There was a great story on Radiolab about Summer Ash, whose heartbeat became really loud and powerful after her heart surgery.

So loud that it could be heard by a microphone a few feet away. So powerful that if she rests her chest on a table, a glass of water will ripple like the scene from Jurassic Park.

Learn about your body's physiological stress response, and how to activate the part of your nervous system that is relaxing and revitalizing.

“I tried meditation, but it doesn’t work for me.. I just have too much of a monkey mind!”

After being awoken by my four-year-old son in the middle of the night, I’m now tossing and turning, trying to get back to sleep. My mind is playing through the different things I have to do in the day to come.

“Should I just get up and do some of this stuff,” I think to myself. “But it’s way before I have to get up — I’ll be tired all day!”

I get lots of things done each day. Why am I worrying about it now?

Sleep is one of the great pleasures of life. What a relief it is to fall asleep and leave all of your troubles behind! But so many people struggle to sleep, dealing with racing thoughts and anxiety.

There are lots of drugs you could take to put you to sleep, but they have hidden costs. Being drowsy and groggy the next day is certainly the best-known cost of sleep-inducing drugs. But there is another, more insidious, cost: sleep drugs reduce your ability to dream.

I grew up reading comic books, full of stories about people with incredible powers, people who became heroes by using their powers for the good of others.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

Would you choose invisibility, flying, super-strength, being impervious to injury, heat vision, x-ray vision, or some other power? There are a lot of choices out there.

But how much would these powers really improve your life?