Lesson 1: Training Your Mind in 12 Minutes a Day | Amishi Jha

Any athlete knows they need to train in advance to reach peak performance. Olympians train anywhere from 15–40 hours a week, depending on their sport. And even if you aren’t aiming for a gold medal, it’s recommended that you get at least 30 minutes of physical exercise a day. Likewise, if we want our minds to be prepared when high-stress situations arise, we need to train them, too. In this video lesson, neuroscientist Amish Jha explains how you can cultivate your mental fitness in just 12 minutes a day — less time than it takes to exercise your body! Pre-Silience When we’re in high-stress, high-demand periods in our lives, our attention will suffer. We shouldn’t wait for “big events” to train our minds. Just like with physical exercise, we need to keep ourselves mentally fit. The goal is to be strong for when high-demand times arise. The mind is no different than the body. It needs to be exercised daily to optimize our psychological well-being and help us perform at our best. Mindfulness Mindfulness is the state of experiencing the moment-to-moment unfolding of our lives. It’s about keeping our attention on the present moment without editorializing about what’s going on. Minimum Effective Dose Jha’s lab set out to discover the shortest amount of time that people should engage in daily mindfulness training. Through a data emergent approach, the lab found that people who practiced for 12 minutes or more per day saw benefits in objective measures of attention and mood. Shoot for a “daily dozen” mindfulness practice. But keep in mind: Like physical exercise, the more we do, the more we benefit. Aim to do more than 12 minutes if you can. © Freethink Media Inc., All Rights Reserved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Youtube Member Get exclusive classes and early, ad-free access to new releases without leaving Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/@bigthink/membership/ ►Become a Big Think Web Member Get the entire Big Think Class library, premium print issues, live events, and more. https://bigthink.com/membership/ ►Subscribe to Big Think on Substack Get all of your favorite Big Think content delivered to your inbox. https://bigthinkmedia.substack.com/subscribe/ ►Listen to Big Think Interviews on Spotify Insights from the world's biggest thinkers, now as a podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/7KRYoRD1NdF2aoQcBMyPlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Amishi Jha: Dr. Amishi Jha is a professor of psychology at the University of Miami. She serves as the Director of Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative, which she co-founded in 2010. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California–Davis and postdoctoral training at the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center at Duke University. Dr. Jha’s work has been featured at NATO, the World Economic Forum, and The Pentagon. She has received coverage in the The New York Times, NPR, TIME, Forbes and more.