drdavidhamilton.com

# David R Hamilton PHD

> Author website of Dr David R Hamilton, containing blogs featuring science-backed content, as well as links to his books, online courses, and upcoming speaking events.

- Website: https://drdavidhamilton.com/

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## Pages

- [Home](https://drdavidhamilton.com/): Writer & bestselling author of 11 books, columnist, public and corporate speaker, and kindness scientist.
- [About](https://drdavidhamilton.com/about/): I'm David I'm a writer, columnist, speaker. Better You, Backed by Science. more about me
- [Better You, Backed by Science](https://drdavidhamilton.com/better-you-weekly/): Sign up below to receive my weekly 'Better You, Backed by Science' email. Read the latest one below. It's a weekly tip, grounded in science, to help you think better,...
- [Better You, Backed by Science - Archives](https://drdavidhamilton.com/better-you-archives/): Here are all my Better You, Backed by Science weekly emails. Subscribe to Better You, Backed by Science here.
- [Blog](https://drdavidhamilton.com/blog/)
- [Books](https://drdavidhamilton.com/books/): My latest book Learn the science of what happens when you actually give a f*ck. ★★★★★ "The biggest influence on our well-being is each other. David reminds us that we...
- [Checkout-Result](https://drdavidhamilton.com/stripe-checkout-result/): [accept_stripe_payment_checkout]
- [Contact](https://drdavidhamilton.com/contact/): Contact For media enquiries, podcast invitations, or general enquiries, please email enquiries@drdavidhamilton.com For public and corporate speaking event enquiries, please email info@leighbureau.com Or connect with me on social media. *Please...
- [Copy of Home for test purposes](https://drdavidhamilton.com/home-copy/): Writer & bestselling author of 11 books, columnist, public and corporate speaker, and kindness scientist.
- [Corporate Speaking](https://drdavidhamilton.com/corporate-speaking/): For all speaking enquiries, please email events@drdavidhamilton.com
- [Daily Boost](https://drdavidhamilton.com/daily-boost/): You can sign up to receive the Daily Boost using the form below. The Daily Boost is a short inspirational email that I send most days. You can find a...
- [howtovisualise](https://drdavidhamilton.com/howtovisualise/): How to Visualise Here are a few free visualisations that you can download that are mentioned in my book, 'How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body'. Please note that these...
- [howtovisualize](https://drdavidhamilton.com/howtovisualize/): How to Visualize Here are a few free visualizations that you can download that are mentioned in my book, 'How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body'. Please note that these...
- [kindfulness](https://drdavidhamilton.com/kindfulness/): The 21-Day Kindfulness Experiment
- [Kindfulness welcome](https://drdavidhamilton.com/kindfulness-welcome/): Thanks for joining the 21-Day Kindfulness Experiment Thanks for joining  Please check your email (or your spam in case it's it's landed there). 1) Take the following short survey. This...
- [Lead Magnet](https://drdavidhamilton.com/lead-magnet/): Free Guide Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Quis ipsum suspendisse ultrices gravida. Risus commodo viverra maecenas...
- [Online Courses](https://drdavidhamilton.com/online-courses/): How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body Learn all about the mind-body connection and simple ways that you can harness it for health and wellness. Understand the placebo effect and...
- [Personal Development Club](https://drdavidhamilton.com/personaldevelopmentclub/): Find out about my book, 'Why Woo-Woo Works'.
- [Podcasts](https://drdavidhamilton.com/podcasts/): PODCASTS PODCASTS Here's a sample of some of the podcasts I've been interviewed on, from Rangan Chatterjee's, 'Feel Better Live More', to Simon Mundie's, 'Don't Tell Me The Score', to...
- [press](https://drdavidhamilton.com/press/): Press Here are some articles and other media that feature me.
- [Privacy Policy](https://drdavidhamilton.com/privacy-policy/): Who we are This is the privacy policy for Dr David R Hamilton Ltd Registered office address: Lavender Cottage Ramoyle Dunblane Perthshire UK Email: enquiries@drdavidhamilton.com Who to contact regarding your...
- [Speaking Events](https://drdavidhamilton.com/speaking-events/): If you'd like to enquire about me speaking at an event, please contact events@drdavidhamilton.com See below for my upcoming speaking events.
- [The Joy of Giving a F\*ck book](https://drdavidhamilton.com/newbook/): Pre-order now. Get free bonus gifts. Pre-order Today ★★★★★ "This book should be the thought for the day every single day." Dr Julie Smith, Sunday Times Best-selling author of 'Why...
- [The Science of Self Love course](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-science-of-self-love-course/): The Science of Self Esteem short course
- [Weekly Better You, Backed by Science - Success](https://drdavidhamilton.com/better-you-signup-success/): Thanks for signing up! I'll add you to the list. I hope you enjoy the emails and get a lot from them.   What to expect: You'll receive my weekly...
- [Woo Woo replay](https://drdavidhamilton.com/woowooreplay/): Thanks for purchasing the book. I hope you enjoy it.
- [WooWoo](https://drdavidhamilton.com/woowoo/): ORDER Dr. David Hamilton is one of the leading experts in the field of the mind-body connection. Dr Joe Dispenza Author of You Are the Placebo and Becoming Supernatural David...

