapes. Everything is valuable and somewhere far away someone with not much money is at the bottom of all of this.” Beyond the repairs and the environmental impact, though, the cafes have also become social lifelines. Volunteers and visitors alike have found friendship and purpose in the process. “An ex-engineer said, ‘You’ve saved my weekend,’” Beckhelling recalled. “I was tearing my hair out after I retired and twiddling my thumbs and he was going bonkers at home. He loves it.” Not everyone comes with a broken toaster or a set of lights. Some just want a slice of cake and a chat. And that’s part of the magic too. In fixing the things we once thought were lost, people are also finding each other.
Score (98)
Family’s Surprise Sleepover for Grandparents Turns into Viral Christmas Moment
What started as a simple family tradition in California has turned into a viral celebration of love, time, and pizza. Daniel Miller and his cousins brought back their cherished “Grandparents Christmas” tradition this year with a surprise pre-Christmas sleepover at their grandparents’ home. A video posted on December 21 capturing the moment has since drawn more than 14 million views across social media. The video begins with Miller and his wife walking through the front door. “I’m here to spend the night,” Miller tells his unsuspecting grandmother, who responds warmly, “That’s fine. You can spend the night if you’d like to.” One by one, more cousins and family members begin trickling in. Miller said he was texting them cues from inside. At one point, his grandmother pauses and asks, “Are we doing Grandparents Christmas?” The realization hits her — and the tradition is reborn. The night included all the staples of their longtime family event: making homemade pizzas, crafting, and sharing stories. The moment that’s resonated with so many viewers comes later in the video, when Miller’s grandfather, Carroll Blackstock, addresses the family. “I do thank you for all coming,” he says. “I can tell you that this room has not felt this kind of love ever, and we appreciate it. Thank you so much.” Miller credits the idea to his wife, who recently lost her own grandparents and wanted to revive the tradition that had gone quiet in recent years. “She kind of brought up the idea of doing this old family tradition that we had that kind of hasn't happened,” Miller told Fox News Digital. “I was like, 'All right, I'm gonna go ahead and do it,' and so we did it.” The tradition stretches back 25 years, originally started by Miller’s grandmother, Toni Blackstock, who used to host regular pre-Christmas events at her home. Homemade pizza was always part of it — a nod to her Italian roots. Miller said his grandparents have always shown up for their family — at every birthday, every sports game, every milestone. “The greatest gift you can give someone is your time,” he said. “I think that's taught us that time is very valuable and that [we] should always come together as family.” As for their viral fame? Miller said his grandparents don’t quite know what “going viral” means, but they understand the impact. “We kind of put it in perspective,” he said. “This is touching a lot of people’s hearts, and this has created a lot of tears of joy. And so, it made them feel really good.”
Score (95)
With One Eye and Mushy Colours, This Photographer Is Capturing the Peak District Like Few Others Can
If you blur your camera lens on purpose, you’ll get a sense of what William Hickie sees out of his left eye. It’s not much — but it’s never stopped him from chasing the perfect shot. The 23-year-old photographer from Tameside, Greater Manchester, lives with amblyopia, commonly called lazy eye. It’s a condition that’s left him functionally blind in one eye since childhood. He also has deuteranopia, a type of colour blindness that makes greens, browns, greys and pinks all blur into one. Even so, his work has been featured on BBC Countryfile, and his images of Derbyshire and the Peak District have earned him a growing following. “A camera only has one lens and one sensor, rather than two lenses and one sensor,” he said. “So only being able to see out of one eye might actually benefit me.” Hickie first picked up a camera at 14, drawn to the way it brought together his love of creativity and the outdoors. “I’m not too sure what actually sparked the interest,” he said. “I enjoyed it, and that was it.” He was diagnosed with a lazy eye as a child and underwent several unsuccessful attempts to correct it. Eye patches, drops, glasses — none of it stuck. “I had to use patches over my strong eye, but because I couldn’t see where I was going, I just used to rip them off all the time,” he said. Eventually, his brain simply stopped using the left eye altogether. That’s what amblyopia is: a neurodevelopmental condition where the brain ignores input from the weaker eye. Hickie sees almost exclusively out of his right. And then there’s his colour vision. “In between a gradient, most people can see all the different shades of colours,” he said. “Whereas for me, in the centre, that’s just one block of colour. It all looks the same.” Still, Hickie doesn’t believe his colour blindness affects the quality of his work. In fact, he believes his visual impairments have only pushed him harder to prove himself. “If there is something you’re really passionate about and someone tries to take you off the path, just stay on,” he said. That determination paid off when one of his photos — a striking image of a stag in Froggatt Woods near Calver — caught the attention of the BBC Countryfile team. They invited him to contribute to an episode featuring the Chatsworth Estate, with presenters Anita Rani and Sean Fletcher. “Photography now has pretty much totally consumed my life, in a good way,” Hickie said. “Landscape photography gives me the opportunity to get out of the house, go for a nice walk and enjoy nature and being outside. I think it’s just a really good thing to do.” With just one eye and a limited view of colour, Hickie has managed to see — and show — the world in a way that many others can’t.
