The Healthy Mind Platter David Rock, Daniel J. Siegel, Steven A.Y. Poelmans and Jessica Payne This article was published in the NeuroLeadershipJouRnAl issue FOuR The attached copy is furnished to the author for non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the author’s institution, sharing with colleagues and providing to institutional administration. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third- party websites are prohibited. in most cases authors are permitted to post a version of the article to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding the NeuroLeadership Journal’s archiving and management policies are encouraged to send inquiries to: [email protected] www.NeuroLeadership.org RESEARCH The NeuroLeadership Journal is for non-commercial research and education use only. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third-party websites are prohibited. in most cases authors are permitted to post a version of the article to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding the NeuroLeadership Journal’s archiving and management policies are encouraged to send inquiries to: [email protected] The views, opinions, conjectures, and conclusions provided by the authors of the articles in the NeuroLeadership Journal may not express the positions taken by the NeuroLeadership Journal, the NeuroLeadership institute, the institute’s Board of Advisors, or the various constituencies with which the institute works or otherwise affiliates or cooperates.i t is a basic tenant of both the NeuroLeadership institute and the NeuroLeadership Journal to encourage and stimulate creative thought and discourse in the emerging field of NeuroLeadership. NeuroLeadership Journal (ISSN 2200-8535) issue Four published in October 2012. We encourage readers to propose a paper for the next edition of this Journal. We recommend sending in a two-page proposal before submitting a finished paper and welcome pure science, as well as case studies and discussion pieces. For further information as to how to submit a paper for © NeuroLeadership Institute 2012 For Permissions, email [email protected] Permissions, 2012 For Institute © NeuroLeadership the next Journal go to www.NeuroLeadership.org RESEARCH The Healthy Mind Platter David Rock, Daniel J. Siegel, Steven A.Y. Poelmans and Jessica Payne David Rock, CeO, NeuroLeadership Group, New York Faculty, CiMBA Co-founder, NeuroLeadership institute: Co-editor, NeuroLeadership Journal [email protected] Daniel J. siegel, Mindsight institute, Los Angeles; uCLA: Center for Culture, Brain, and Development, Mindful Awareness Research Center, Clinical Professor, school of Medicine steven A.Y. Poelmans, eADA Business school; Coaching Competency Center Jessica Payne, university of Notre Dame The last few decades have witnessed a growing these activities makes a unique and positive contribution awareness of the importance of nutrition as a basis to mental productivity and wellbeing. As such, the objective for health within the general population. In the u.S. of the Healthy Mind Platter is to propose a framework for and Europe, governments have created nutrition creating and maintaining mental well-being, summarizing and recommendations. Published as charts, such as healthy integrating distinct strands of neuroscience and psychology food pyramids, which indicate that different food groups research, so it can be used to inform communities such as provide important nutrients, they recommend that schools, organizations, governments, and communities, as well citizens follow a “complete” diet that provides all the as families and individuals, about best practices for promoting essentials the body needs. Because the body needs a mental health. wide variety of ingredients for optimal health, the basic underlying principles are variation and complementarity. Introduction This suggests that always eating the same food, even if it Throughout the world, driven by advances in information is healthy, does not provide the body with a wide enough technology and automation, our economy is gradually variety of ingredients for optimal health. shifting to a knowledge- and service-driven economy, where spurred on in 2011 by the u.s. Government’s relaunch of the increasingly the basic production factor of muscle power is food pyramid as a ‘healthy eating plate’, the authors Daniel being replaced by brain-power. Although often compared to a siegel and David Rock decided to explore a framework for muscle, the brain’s anatomy and physiology is fundamentally understanding the ideal diet for our brain. We decided to coin different from those of muscles. Whereas a combination this the “Healthy Mind Platter”. We do not refer literally to of exercise, rest and nutrition can be sufficient to produce substances like glucose, which is an essential nutrient for the physical strength and resilience, these are clearly not functioning of the brain, but to a set of everyday activities that sufficient conditions for an alert, creative and resilient mind. on the whole, optimize “brain health”. Based on our literature in line with the principles and purpose of positive psychology, review, we hypothesize that there are seven activities that we want to move beyond studying and summarizing what each have different and beneficial effects on the mind that is needed to avoid pathology, and make clear and useful complement each other, providing together a well-balanced what is needed to promote health. Though awareness of “mental diet” for optimal neurocognitive functioning and how an unhealthy diet can result in serious pathologies and well-being. We propose that very much as in the case of epidemics, like obesity, is now being raised, many are hardly food, people can do without some of these activities, but this aware of the costs of an unhealthy mental diet, like massive lack of behavior will be associated with sub-optimal levels losses in productivity, exhaustion, burn-out, and stress. of functioning or ill-health. Further research is needed to explicating the constituent activities for a healthy mind is determine the exact quantity and quality of each activity that therefore timely and important, especially since developed is needed for optimal health, but we propose that each of countries are reaching the limits of economic growth. 1 email [email protected] Permissions, 2012 For Institute © NeuroLeadership NeuroLeadershipJOURNAL Issue FOuR RESEARCH One may daily observe on the news the catastrophic find ourselves staring at the computer screen, experiencing consequences of being deprived of food and basic housing, a momentary state of reverie or trance. As soon as we but society is relatively unaware of what happens when become aware of our disconnection, we may want to return individuals or large communities are deprived of play (think to the task, but we might feel an urge to stand up, go for a of entire generations of children working under conditions walk and get a snack. Basically, our brain is demanding a of forced labor), good quality sleep (think of the vast amount minimum level of physical motion and important nutrients of people regularly taking sleep medications), or satisfying in order to be able to operate well. On our way to the vending time to focus and sustain clear attention without distraction machine we may encounter a colleague, and although we (think of population groups suffering unemployment or are cognizant of the pile of work waiting for us on our desk, underemployment, or the vast number of people who fill we connect with a bystander to exchange a chat and a joke. their time with junk media). Most members of the general population know little about how the constant interruptions and distractions caused by Following a communication devices and the bombardment of information and publicity sent out by the media impacts our mental well- healthy mind diet being. They have minimal awareness of the negative effects of the sense of isolation and lack of relatedness that can can provide us occur in large cities that are built without regard for our need for a sense of community. Finally, what we have to gain as a with the physical species from the generalized practice of reflective practices is not readily apparent to the general population unaware of and mental well- the research pointing to its positive impacts. being necessary With stress, to establish the brain will and maintain disconnect more relationships with often from the task family, friends and at hand, and we colleagues… may find ourselves Once again, our brain is automatically driving us to socialize even without our awareness or conscious intention, staring at the distracting us, and delaying the time before we return to work. Once we are back at our desk we may be able to computer screen, focus again, but we seem to lack the necessary creativity to resolve the problem. None of the techniques known to us experiencing a seem to help in producing a satisfactory solution. Frustrated by this impasse we may lean back in our chair, and suddenly momentary state remember the joke made by our colleague half an hour ago. We internally laugh at the joke, and do not realize that thanks of reverie or trance. to this playful mental intermezzo, our brain is capable of having a sudden insight that will help us to solve the problem. Consider the current state of how most people manage – in the case described above the person is basically stumbling cultivate and maintain – their mental well-being. We have from activity to activity, driven by the needs of the brain, all experienced the challenge of maintaining focus over without any level of awareness of why this chain of events is prolonged periods of time, and know how it can cause occurring. We may even return back home that night believing fatigue. We all know that our attention is even more limited if we had a productive working day, ignorant of the fact that the we had little sleep the night before.