Ellen Langer, a Harvard professor, discusses the power of the mind in improving health with Jonathan Wolff on the ZOE Science and Nutrition podcast.
Her research spanning over 40 years shows the science fact of mind-body connection.
Ellen emphasizes that Western medicine underestimates the importance of the mind in physical health and confirms that one can think their way to better health, lower blood sugar levels, and even become younger with a positive mental attitude.
She distinguishes mindfulness from meditation, stating that meditation is a practice for post-meditative mindfulness.
Ellen Langer emphasizes the importance of understanding the mind and body as one unit, rather than separate entities.
She challenges the traditional view that psychology is irrelevant to health, advocating for a more extreme and useful position.
Langer discusses studies that demonstrate the unity of mind and body, such as the counterclockwise study.
Ellen Langer conducted a study where elderly men lived as their younger selves and found that their vision, hearing, memory, strength improved, and they looked noticeably younger without any medical intervention.
Langer's research suggests that most people are mindless most of the time and need to wake up by noticing and engaging with the present moment.
She emphasizes the impact of mindset on physical health, stating that events don't cause unhappiness, but the view taken of the event does.
Langer advocates for mindful living, where individuals adapt to circumstances and recognize that everything is mutable and changeable to meet their needs.
She conducted a study reversing the eye chart, finding that changing expectations led to improved vision, indicating that what one can see is largely determined by their expectations.
Ellen Langer emphasizes the idea that everything changes, including our health measures like cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
She highlights the variability of these measures over time and the importance of realizing that they are not stable.
Langer suggests that recognizing this variability can give us more control over our health and happiness.
Ellen Langer emphasizes the importance of being mindful and not assuming things. She suggests that paying attention to symptom variability can lead to positive results for chronic conditions.
She explains the power of placebos and how our beliefs can influence our health. She highlights the mind-body unity and the impact of placebo on symptom variability.
Ellen Langer gives an example of how being mindful of stress or pain can lead to identifying triggers and finding solutions. She stresses the significance of noticing subtle changes in the body for overall well-being.
Ellen Langer conducted a study where participants played computer games and the clock was rigged to go twice as fast, half as fast, or real time. The study showed that blood sugar level is controlled by perceived time.
Another study involved inflicting a minor wound on participants and having them in front of a clock going at different speeds. The study revealed that the wound healed based on the perceived time indicated by the clock.
Ellen Langer emphasized the power of mindset in healing, citing an example of how people's expectations of healing time can influence the actual healing process.
Noticing something about somebody you care about makes them feel cared for and improves the relationship.
Reframing negative experiences and behaviors can lead to redesigning things to better meet our needs.
Being mindful can reduce symptoms of chronic diseases and improve overall well-being.
Every negative way of understanding somebody or ourselves has an equally strong positive way of understanding it.
Mindfulness is a different way of doing everything, including healthcare, and can be a partner to traditional medicine.
Being mindful involves being present and noticing three things about whatever you're doing.
Making what you're doing fun can lead to becoming more mindful.