Score (97)
Anonymous Donor Covers Pet Emergency Fees At Colorado Animal Hospital
A Colorado animal hospital got an unexpected visit from a mystery man who left a trail of kindness behind — and a stack of checks. Staff at Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital say the man walked in around 8 a.m., told them he planned to stay for a few hours, and quietly began covering emergency exam fees for anyone who brought in a pet that day. Each payment came in a plain envelope with a check inside, covering the nearly $200 cost for an emergency room visit. “He didn’t know any of the people he was helping,” said veterinary staff member Veronica Suazo. “There was no heads-up, no big announcement. He just wanted to help.” Over the next few hours, the man paid for at least 10 pet owners, some of whom were overwhelmed by the gesture. A few offered to pass the help along and let the next person use the money instead. Others were moved to tears, unsure how they would’ve managed to pay for care without the surprise donation. Emergency vet fees can be a financial burden, especially in high-stress moments when a pet’s health is at stake. The anonymous donor made it a little easier, not just for the people he met, but for those who arrived later too — he left behind additional envelopes for staff to hand out after he left. And before walking out the door, he added one more gift: a $400 donation to the hospital’s charity fund, ensuring more animals would get care even after he was gone.
Score (98)
Archaeologists Uncover 10 Astonishing Discoveries In 2025
From Egypt to the Atlantic, 2025 Was a Banner Year for Archaeology It’s been a remarkable year for archaeology, with discoveries coming from deserts, ruins, libraries, and the ocean floor. Some were powered by advanced technology, others by sheer human curiosity—and in one case, a lucky stroll past a monument. Together, they’ve deepened our understanding of ancient civilizations, rewritten historical narratives, and even called into question the capabilities of one of antiquity’s most mysterious devices. In Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, archaeologists from the New Kingdom Research Foundation unearthed the tomb of Thutmose II, a pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. It’s the first royal tomb found since Tutankhamen’s in 1922. Though the chamber was in poor condition and largely empty—likely due to flooding soon after the burial—experts believe Thutmose’s wife and half-sister, Queen Hatshepsut, may have overseen the interment. Another ancient Egyptian surprise came not from a tomb, but from a monument hiding in plain sight. While walking past the obelisk of Ramses II in Paris’s Place de la Concorde during the pandemic, Sorbonne lecturer Jean-Guillaume Olette-Pelletier spotted something others had missed. After getting permission to climb the 70-foot structure, he confirmed that the topmost hieroglyphs included a royal boast: Ramses had been chosen by the gods to rule. From its original position in Luxor, these glyphs would have been clearly visible to boat-bound nobles arriving for festivals. At the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, preparations for an exhibition led to the discovery of something more personal: a 4,000-year-old handprint on a funerary object known as a “soul house.” The clay structure, shaped like a building, would have been used to hold food offerings for the dead. Researchers believe the print was left in the still-wet clay before firing—possibly by the maker themselves. Pompeii also yielded its share of stories this year. At the necropolis of Porta Sarno, archaeologists uncovered two life-sized statues of a man and woman, likely a married couple from the late Roman Republic. The woman wore a crescent moon pendant, a protective charm, and evidence suggests she may have held the title of priestess—an uncommon role for a woman in that period. Meanwhile, at Oxford University’s Bodleian Library, a chance discovery may change how scholars read one of Shakespeare’s most famous works. A lecturer specializing in early modern literature found a handwritten copy of Sonnet 116—but this wasn’t the version most people know. The manuscript includes alternate lines and revised couplets, suggesting the sonnet may not just be about love, but also carry coded commentary on the English Civil War. In the realm of technology, underwater robots named Romeo and Juliet completed a full 3D scan of the Titanic’s wreckage on the Atlantic seabed. The