In recent years, the advent of MRI technology seems to have unlocked the secrets of the human mind, revealing the sources of our deepest desires, intentions, and fears. In this book, the authors argue that the explanatory power of brain scans in particular and neuroscience more generally has been vastly overestimated. Although acknowledging its tremendous potential, they believe that the overzealous application of the burgeoning field of brain science...

"The originator of the much studied - and much proven - eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, Jon Kabat-Zinn, outlined a simple yet powerful approach to help anyone coping with the stress of a variety of psychological and physiological challenges. The authors, two of the leading MBSR teacher trainers in Europe, are ground readers in the practices that have been studied and proven effective. These include mindfulness meditation,...

Suzuki interweaves her personal story with groundbreaking research in the neurosciences, and offers practical, short exercises--4 minute Brain Hacks--to engage your mind and improve your memory, your ability to learn new skills, and function more efficiently.

"Use your head. That's what we tell ourselves when facing a tricky problem or a difficult project. But a growing body of research indicates that we've got it exactly backwards. What we need to do, says acclaimed science writer Annie Murphy Paul, is think outside the brain. A host of "extra-neural" resources--the feelings and movements of our bodies, the physical spaces in which we learn and work, and the minds of those around us-- can help us focus...

In 1997, an endurance runner named Yiannis Kouros ran 188 miles in twenty-four hours. Akira Haraguchi, a sixty year-old man in Tokyo, can recite pi to the 100,000th decimal point. John Nunn was accepted to Oxford University at age 15, the youngest undergraduate in 500 years. After a horrific attack by her estranged husband, Carmen Tarleton was left with burns to over eighty percent of her body. One of her surgeons said her injuries "were beyond anything...

"The Center for Disease Control considers insufficient sleep a national public health epidemic-- nearly 30% of adults and two-thirds of all high school students report they regularly get insufficient sleep. Time, effort, and intention are required to keep our sleep healthy. In Sleep Wise, Dr. Daniel Blumdiscusses the everyday activities and habits that play a major role in shaping sleep and overall health, including physical exercise and diet.Sleep...