Tag Center for Healthy Minds
For stressed-out grad students, mindfulness makes big difference
Cultivated through practices such as meditation, yoga or prayer, mindfulness centers around being in the present moment in an open, non-judgmental, curious, accepting way.
Following pandemic, educators are not all right but meditation could ease burden
UW's Center for Healthy Minds has found that COVID-19's upheaval of K-12 schooling took its toll on educators and staff, but a meditation app showed promise for relieving symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Students of innovative course report significantly improved mental health and flourishing
Students enrolled in an experimental course called The of Art and Science of Human Flourishing demonstrated improved mental health and flourishing, according to researchers at the UW–Madison Center for Healthy Minds and collaborators.
Brain imaging reveals how mindfulness program boosts pain regulation
A study by the Center for Healthy Minds at UW–Madison is the first to demonstrate pain-related brain changes from a standardized mindfulness course that is widely offered in clinical settings.
New research shows no evidence of structural brain change with short-term mindfulness training
“We are still in the early stages of research on the effects of meditation training on the brain and there is much to be discovered,” says Center for Healthy Minds founder and director Richard Davidson.
Research network to measure and promote emotional well-being
"This network is predicated on the idea that ... well-being is plastic and something we can modify,” says Richard Davidson, director of the UW's Center for Healthy Minds.
Research provides tools for achieving the ‘how’ of well-being in daily life
A new framework introduced by UW–Madison's Center for Healthy Minds provides evidence that people can weather life’s ups and downs with resilience, and that the brain and body can change and adapt.
Virtual events explore science of well-being, feature new insights from Dalai Lama
“The World We Make 2020” is a weeklong series by UW–Madison's Center for Healthy Minds. Experts will discuss topics including the neuroscience of the mind-body connection, and workplace well-being for educators.
Dalai Lama and UW expert share message of hope, determination, and “education of the mind”
Humanity has an opportunity to transform negative emotions like fear and anxiety into determination and compassion for others, the Dalai Lama said in a recent video conversation that included Richard Davidson, UW–Madison professor and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds.
Mindfulness video game changes areas of the brain associated with attention
The game was designed for middle schoolers and requires them to count their breaths by tapping a touch screen to advance through relaxing landscapes such as ancient Greek ruins and outer space.
New Faculty Focus: Simon Goldberg
"My work focuses broadly on finding ways to promote wellbeing and reduce suffering, which certainly relates to the health and wellbeing of residents of Wisconsin."
Mental health in pregnancy may affect development of newborns’ brains
Until recently, researchers knew little about the relationship between an expectant mother’s mental health and the subsequent development of her baby. A new study suggests a possible link.
A video game can change the brain, may improve empathy in middle schoolers
In the experimental game, a robot crash lands on an alien planet. In order to rebuild the spaceship, players must, as the robot, build rapport with the aliens by deciphering their emotions.
Meditation affects brain networks differently in long-term meditators and novices
UW-Madison researchers examined brain activity in non-meditators, new meditators, and long-term meditators, and they discovered differences in emotion networks of the brain among these groups.
Training compassion ‘muscle’ may boost brain’s resilience to others’ suffering
A new study suggests that compassion meditation training may reduce the distress a person feels when witnessing another’s suffering. It may also improve their ability and likelihood to respond with compassion.
New approaches in neuroscience show it’s not all in your head
“How we experience the world affects us in more ways than we previously thought,” says Richard Davidson, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at UW–Madison and director of the Center for Healthy Minds.
Medical minds
Knowing that your doctor is under stress may not be comforting, but it might put you more at ease to know that mindfulness — the practice of training your brain to cultivate well-being — is now being taught in medical school.
Research to relieve stress of police officers expands
The new work by the Center for Healthy Minds will expand on a pilot study that suggests a positive relationship between mindfulness training and measures such as sleep quality, officers’ perceived stress and symptoms of burnout.
Doctor, take your meditation
The Center for Healthy Minds at UW–Madison works to cultivate well-being and relieve suffering through a scientific understanding of the mind. Applying its teachings helps doctors better cope with the stresses of their profession.
Davidson elected to National Academy of Medicine
The director of the Center for Healthy Minds has authored more than 375 papers exploring the neural bases of emotion, and interventions that may be helpful for promoting well-being, kindness, compassion and empathy.