## Topics

- [Achieve](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/achieve/)
- [Ageing](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/ageing/)
- [attitude](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/attitude/)
- [Better You, Backed by Science](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/better-you-backed-by-science/)
- [Breathwork](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/breathwork/)
- [Compassion](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/compassion/)
- [Confidence](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/confidence/)
- [Connection](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/connection/)
- [Consciousness](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/consciousness-2/)
- [Daisy](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/daisy/)
- [Destiny vs Free Will](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/destiny-vs-free-will/)
- [diet & nutrition](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/diet-nutrition/)
- [Dogs](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/dogs/)
- [Emotional Contagion](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/emotional-contagion/)
- [empathy](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/empathy/)
- [ethics](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/ethics/)
- [Family](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/family/)
- [Genetics](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/genetics/)
- [Gratitude](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/gratitude/)
- [healing](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/healing/)
- [Health](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/health/)
- [Heroism](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/heroism/)
- [Intuition](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/intuition/)
- [Kindness](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/kindness-2/)
- [Kindness series](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/kindness-series/)
- [Leadership](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/leadership/)
- [Life](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/life/)
- [love](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/love/)
- [meditation](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/meditation/)
- [mental health](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/mental-health/)
- [Mind-Body](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/mind-body/)
- [Mirror Neurons](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/mirror-neurons-2/)
- [nature](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/nature/)
- [Oscar](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/oscar/)
- [Oxytocin](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/oxytocin/)
- [placebo](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/placebo/)
- [reiki](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/reiki/)
- [Relationships](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/relationships/)
- [Ripple Effect](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/ripple-effect/)
- [self-love](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/self-love/)
- [Synchronicity](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/synchronicity/)
- [Visualization](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/visualization-2/)
- [Vulnerability](https://drdavidhamilton.com/category/vulnerability/)

