For most of my life, I assumed summer felt special because of the weather.
Longer days and warmer nights.
But the more I study the brain, the more I believe something deeper is happening.
Summer feels different because, for a few months each year, we accidentally reconnect with some of the conditions our brains evolved within:
We spend more time outside. We move more. We explore more. We experience more awe. We connect with other people. We pay attention.
And when that happens, millions of us describe the experience in almost exactly the same way:
"I feel more alive."
In this episode of Next Door Neuro, I explore how summer may feel so meaningful because it gives our brains more of what they've been missing.
I discuss:
• How experiences of awe can change the way we think • Why novelty and exploration are so powerful for the brain • The connection between attention and memory • How to carry a little bit of summer with you long after the season ends
Because the things that make us feel fully alive don't belong to summer. They belong to us.
Episode 30