high-resolution model captured details down to individual personal items and lifeboat mechanisms. Contrary to the century-old rumor that first officer William McMaster Murdoch fled his post, the scan shows that he likely stayed and helped with the evacuation until the very end. A different kind of digital tool helped researchers unlock a hidden voice from ancient Mesopotamia. A team from the University of Baghdad and Ludwig Maximilian University used A.I. to analyze cuneiform tablets and uncovered a 250-line hymn celebrating Babylon and its people. The hymn appears in over 30 surviving manuscripts, a discovery that would have taken decades to assemble without machine learning. Researchers believe it served a unifying, nationalistic role—comparable to a modern-day pledge of allegiance. In Greece, a long-standing mystery was put to the test, and came up short. The Antikythera mechanism, often described as the world’s first analog computer, has fascinated historians since its discovery in 1901. A new study by researchers in Argentina used digital reconstructions to test the device’s accuracy. The result? It jammed in 90 percent of simulations. Despite its sophisticated appearance, the ancient gadget may not have functioned particularly well. The Tower of London also revealed more of its past this year. Excavations on the historic site, part of a long-term study of the fortress’s construction, turned up coffins from the 12th and 13th centuries, and a mass grave from the 14th-century Black Death. Some of the remains are believed to belong to high-status individuals, shedding light on who lived—and died—within the castle’s shadow. And finally, a new theory about Easter Island’s massive stone statues has gained ground. When Dutch explorers first arrived in 1722, the local Rapanui people said the statues had “walked.” For decades, this was dismissed as myth. But new research from Binghamton University and the University of Arizona suggests they may have been right. Using experiments with replica statues, researchers showed how the figures could have been rocked side to side using ropes, essentially “walking” them across the landscape thanks to their design and low center of gravity. Whether pulled from the ground, spotted in a library, or revealed by a robot deep underwater, these discoveries highlight the evolving—and often surprising—nature of archaeology. One thing’s clear: the past still has plenty of stories left to tell.
Score (94)
After Wildfires Ravaged Their Town, a Community Just Won Half a Billion Dollars in the Lottery
Just months ago, the small Spanish town of La Bañeza was reeling from devastation. A massive wildfire had scorched 120,000 acres of surrounding land, forcing 8,000 residents to evacuate. Smoke, grief, and economic uncertainty hung over the region in Castilla y León. Now, that same town is celebrating one of the biggest windfalls in recent memory. Residents of La Bañeza pooled their luck — and their lottery tickets — into Spain’s famous El Gordo Christmas lottery, and it paid off. The town had purchased 117 ticket numbers in the draw, and each one hit for €400,000 (about $437,000 USD). In total, the payout is estimated at close to half a billion U.S. dollars. For a town of around 10,000 people, the winnings break down to somewhere between $20,000 and $30,000 per person, depending on taxes and ticket shares — a massive financial shot in the arm for families still recovering from the fire. “Winning the lottery, as well as cause for joy and excitement, is something that has fallen from the heavens to a place that needs so much,” said La Bañeza Mayor Javier Carrera. He described the moment as “a cascade of emotions after such a terrible year.” Spain’s El Gordo (which means “The Fat One”) is the world’s largest lottery by total payout, and it holds a special place in Spanish holiday tradition. But there’s also a long-held superstition that makes this year’s result feel almost poetic: many believe that luck often follows misfortune. It’s common for people to buy tickets from towns that have recently suffered tragedy, under the belief that lightning won’t strike twice. In the case of La Bañeza, that superstition paid off — spectacularly. The story has already started to spread beyond the region, reinforcing the idea that good fortune can rise from ashes. For a town that was praying for rain, this unexpected downpour of green has brought a much-needed sense of hope. And maybe, just maybe, the belief that better days are ahead.