## Optional

- [Try Doing One Thing 25% More Slowly](https://drdavidhamilton.com/try-doing-one-thing-25-more-slowly/): The opposite of rushing isn’t wasting time. It’s experiencing it. The faster we move through an experience, the less opportunity our brains have to notice it fully.
- [The Happiness that Happens Before it Happens](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-happiness-that-happens-before-it-happens/): Studies show that anticipation of an event often boosts our happiness more than the event itself. In fact, happiness is usually felt 3 times - before, during, and after.
- [Why Your Brain Needs Space](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-your-brain-needs-space/): Rest isn't something we just take as a luxury. Science shows that it's part of productivity. Rest allows the brain to process and consolidate what it's been learning.
- [Nature’s Ultimate Health Tonic](https://drdavidhamilton.com/natures-ultimate-health-tonic/): Research shows that kindness to others impacts a genetic program that results in reduced inflammation and a bolstering of natural antiviral activity. Kindness signals safety in the brain.
- [Kindness: The Superfood Nobody Puts in a Smoothie](https://drdavidhamilton.com/kindness-the-superfood-nobody-puts-in-a-smoothie/): Studies show that kindness is like a superfood for your mental wellbeing. It boosts happiness, protects against depression, and can even alleviate anxiety.
- [Your brain needs more beauty](https://drdavidhamilton.com/your-brain-needs-more-beauty/): The science of neuroaesthetics shows that beauty reduces stress, boosts positive emotions, calms the nervous system, and expands perception. Beauty has these effects because it signals safety in the brain.
- [Mindfulness Isn't Enough: Here's Why We Need Kindfulness](https://drdavidhamilton.com/mindfulness-isnt-enough-heres-why-we-need-kindfulness/): Studies suggest that awareness without warmth doesn't reliably produce kindness. Sometimes it produces something closer to well-regulated indifference. Perhaps mindfulness needs to evolve into kindfulness.
- [What your brain stops letting you see](https://drdavidhamilton.com/what-your-brain-stops-letting-you-see-the-power-of-habituation/): Ever wonder why you stop noticing the smell of your own home? Discover habituation - the fascinating process behind what your brain stops letting you see.
- [Watch, Learn, Repeat: The Science of Action Observation](https://drdavidhamilton.com/watch-learn-repeat-the-science-of-action-observation/): Unlock the ultimate shortcut to muscle memory. Learn how the science of action observation turns visual practice into real-world physical improvement.
- [Why Tiny Moments Become Life's Biggest Memories](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-tiny-moments-become-lifes-biggest-memories/): We don't remember our lives. We remember the moments that captured our attention and carried emotional meaning. Emotion acts like the highlighter pen of life.
- [The Closest Thing to Time Travel](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-closest-thing-to-time-travel/): When you hear a song associated with a specific period of your life, your brain can partially recreate the emotional state that accompanied it as well as where you were,...
- [Name it to Savour It](https://drdavidhamilton.com/name-it-to-savour-it/): While naming negative emotions weakens their intensity (affect labelling), studies show that naming positive emotions increased their intensity.
- [Name It to Tame It](https://drdavidhamilton.com/name-it-to-tame-it/): That process of identifying and naming a specific emotion appears to change how the brain responds to it. It's known as 'affect labelling' and it reduces activity in the brain's...
- [Why Expectations Change Experience... and How to Change Yours](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-expectations-change-experience-and-how-to-change-yours/): Expectation shapes perception across many domains - from taste and pain to performance and wellbeing. Here's the science and some ways to work with your own expectation.
- [Why Your Brain Loves Stories](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-your-brain-loves-stories/): Rather than engaging just one system (which happens when you hear a fact), stories recruit several at once. They can trigger emotion, create mental images, activate memory, generate curiosity, and...
- [One year. Fifty-two emails. One important lesson.](https://drdavidhamilton.com/one-year-fifty-two-emails-one-important-lesson/): Your body doesn't stay neutral when you're kind. Research has shown that kindness impacts circulating immune cells in ways that reduce inflammation and bolster natural antiviral activity.
