Herbert Benson's Work on
Stress Diagnosis and Management

Alain Paul Martin
2012 Fellow, Advanced Leadership, Harvard University

In my book "Bringing Time to Life", I discussed 120 practical tips for managing your time and enjoying a life worth living. I recommended Dr. Herbert Benson's "Relaxation Response" in Tip 100 titled "Preventing Stress Risks and Burnouts" (Page 126). This was long before Dr. Benson took advantage of advanced medical devices to support his field research.

Today, I am delighted that, thanks to YouTube, we can learn first hand from Dr. Benson about his trailblazing work in stress management through the power of meditation and the Relaxation Response. Herb Benson demonstrated scientifically how even quiet religious prayers, from vastly different faiths, can help in stress reduction!

My antidotes to stress range from hiking and massage to dance and music (Berlioz, Debussy); but, the "Relaxation Response" remains the only simple and effective short-duration escape from stress I can practice anywhere anytime.

Take a look at these videos to appreciate Herbert Benson's work on stress prevention and reduction:

Herbert Benson - The Relaxation Revolution: Enhancing Health Through Mind Body Healing

Meditation - Universal Antidote

Relaxation Response Video Exercise: Meditate with Peg Baim, MS, NP

Dr. Herbert Benson - "Thyroid Disorders and the Relaxation Response"

Dr. Herbert Benson on the mind/body relationship

How to cure your stress by your own mind (Herbert Benson)

Legacy of Wisdom-Dr. Herbert Benson-Emotions and Body States

Legacy of Wisdom-Dr. Herbert Benson-Lifestyle Elements

Legacy of Wisdom - Stan Grof- Inner Healer

Herbert Benson, MD on stress. Taken from the BBC

Excerpts from Cognitive versus emotional stress
Cognitive stress is defined as the information processing load placed on the human operator while performing a particular task. It can be assumed that cognitive stress increases with task difficulty. Emotional stress is the psychological and physiological arousal due to emotions triggered before or during a task. In other words, a distinction is made between a high mental workload and a high emotional arousal. A deadline at work triggers another form of stress than a fight with your partner at home, without implying that one of them is not an intensive form of stress.

Reference: Lively, S.E., Pisoni, D.B., van Summers, W., Bernacki, R.H.: Effects of cognitive workload on speech production: Acoustic analyses and perceptual consequences. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 93 (1993) 2962-2973.