Nothing is quite as energizing as making face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact with a friend (not the virtual kind where you e-mail or text). Good friends help to keep us sane. They serve as sounding boards when we need to talk—and give us the opportunity to give back in the same way. If you need a mood boost, call or go see a good friend. Nothing will make you happier.

They might not seem like much—but studies show that small physical gestures, such as high fives and fist bumps, pats on the hand and all sorts of little touches, result in surprisingly positive behavior changes. University of California-Berkeley researchers found that National Basketball Association teams whose players had lots of positive physical contact with one another played better than teams that did not. High fives do more than feel good—they encourage cooperation, ease stress, and create a warm and trusting collegial environment. So, go ahead, hug your family members often, give your children all the affectionate physical contact you can, and don’t hesitate to connect with nonfamily members by touching their hands or patting their backs. It’s powerful medicine.

This is one of the rules in Harriet Lerner’s new book, Marriage Rules (Gotham), but we think it applies to difficult conversations of all kinds. Dr. Lerner says that people tend to talk too much when they are trying to make a point and want to feel understood. Instead, she suggests making a point in just three sentences. You might find that people listen better when you say less.

People who interact honestly and truthfully with others have more satisfying intimate relationships than those who do not act consistently with their beliefs, say Ohio State University, Newark, researchers. The more authentic you are with others, the better your relationships will be—and the better you’ll feel.