- [Why Unfinished Tasks Drain Your Energy](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-unfinished-tasks-drain-your-energy/): The Zeigarnik Effect is how unfinished tasks tend to stick around and take up space in our minds. Knowing this, we can free up mental space by making notes and...
- [Why Explaining Things Makes You Understand them Better](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-explaining-things-makes-you-understand-them-better/): Studies show that explaining something to others deepens our knowledge and understanding. It's known as the Protégé Effect.
- [Change What You Do by Changing Who You Are](https://drdavidhamilton.com/change-what-you-do-by-changing-who-you-are/): Science is beginning to show that lasting change is less about what you do and more about who you believe you are.
- [Why Writing Helps You Learn Faster](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-writing-helps-you-learn-faster/): Science shows us that when you're writing by hand, you’re not just copying – you’re processing. And that speeds up learning and understanding.
- [What your feed is feeding you](https://drdavidhamilton.com/what-your-feed-is-feeding-you/): Does whether a person consumes positive or negative content affect whether they will help someone in need? That question was explored in a fascinating experiment.
- [Cooking Once a Week Could Protect Your Brain](https://drdavidhamilton.com/cooking-once-a-week-could-protect-your-brain/): Wellness advice often focuses on what we put on our plates – the ingredients – but new research suggests we’ve been overlooking the role of how those ingredients came to land on our plates...
- [The Emotion that Silences Overthinking](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-emotion-that-silences-overthinking/): Research suggests that experiences of awe – moments when we encounter something vast or beautiful – can calm the brain systems associated with rumination and self-focused thinking.
- [Turn Anxiety into Curiosity](https://drdavidhamilton.com/turn-anxiety-into-curiosity/): Curiosity reframes the unknown as an opportunity instead of a threat - both neurologically and psychologically.
- [Why Your Brain Needs Silence](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-your-brain-needs-silence/): Just as muscles need rest time after a workout - to recover and strengthen - the brain needs rest after mental stimulus. And one of the ways to rest it...
- [A Surprising Way Daily Moisturiser May Slow Brain Ageing](https://drdavidhamilton.com/a-surprising-way-daily-moisturiser-may-slow-brain-ageing/): Research suggests that daily moisturising may help slow cognitive decline as we age. Ageing skin releases inflammatory substances into the body, which can accelerate ageing, but moisturising can slow this...
- [4 Surprising Science-Backed Ways to Slow Ageing](https://drdavidhamilton.com/4-surprising-science-backed-ways-to-slow-ageing/): These are surprising in the sense that they're not the usual things we tend to associate with slowing ageing, like eating well and getting exercise.
- [How Kindness is Contagious](https://drdavidhamilton.com/how-kindness-is-contagious-2/): Research shows that kindness is contagious. It spreads through social networks, creating ripple effects that can travel outwards to three degrees of separation.
- [Why Harder Can Feel Better](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-harder-can-feel-better/): Have you ever noticed that the things you work hardest for often mean the most Psychologists call this the IKEA Effect. It’s the tendency to value things more when we’ve put...
- [The Science of Positive Empathy](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-science-of-positive-empathy/): A happiness shared is a happiness doubled. That's what the science of positive empathy tells us.
- [An unexpected way to slow ageing](https://drdavidhamilton.com/an-unexpected-way-to-slow-ageing/): Research shows that compassion-kindness based meditation can slow the rate of telomere attrition (a reliable indicator of ageing).
- [The Surprising Science of Exercise \(and why it's good news\)](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-surprising-science-of-exercise-and-why-its-good-news/): Researchers at the University of Sydney found that just three bursts of intense activity a day, each lasting about one minute, reduced the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by almost 50%.
- [Solve Your Problems Like a Stranger](https://drdavidhamilton.com/solve-your-problems-like-a-stranger/): Science shows there’s a small mental shift you can make that often helps problems feel clearer, lighter, and easier to work with. It’s called creating psychological distance.
- [The Heart-Breath Connection: A Simple Way to Calm Your Nervous System](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-heart-breath-connection-a-simple-way-to-calm-your-nervous-system/): Heart Rhythm Meditation is a simple science-backed way to calm your nervous system, support your heart, and lift your emotional well-being.
