Stanford University's Robert Sapolsky and others have shown
how chronic stress may contribute to the death of neurons
in our brains.
The question is, with all the thousands of courses and
products out there that promise stress management miracles,
how can one evaluate them? how do we know which ones are
science-based and have shown results?
Probably the most promising area of scientific inquiry for
stress management is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
(MBSR). You may have read about it in Sharon Begley's Train
Your Mind, Change Your Brain book.
An increasing number of neuroscientists (such as UMass
Medical School's Jon Kabat-Zinn and University of
Wisconsin-Madison's Richard Davidson) have been
investigating the ability of trained meditators to develop
and sustain attention and visualizations and to work
positively with powerful emotional states and stress
through the directed mental processes of meditation
practices. And have put their research into practice for
the benefit of many hospital patients through their
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs.
The Mind & Life Institute, led by Adam Engle, has provided
critical support to many neuroscientists who want to study
the health benefits of meditation and have developed MBSR
programs.
My wife and I were fortunate to conduct recently a brain
training experiment, in the form of a breathing &
meditation retreat, with some neuroscientists and Adam
Engle, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Mind & Life Institute.
The Mind and Life Dialogues "started in 1987 as an
experiment to determine whether a scientific exchange could
occur between modern science and Buddhism. MLI has now
sponsored 14 dialogues (between the Dalai Lama and
neuroscientists) over the last 20 years. In that time MLI
has become a recognized world leader in the emerging
scientific investigation of the effects of contemplative
practices on the brain, behavior, and the translation of
this data into effective tools to benefit all people
everywhere."
A few notes from our conversation with Adam
- He helped launch the Mind & Life Institute to build a
science-based field of interdisciplinary study to
investigate the applications of the "database of practices"
that Buddhism and some Christian traditions have
accumulated over milennia.
- From early on it became clear that they needed to engage
Western neuroscientists in order to be credible and become
a real East-West bridge with potential to reach mainstream
society.
- They are very happy that Sharon Begley's book Train Your
Mind, Change Your Brain has become a non-fiction
Bestseller, since it is based on one of the Mind & Life
Dialogues.
- He is glad to see the inroads that Mindfulness-Based
Stress Reduction (MBSR) is making in the medical world
thanks to solid research. He believes the Corporate
Training and Leadership market is also going to become very
interested in this technique for stress management. The
main bottleneck for growth? the existing number of
qualified instructors does not meet the increasing demand.
The Institute sponsors research in a number of ways, and
they just announced that the 3rd annual Scientists Retreat
will take place at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in
Barre, Massachusetts, January 8-15, 2008.
A description of the program: "This course has been
organized by scientists, for scientists. Its goals are to
help researchers in the mind sciences experience in-depth
training in meditation and explore ways in which a rigorous
and systematic approach to introspection can inform
research. We consider this to be a rare opportunity to
advance the scientific study of the human mind. Vipassana
is an ancient method of introspection that readily conforms
to the spirit of empirical science. It is simply a means of
training the mind to be more keenly aware of sensory
phenomena and the flow of thought."
I hope you have enjoyed learning about this fascinating new
field of research. And that next time you are looking for
stress management programs, you ask your health provider
whether they offer Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
courses.
----------------------------------------------------
Alvaro Fernandez is the CEO and Co-Founder of
SharpBrains.com, which combines the latest science-based
information for Brain Training with fun Brain facts, and
has been recognized by Scientific American Mind,
MarketWatch, Forbes, and more. Alvaro holds MA in Education
and MBA from Stanford University, and teaches The Science
of Brain Health at UC-Berkeley Lifelong Learning Institute.
You can learn more at http://www.sharpbrains.com/
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