Here’s What That ‘Little Treat’ Can—and Can’t—Do For You

For me, “little treat” strategizing starts early in the work day. My morning to-do list transforms into a mental obstacle course, with a glittering, $8 iced vanilla latte waiting at the finish line. Sure, I have a perfectly good coffee machine at home, and another one staring me down from the office kitchenette. But while there may be simpler, cheaper ways to get my midday caffeine hit, that’s not really the point. I’m after the ritual of removing myself from a mundane environment or task, engaging with the scenery and smells of a buzzing café, and indulging in something that feels special.

As my TikTok and Instagram feeds remind me every day, my experience is not unique. Little treat culture has emerged as a major social media trend in 2024, with droves of users attesting that they, too, have to bribe themselves with small delights to conquer basic responsibilities of adulthood—laundry, doctor’s appointments, overflowing inboxes. This self-care strategy may reflect a generational shift that financial therapist Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, LMSW, has observed: Millennials and Gen Z are rejecting “grit language” and fear of punishment as motivators. Instead, young people are responding to the promise of satisfaction and reward, Bryan-Podvin tells SELF. And we’re willing to hunt down—or create—those incentives for ourselves, if necessary.

While the little treat has an impressive online fan club, it isn’t pitched as a fix-all. In fact, there seems to be a general sense that relying on lattes and sweets to take care of ourselves and our obligations might not be the healthiest approach: The phrase “toxic trait” comes up a lot on Little Treat Tok. But any critiques are far outweighed by the perceived benefits—which isn’t surprising given the unpredictable, often exhausting realities that we’ve been living with for the last few years. “We’re post-pandemic and in an election year, so life can feel really overwhelming and out of control,” Britt Frank, LSCSW, a therapist and speaker who specializes in productivity and stress management, tells SELF. “My little treat doesn’t fix any of that, but it does give the illusion that I’m in control of my universe and I can do what I want and have what I want.”

Do little treats actually help your mental health?

We know that these small indulgences make us feel good in the moment, so naturally, we also want to feel good about incorporating them into our routines. But can silly little self-rewards actually have a positive impact on mental health and motivation—or are they, at best, just distractions (and at worst, actually bad for us)?

“In terms of the science of it all, yes, getting a little treat does ‘work,’” Bryan-Podvin says. When you receive a reward or feel a sense of accomplishment, your brain releases the “happy hormone,” dopamine—which not only sparks pleasure and satisfaction but also motivates you to pursue that feeling again. So, in addition to a mood boost, an occasional reward for completing a task can help “reinforce” productive behaviors, David Spiegel, MD, director of the Center on Stress and Health at Stanford University, tells SELF.