© Shutterstock

Nostalgia -

There are two factors necessary to make a memory nostalgic. One is "chronological remoteness,” which means it’s something that happened a long time ago. The other is “emotional and personal significance."

© Getty Images 

1. Nostalgia activates the reward system in your brain -

Something very unique happens in our brains when we experience nostalgia. Neurons that are related to emotional processing jump into action. Nostalgia is the only feeling that connects memory and emotion in the brain.

© Shutterstock

1. Nostalgia activates the reward system in your brain -

A team of researchers conducted MRI scans on the brains of people who were feeling nostalgic and noticed that the reward system was active at the same time. This means that nostalgia triggers the part of the brain that gives us ‘rewards’ and makes us feel good!

© iStock

2. It can make you more resilient and optimistic -

Several studies have found that we tend to have a more positive outlook when we’re feeling nostalgic. It gives us such a strong boost of pleasant emotions that it can reduce anxiety and make us more optimistic about the future.

© Shutterstock

2. It can make you more resilient and optimistic -

One study surveyed a group of people about their feelings of loneliness. They found that invoking nostalgia caused the participants to perceive themselves as less lonely.

© Shutterstock

2. It can make you more resilient and optimistic -

Those who rated as the most resilient, meaning they had the ability to recover from trauma and difficult situations, tended to use nostalgia as a coping mechanism. Thinking back to happy times and people they appreciated helped them feel more positive and less lonely.

© iStock

3. It makes you feel warmer - In addition to feeling pleasantly optimistic, nostalgia can actually make you feel warmer! This was proven in a study that reviewed the participants' perception of their environment while they were in a cold room.

© Shutterstock

3. It makes you feel warmer -

When the participants recalled pleasant memories and became nostalgic, they described their surroundings as warmer and more comfortable than before. So heartwarming memories really are just that!

© Shutterstock

3. It makes you feel warmer - People tend to feel more nostalgic during the colder months, which is very useful! Human beings appear to lean towards nostalgia in winter for both psychological and physical comfort.

© iStock

4. It can affect your decision-making -

You’ve probably noticed that nostalgia is a very popular marketing tactic. For instance, Spotify enlisted the luckdragon Falkor from ‘The NeverEnding Story’ for an ‘80s-themed campaign, and Adobe paid homage to Bob Ross in a series of videos for their Photoshop software.

© BrunoPress

4. It can affect your decision-making - A study in the Journal of Consumer Research in 2014 confirmed that we’re more inclined to spend big if we’re feeling nostalgic! This suggests that we’re likely to be less rational with our money if we’re in a store that reminds us of childhood holidays.

© Shutterstock

5. It's related to your capacity for sadness - Nostalgia can cause us to feel some sadness as well as happiness at times. Wistfulness can hurt when we’re thinking about something we truly can’t experience again, like spending time with a lost loved one.

© iStock

5. It's related to your capacity for sadness - The sadness linked to nostalgia is not usually chronic and this emotion isn’t connected to depression or any other psychological disorders. Though research suggests that those who have a tendency towards sadness tend to be more nostalgic.

© Shutterstock

5. It's related to your capacity for sadness - The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale analyzes our tendencies towards play, caring, curiosity, sadness, fear, and anger. Those who score high in sadness are, as mentioned, more likely to experience strong nostalgia.

© iStock

6. It can block negative emotion - Indeed, nostalgia can be an effective coping mechanism to reduce anxiety and increase optimism. However, there’s also a dark side to this. A study performed in the US showed that those who experienced strong nostalgia about their country’s history tended to feel less guilt or shame about its past wrongdoings.

© BrunoPress

6. It can block negative emotions -

They were able to link nostalgia with a tendency to glorify the past, which in some cases also caused people to downplay problematic events. One example given was the participants' ability to alleviate feelings of guilt about Japanese internment camps used during WWII by glorifying the US as a highly moral and superior country.

© Getty Images 

6. It can block negative emotions - When confronted with facts about past misdeeds, the group of participants spontaneously evoked nostalgia. It seemed to the researchers to be a sort of defence mechanism against negative emotions like guilt or shame.

© Shutterstock

7. It can shift your habits - A 2017 study found that nostalgia can actually shift your brain’s addiction patterns, which helps to quit smoking! Two groups of smokers were shown public service announcements about smoking. One of the videos was non-nostalgic.

© Shutterstock

7. It can shift your habits -

The second group were shown a nostalgic video harking back to the better days before they started smoking. The second group displayed a negative attitude toward smoking afterwards and a greater intent to limit their smoking.

© Getty Images 

7. It can shift your habits -

Although invoking nostalgia has been proven to be an effective marketing tool, not much is known about its potential to encourage healthy behaviors. This study is an exciting step in what might be an advantageous direction.

© Shutterstock

8. It reduces physical pain -

This magical, intangible experience called nostalgia can also reduce physical pain! It’s bizarre, but recalling happy memories from the past can improve our ability to cope with pain.

© Shuterstock

8. It reduces physical pain -

A study examined the experiences of chronic pain sufferers and found they had a higher tolerance for pain and perceived a reduction in the intensity of their pain while writing about happy memories.

© Shutterstock

8. It reduces physical pain -

The results of this study combined with the other findings shared earlier suggest that nostalgia has the potential to be a highly effective tool in coping with both mental and physical pain.

© Shutterstock

9. It helps you feel connected with your past - This one sounds obvious, but nostalgia helps us experience something called self-continuity. Self-continuity is a sense of connection with your past, present, and future self. Rather than looking at a picture of yourself as a teenager and thinking “oh my god who is that?,” you remember what it felt like to be you at that time.

© Shutterstock

9. It helps you feel connected with your past - This definitely sounds like a positive thing. But just in case you needed proof, a study showed that the more self-continuity you feel from nostalgic memories, the happier you are.

© Shutterstock

9. It helps you feel connected with your past -

Nostalgia helps us remember our roots, and nostalgic people tend to reflect more on their lives.

© Shutterstock

10. Nostalgia fosters creativity - Nostalgia tends to make us feel more open to experiencing new things, and openness is one of the key characteristics of a creative person. A study got two groups to perform a five-minute writing exercise about an event. One group was told just to write about an ordinary memory, while the other group was asked to recall a nostalgic memory and write about that.

© Shutterstock

10. Nostalgia fosters creativity - The nostalgic group displayed much greater creativity in their writing than the other group. Nostalgia may give people a sense of warmth and belonging that makes it easier to open up and take risks or pursue new ideas.

© iStock

10. Nostalgia fosters creativity -

Maybe it’s time to get out your journal or call a friend and dive into a “when I was a kid” story. It’s good for your brain!

Sources: (Bustle) (Neurology Live) (Big Think) (Eureka Alert)

See also: The life-changing ways exercise alters your brain

© Shutterstock