- [How to harness the power of the placebo](https://drdavidhamilton.com/how-to-harness-the-power-of-the-placebo/): The placebo effect was once dismissed as the ‘natural course of the condition’. It meant that if a person’s condition improved when they took a placebo, it was just coincidence....
- [Why Aromatherapy Works: The science of smell](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-aromatherapy-works-the-science-of-smell/): There's a well-identified link between smell sensitivity, memory, and cognition. Studies show that smell training impacts the brain and improves memory and cognition.
- [Stress can help you grow – if you give your brain and body time to recover](https://drdavidhamilton.com/stress-can-help-you-grow-if-you-give-your-brain-and-body-time-to-recover/): You don't get fitter during a workout. You get fitter afterwards, while you rest. As with exercise, same with life.
- [The Science of Self-Affirmations \(And Why They Actually Work\)](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-science-of-self-affirmations-and-why-they-actually-work/): The key difference with self-affirmations is that we focus on something we believe to be positive already about ourselves. The focus on it causes it to expand, and with it...
- [Reiki vs Placebo Reiki: How Reiki Can Reduce Pain](https://drdavidhamilton.com/reiki-vs-placebo-reiki-how-reiki-can-reduce-pain/): As a scientist, it might surprise you to learn that I trained in Reiki more than 25 years ago.
- [The Helper's High: How Helping Others Heals Your Heart and Immune System](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-helpers-high-how-helping-others-heals-your-heart-and-immune-system/): We’re genetically wired to care. When we show kindness or compassion, the body doesn’t stay neutral. We receive a genuine biological boost — mentally and physically.
- [The Science of Breathing: How Your Breath Controls Your Nervous System](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-science-of-breathing-how-your-breath-controls-your-nervous-system/): We all breathe, but what matters is HOW you breathe. These techniques can tone the vagus nerve and even increase oxygen in the brain.
- [It's Not Just Imagination: The Physical Impact of Your Thoughts](https://drdavidhamilton.com/its-not-just-imagination-the-physical-impact-of-your-thoughts/): I never cease to be amazed at what the mind can do.
- [Connection in Micro-Moments: How tiny interactions quietly upgrade your nervous system](https://drdavidhamilton.com/connection-in-micro-moments-how-tiny-interactions-quietly-upgrade-your-nervous-system/): Science now shows that even tiny moments of connection (human and / or animal) can measurably impact your nervous system, your chemistry, and your sense of wellbeing.
- [How to Improve Your Focus and Concentration](https://drdavidhamilton.com/how-to-improve-your-focus-and-concentration/): Not so long ago, meditation was dismissed as “woo-woo,” but now we know it offers powerful, science-backed health benefits — from supporting mental health and lowering blood pressure, to boosting...
- [The Science of Being Thankful](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-science-of-being-thankful/): One theory goes that we’re wired for connection - and gratitude connects us. And since connection boosts brain health, heart health, and overall physical health and longevity, gratitude is a...
- [A surprising way to lift your mood and boost your energy](https://drdavidhamilton.com/a-surprising-way-to-lift-your-mood-and-boost-your-energy/): If I was to think of some techniques that deliver the most gains from the least amount of effort, the power of using your body to shape your state would...
- [A Surprising Way to Optimise Your Immune System](https://drdavidhamilton.com/a-surprising-way-to-optimise-your-immune-system/): The study showed that being kind to others changed the genetic activity of circulating immune cells (white blood cells), reducing inflammation and increasing antiviral defences.
- [Live your best possible self](https://drdavidhamilton.com/live-your-best-possible-self/): Imagine a time in the future – say, a year from now – where things have gone really well, as well as they possibly could.
- [The Stress-Reducing Power of Social Buffering](https://drdavidhamilton.com/the-stress-reducing-power-of-social-buffering/): What really carries us through disruption and challenging times isn’t bandwidth or servers; it’s patience, compassion, kindness, and shared humanity. It’s each other.
- [Why laughter really is the best medicine](https://drdavidhamilton.com/why-laughter-really-is-the-best-medicine/): There's more to laughter than a good feeling. Studies now show it impacts the heart and immune system, it produces endorphins and reduces inflammation, and it's like gym time for...