Improve Attention in Older Individuals with Exercise and Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “engaging in mindfulness meditation training improves the maintenance of goal-directed visuospatial attention and may be a useful strategy for counteracting cognitive decline associated with aging.” – Peter Malinowski One of the primary effects of mindfulness training is an improvement in the ability to […]
Increase the Energy Metabolism of the Brain with Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “As a form of mental training, meditation improves core physical and psychological assets, including energy, motivation, and strength. Studies on the neurophysiological concomitants of meditation have proved that commitment to daily practice can bring promising changes for the […]
Improve Brain Function and Mental Health in Chronic Pain Patients with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “With the ACT approach, learning to let go of behaviors, memories, thoughts, and emotions creates space to explore new experiences, including acceptance of chronic pain sensations.” – Rosemary Black We all have to deal with […]
Maintain Weight Loss with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Just as meditation can help us with stress, sleeping, focus, and much more, it can also have an impact on our relationship with eating and managing our weight.” – Headspace Eating is produced by two categories of signals. Homeostatic signals emerge from the body’s […]
The Default Mode Network of the Brain Underlies Mind Wandering By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “the brain appears to support mind wandering by disrupting some of the brain processes that are involved in responding to our surrounding external environment.” – Julia Kam We spend a tremendous amount of waking time with […]
Change the Brain to Improve Emotion Regulation in Bereaved Individuals with Mindfulness By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “It takes a boat load of self-compassion to allow oneself to feel whatever it is you are feeling at any given time, without judgment, without comparison relative to another’s explicit portrayal of their own process. […]
Change the Brain to Improve Fibromyalgia with Tai Chi By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “tai chi appears to be as effective or better for managing fibromyalgia . . . and patients are more likely to attend tai chi classes than aerobic exercise sessions.” – NCCIH Fibromyalgia is a mysterious disorder whose […]
Spirituality Activates the Brain Networks Underlying Other-Than-Self Attention By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Understanding the neural bases of spiritual experiences may help us better understand their roles in resilience and recovery from mental health and addictive disorders.” – Ephrat Livni Spirituality is defined as “one’s personal affirmation of and relationship to a […]
Neurofeedback in Novice Meditators Can Alter Brain Activity like that Observed in Expert Meditators By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “Modern researchers and practitioners are finding a possible new solution to these challenges by using EEG biofeedback to increase awareness of subtle states of consciousness and speed the learning process.” – Jeff Tarrant […]
Improve Attention and the Brain Systems Underlying Attention with Meditation By John M. de Castro, Ph.D. “the primary outcome of meditation may be to control attention and internal state in the face of the barrage of stimuli, negative and otherwise, that we experience everyday.” – Aaron D. Nitzkin One of the primary […]