--- title: "Scientists Discover Secret Trick to Feel “Energized and Alive”" description: "The results are in — keeping good news a secret is literally good for you, scientists have found. As the American Psychological Association reports, new research suggests that despite the popular conception that secret-keeping is bad for one's psychiatric health, good secrets can help one feel \"more energized and alive.\" \"Decades of research on secrecy […]" date: "2023-11-15" modified: "2023-11-15" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-secrets-energized-alive" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "emotions" - "Psychology" - "secrets" - "social behavior" --- # Scientists Discover Secret Trick to Feel “Energized and Alive” ![The results are in: keeping good news a secret for a while may literally be good for you, scientists have found. ]() *Smiling young woman walking outdoors and checking messages on her mobile phone. Caucasian female with a bag looking at her smart phone while walking on the street, \Image: Luis Alvarez/Getty Images\* The results are in: keeping good news a secret may literally be good for you, scientists have found. As the [American Psychological Association writes](), new research suggests that despite the popular conception that secret-keeping is bad for one's psychiatric health, drawing out the period when you keep good news private appears to help feel "more energized and alive." "Decades of research on secrecy suggest it is bad for our well-being, but this work has only examined keeping secrets that have negative implications for our lives," Dr. Michael Slepian, the study's lead author and an associate professor of business at Columbia said in the APA press release. "Is secrecy inherently bad for our well-being or do the negative effects of secrecy tend to stem from keeping negative secrets?" The researchers behind the new paper, which was published in the [APA's *Journal of Personality and Social Psychology*](), have not yet completed their study and analysis of the net benefits of secret-keeping — but what they have found thus far sounds pretty compelling. One group of participants in the survey were asked to conduct a fairly simple thought experiment: imagine finding out some good news, such as a desired pregnancy or job promotion, and then imagine not being able to immediately tell your partner about the news and instead having to keep it a secret until you're both back at home at the end of the workday — either to surprise them, or because they were unable to reach the partner for whatever reason. While most participants who kept their good news secret for a period of time reported feelings of being energized and "enlivened," those who chose to keep a secret intentionally as a surprise reported feeling the most excited by the prospect. "People sometimes go to great lengths to orchestrate revealing a positive secret to make it all the more exciting. This kind of surprise can be intensely enjoyable, but surprise is the most fleeting of our emotions," Slepian said. "Having extra time — days, weeks or even longer — to imagine the joyful surprise on another person’s face allows us more time with this exciting moment, even if only in our own minds." Interestingly, the researchers also have a hypothesis about why positive secret-keeping feels so much better than the negative kind, too. "People will often keep positive secrets for their own enjoyment, or to make a surprise more exciting. Rather than based in external pressures, positive secrets are more often chosen due to personal desires and internal motives," the Columbia Business School researcher continued. "When we feel that our actions arise from our own desires rather than external pressures, we also feel ready to take on whatever lies ahead." Next time you get some good news, try keeping it to yourself for a few hours or days to see how good it feels. According to this research, it may just surprise you. **More on positive emotions:** [*Scientists Gave a Nazi MDMA and He Renounced Racism*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()