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Researchers Examined 500 Self-Help Techniques. Only These 20 Passed the Science Test
Skip the trendy advice and unproved social media hacks—here are the few science-backed strategies that consistently deliver real results
EXPERT OPINION BY JESSICA STILLMAN, CONTRIBUTOR, INC.COM @ENTRYLEVELREBEL
Aug 7, 2026
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I’ve been writing about self-improvement and wellness long enough now that I’ve seen plenty of supposedly “science-backed” hacks and advice come and go.
Power posing for confidence had a moment and then was debunked by new research. Manifesting your wishes sounds lovely on Instagram, but unfortunately studies showed it makes you less likely to reach your goals. Meanwhile, academics continue to bicker about everything from the value of grit to the validity of the famous marshmallow test.
It’s enough to make me extra cautious when reporting on new self-help techniques. But it should also make readers wary of just accepting any guru’s claims of knowing the recipe for wellness and success.
So does that mean you should just tune out all self-help advice and muddle through as best you can? Are there any recommendations that, as far as scientists can tell, can be relied on to deliver results? One enterprising entrepreneur just dove deeply into the research and emerged with an answer.
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Searching for a needle in the self-help haystack
With his PhD in mathematics, Spencer Greenberg is a data-driven guy. So when the founder of psychology-focused startup Spark Wave wanted to know which self-help techniques actually work, he wasn’t going to rely on vibes and TikTok. Instead, together with psychologist Jeremy Stevenson, he set out to write a book on the topic.
For their research, the pair waded through more than 100 self-help books and reams of studies, examining 500 potential life-enhancing hacks and therapies they discussed. The result of all that work, a book entitled The 12 Levers, was released last week. It looks interesting, but you don’t need to read the whole thing to benefit from their basic conclusions.
Greenberg and Stevenson found that, despite the massive amount of noise in the self-help space, many hacks and “breakthroughs” actually boil down to the same basic principles. And science supports only a handful of those.
