Last week, I had the pleasure of doing an online event, “Mindfulness on the Brain,” as part of Wabash’s After the Bell program. It was a pleasure to see some familiar faces, and to meet some of our other alumni and friends of the College (and a big thank you to everyone who turned out!).
My goal in this “class” was to introduce mindfulness, and the ways that stress reduction techniques (such as mindfulness training) can positively impact our health. And (as a neuroscientist), I also wanted to give a short introduction to the research on how mindfulness is able to positively impact our self-regulation.
In a one hour talk, I really only had a chance to scratch the surface, but the main takeaway is that we have reasonably good evidence that mindfulness training can help us more effectively manage stress.
And, while many people have found a range of secular mindfulness practices to be beneficial, I think that the best evidence right now exists for well-studied programs. On that basis, I feel comfortable recommending programs such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, and similar programs.
For local folks interested in developing their mindfulness practice, I’d recommend checking out our upcoming events!