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1,435 Couples Break Kissing Record Under D.C.’s Giant ‘National Mistletoe’
Love was quite literally in the air in Washington, D.C., as a towering 10-foot bundle of mistletoe became the centerpiece of a record-breaking night. Suspended 30 feet above Anthem Row, the oversized holiday decoration—dubbed the National Mistletoe—set the stage for what organizers called a “Merry Kiss-mas” moment. A total of 1,435 couples gathered to simultaneously kiss for five seconds, setting a new Guinness World Record for most people kissing under mistletoe at once. The previous record was held by 480 couples in St. Louis back in 2019. Each couple arrived armed with their own small sprig of mistletoe and took part in the public smooch, surrounded by greenery, ribbons, and what one organizer described as “pure holiday joy.” “Last night felt bigger than a world record attempt,” said Gerren Price, one of the event’s coordinators. “It was a reminder of what happens when a city shows up for joy, love, and community above all else.” The National Mistletoe, which has been hung for two consecutive years, is part of a public art project funded by the District’s Streets for People grant. It will stay up throughout January—just in case anyone wants to kick off the new year with a kiss of their own. While mistletoe's association with kissing feels like a modern tradition, its romantic roots go back much further. Ancient Europeans saw the plant as a symbol of fertility and renewal during winter solstice festivals. Centuries later, the 1784 musical Two for One included one of the earliest references to kissing under mistletoe, and the tradition grew from there. For the organizers, this year’s event was about more than breaking a record. “Whether you’re sealing the deal, rekindling the spark, or just joining for the fun—this is the holiday kiss you won’t forget,” Price said. “Events like this bring people together in such a memorable, joyful way and show the true vibrancy and energy in the city that we love.” Plans are already in the works to keep the mistletoe tradition going in 2026. Organizers are even considering adding a matchmaking twist to help singles get in on the fun. Because in D.C., it turns out mistletoe really is for everyone.
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Experts Urge Embracing Active Rest to Combat Holiday Stress and Enhance Well-Being
Sleep isn’t the only kind of rest humans need. And during the holidays, many people find themselves emotionally drained — despite spending more time at home, on the couch, or curled up with a hot drink. So what’s going on? According to psychologist and researcher who studies rest, learning, and well-being, rest isn’t just about sleeping in. We also need active recovery — moments during our waking hours that replenish mental and emotional energy. And it turns out, not all downtime is created equal. The holidays promise a break, but for many, it doesn’t quite deliver. Financial stress, travel, family tensions, and changes in routine often pile up at the exact time we expect to relax. The result: stress rises and well-being drops. The solution? Planned, intentional rest, not just idly collapsing into the sofa. “Reaping the full benefits of rest and leisure requires more than a slow morning or a mug of hot cocoa,” the psychologist writes. “It’s also about intentionally scheduling active recovery periods that energize us and leave us feeling restored.” What active rest actually looks like Walking in nature, playing an instrument, spending time with loved ones, or doing a creative hobby — all of these are examples of active rest. Research shows they can lower stress hormones like cortisol, ease anxiety, and even lift symptoms of depression. Take nature walks. They don’t just get you fresh air. They also calm the part of the brain linked to rumination and sadness. Or consider artistic hobbies like piano or calligraphy — studies show these activities trigger real physiological relaxation. Still, one of the most important factors in effective rest is how satisfying the activity feels. Watching TV is one of the most common ways people “relax,” but research shows that people often rate it as one of the least enjoyable ways to spend free time, especially after long binge sessions. “People often spend their free time doing things that are not satisfying,” the psychologist explains. “Distractions like social media might pass the time, but they rarely leave us feeling reenergized.” So how do you fix poor-quality rest? Plan your rest like you’d plan your work. Studies show that scheduling enjoyable activities, and sticking to those plans, improves mental health outcomes. That might mean going for a walk after opening presents instead of heading straight into cleanup. Or blocking out time to read a book after a long day of shopping. The key is to follow a schedule, not a mood. Waiting to “feel like it” can trap you in cycles of poor rest. What about rest guilt? Many people feel uneasy when they’re not being productive, even when they’re supposed to be relaxing. This “leisure guilt” can undercut the benefits of downtime — especially during the high-pressure holiday season. To fight it, the psychologist suggests: 1. Lower expectations. Not every holiday moment has to be picture-perfect. Letting go of over-the-top plans can free up time and energy for real rest. 2. Choose immersive activities. Video games, playing with kids, and outdoor walks require attention and prevent your mind from drifting back to your inbox. 3. Accept the guilt. Don’t try to suppress it — just acknowledge it and move on. Research shows that accepting negative emotions can actually reduce their intensity over time. The bottom line: Humans need more than sleep. We need meaningful moments of peace — the kind that engage us and actually help us feel better. And especially during the holidays, those moments may need to be scheduled with just as much care as the to-do list.