THE (SCIENCE-BACKED) POWER OF JOY

Do you ever feel guilty for feeling good?

If you slow down to dance, giggle, or just soak in the sunset, you’re somehow being “unproductive”?

You're not alone.

In the last few weeks, I’ve spoken to so many brilliant, big-hearted women—just like you—who’ve quietly admitted they’re exhausted from holding it all together. They long for joy, but their nervous systems feel wired for tension, bracing for the next thing to go wrong.

It’s like your body forgets what it means to feel safe and free.

But here’s what I want you to know:

Joy is not a luxury. Joy is medicine.

And science is finally catching up to what the soul has always known.

Let’s dive in.

Joy isn’t just a feeling, it’s a nervous system state

You might be surprised to know that joy isn’t just about being happy. It’s about being safe enough to let yourself feel. Safe enough to open. Safe enough to expand.

Neuroscience shows that when you’re in a joyful state—whether from laughter, dance, music, art, or awe—your brain actually shifts gears. In a 2024 study of musicians improvising in deep creative flow, researchers found that self-critical areas of the brain go quiet while sensory and emotional networks light up. Basically: joy moves you from overthinking to full-body presence.

And you don’t have to be on stage to feel this. Another study earlier this year tracked office workers wearing EEG sensors and found that they were more focused and fulfilled when doing natural, playful tasks than when following rigid routines. Little moments of flow—like painting, journaling, walking barefoot—activate your most creative, calm, and capable self.

Joy builds resilience

(and rewires your stress response)

Joy doesn’t make you soft. It makes you strong.

In positive psychology, this is known as the “broaden-and-build” effect. When you feel good, your brain literally broadens its perspective—you see more possibilities, think more clearly, and bounce back faster. Over time, those small moments of joy “build” inner resources like confidence, calm, and connection.

This isn’t just mindset work, it’s measurable in your biology.

A 2023 review found that just one session of spontaneous laughter lowered stress hormone levels by up to 32%. And a newer study in 2025 showed that laughter therapy even reduced anxiety, pain, and fatigue in cancer patients. This is how powerful joy is. It’s a nervous system reset.

And don’t get me started on the vagus nerve—the part of your body that controls your relaxation response. Slow, joyful breathing, humming, singing, and even sighing gently all stimulate the vagus nerve and signal to your brain: It’s safe to feel good. It’s safe to be here.

But here’s the thing: For many of us, joy feels… unsafe

That’s because so many of us grew up linking worth to achievement.

You were praised when you were helpful, successful, kind—but rarely just for being happy. So your brain might have learned to downplay joy or even associate it with guilt. (Who am I to rest? Who am I to feel this good when there’s so much to do?)

But here’s the truth: Joy is not something you earn. It’s something you practice.

Just like a muscle or a language, joy becomes more natural the more you allow it.

5 Rituals to Expand Into Joy

Here are five micro-rituals, backed by research and loved by clients inside Align & Thrive.

Start small. Stack one of these into your day and notice how your energy shifts.

✨ 60-Second Joy Breath
Inhale for 4, exhale with a smile and a sigh for 6. Do 3 rounds.
💡Why it works: Signals safety to your nervous system and helps shift into parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) mode.

✨ Play Burst
Put on one feel-good song and dance, color, or freestyle journal.
💡Why it works: Mimics the “flow” state shown in EEG research to boost creativity and release tension.

✨ Joy Savoring
Choose one moment (coffee, sunshine, laughter) and feel it with all five senses.
💡Why it works: Broadens attention and deepens presence—anchors the moment in memory and in the body.

✨ Joy Journal
Before bed, write down 3 things that felt good and where in your body you felt them.
💡Why it works: Strengthens the joy pathway by coupling reflection with body awareness.

✨ Creative Micro-Flow
Give yourself 15–20 minutes to do something absorbing—gardening, painting, dancing, cooking.
💡Why it works: These states quiet overthinking and help retrain your brain for ease.

Joy isn’t the reward. It’s the way.

You don’t need to wait until you’ve checked everything off your to-do list. You don’t need to feel guilty for smiling when others are struggling. You don’t need to “earn” lightness.

Joy is your birthright. And you are allowed to feel good.
Even now.
Especially now.

🌞 Listen to this week’s podcast “The Science & Soul of Joy” for more practical tools (and a little guided joy breath practice).

Studies

Ferstl, M., Teckentrup, V., Lin, W. M., Kräutlein, F., Kühnel, A., Klaus, J., … Kroemer, N. B. (2022). Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation boosts mood recovery after effort exertion. Psychological Medicine, 52(14), 3029–3039. doi:10.1017/S0033291720005073

Kramer, C. K., & Leitao, C. B. (2023). Laughter as medicine: A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventional studies evaluating the impact of spontaneous laughter on cortisol levels. PLoS ONE, 18(5), e0286260. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286260

Qu, L., Cao, Y., Wang, M., Song, D., & Huang, G. (2025). Effects of laughter therapy on improving physical and psychological symptoms among cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Supportive Care in Cancer, 33(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-025-09276-1

Rosen, D., Oh, Y., Chesebrough, C., Zhang, F., & Kounios, J. (2024). Creative flow as optimized processing: Evidence from brain oscillations during jazz improvisations by expert and non-expert musicians. Neuropsychologia, 196, 108824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108824