Tips to cultivate your joyspan

We may think of joy as a bolt of lightning we’d love to bottle. But if you’ve ever wished good moments would linger, the path forward is becoming clearer.

Science is illuminating how the brain holds on to positive experiences — and how simple daily practices can help us extend our “joyspan,” the satisfaction and well-being we experience as we move through life. Coined by gerontologist Kerry Burnright, who wrote the 2025 bestselling book Joyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life’s Second Half, the term might be considered the emotional counterpart to “lifespan” or “healthspan” — the latter being the length of time someone stays healthy, not just alive.

Joy has joined other seemingly elusive topics such as kindness, gratitude, and forgiveness as research themes since the “positive psychology” movement prompted a shift in the late 1990s from focusing solely on mental health problems to studying the factors that enhance well-being.

Joy isn’t necessarily the absence of sadness or angst. It’s more akin to a form of emotional fitness that can be fostered over time, says Ronald Siegel, an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School.

“You can’t reliably cultivate joy by chasing after pleasure all the time,” he says. “Well-being is tied much more to wisdom and compassion and being able to ride the roller coaster of life. If we’re able to do that, our moments of joy are much richer.”

Nurturing joyspan

Much research — including the long-running Harvard Study of Adult Development — has shown that joy is associated with health benefits such as better immune function, resilience, and longevity.

Siegel believes these health effects stem from joy’s ability to lower stress levels. “The combination of being less stressed and not doing unhealthy things to self-medicate improves our lifespan and psychological well-being,” he says.

In her book, Burnright focused on four “non-negotiable” actions she identified through research that can foster joyspan, all of which resonate with Siegel. Here’s what we have to do:

Grow. In the emotional sense, growth means reaching for more, whether that means knowledge, exploration, or connection — all of which can help our brains stay sharp and foster our mental health, Siegel says. “It’s about knowing what you don’t know, and constantly being curious and learning,” he says.

Adapt. Embracing change is often more challenging when it’s unwanted, such as the death of a loved one. But adapting means approaching these types of adverse circumstances as a normal part of life.

Give. This directive doesn’t mean you have to make huge gestures. Even small actions to give something to others — be it time, attention, or perspective — end up benefiting your joyspan. “There’s a lot of research on giving that shows the more generous you are, the happier you are,” Siegel says. “Sending a check to a good cause is great, but actually helping out someone you know is even more closely tied to well-being.”

Connect. Mounting research suggests social connections are vital for our physical and mental health, while loneliness can lead to an earlier death. So it’s logical that connecting with others also extends our joyspan, Siegel says. “The jury’s in: we know what’s most important for physical and mental health, and it’s the quality of our relationships,” he says.

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