Healthy Pleasures [Paperback]

Robert E. Ornstein (Author), M.D. David Sobel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 020152385X | ISBN-13: 978-0201523850 | Publication Date: January 22, 1990

Imagine a medical treatment that can decrease heart disease, boost immune function, relieve depression, and block pain—whose only side effect is that it makes you feel good. It’s safe, inexpensive, and readily available, No, it’s not a miracle drug; rather, these benefits come from the experience of pleasure itself. And this pleasure prescription is filled in the internal pharmacy of the brain.Psychologist Robert Ornstein and physician David Sobel deliver the latest scientific evidence that pleasures—from saunas to siestas, chocolate to charity—and positive attitudes—from happiness to optimism—are not only enjoyable but also good for you.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Ornstein, Ph.D., is a psychologist, brain researcher, and writer. He co-wrote The Psychology of Consciousness, which has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide, and more recently, The Healing Brain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (January 22, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 020152385X
• ISBN-13: 978-0201523850
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important message., January 10, 2000

By 

Adam Khan (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healthy Pleasures (Paperback)

Ornstein and Sobel write an entirely readable book about an important topic. Everyone knows that we need to exercise and eat right to be healthy. But not everyone knows that many of the things we ENJOY are healthy. And enjoyment ITSELF is healthy!

The authors go into great detail about the different ways you can enhance your health and enjoyment and they cite research to back up what they're saying. Indulge yourself in pleasure: Music, good scents, good flavors, optimism, naps, fun, pets, good friends, etc. These are some of the healthiest things you can do.

If you are interested in maintaining or improving your health AND interested in having a good time along the way, this is the book for you. I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I'm an expert on what is effective and what is not. The ideas and research behind this book are important and valuable and very much worth reading.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly healing book, January 4, 2004

By 

David Spero "David Spero RN" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healthy Pleasures (Paperback)

This might be my favorite mind/body book. Through scientific research, it proves that pleasure is good for you, purpose, meaning, fun and laughter are good for you. In other words, the better your life, the better your health is likely to be. And the harder your life, the more health problems you are likely to have.

This is a profoundly healing message. It tells us not to be hard on ourselves, or on others. Not to blame ourselves or set up hundreds of hoops to jump through. That's not the way to be healthy or happy. Make your life easier and better, and good health is likely (though not guaranteed) to follow.

I have used this approach in my life with multiple sclerosis, my health coaching practice and my wellness workshops for years now with wonderful results. My book, The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness, puts Sobel and Ornstein's research into practice. I remain a big fan of Healthy Pleasures

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Healthy Pleasures, August 20, 2002

By 

Joe Zika "Khemprof" (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Healthy Pleasures (Paperback)

Healthy Pleasures written by Robert Ornstein and David Sobel is a book about the medical benefits of pleasure, that is longer, healthier life.

The book is divided up into three parts and each of those has chapters relative to the topic. Healthy Pleasures proposes a new approach to the way women and men manage their health. This book is a readers guide through the maze of myths and misconceptions that stand in the way of health.

In the book the reader will find scores of practical suggestions, based on recent scientific discoveries, on how to live in a way that enriches, rather than just maintains, health: ways to mobilize positive beliefs, expectations, and emotions... from cognitive therapy, relaxation training, and successful behavior modification practices.

Because people are naturally drawn by the pleasure principle to many of the things which promote health, this makes the book easy to follow. The emphasis of this book is the importance of pleasing rather than punishing ourselves... food, drink, rest, work, sunrises and sunsets, too... in a refreshing affectionate light found in the brain's pleasure centers.