Dr. Leonard Calabrese

We traditionally think of that as external signals such as infections, and it certainly does all that. There is another... set of danger signals that we are just now starting to understand. And you brought up the term psychoneuroimmunology. Mouthful. It is. It is. And it's your psyche, your nervous system, and your immune system.

We don't know what stress levels were 200, 500, 5,000 years ago, but we do know that today, living in this world, stresses are different. You're carrying your phone in your pocket. I had to turn it off when I came in here, and I'm probably already getting nervous about how many emails are stacking up while I'm having this nice conversation with you.

We don't know what stress levels were 200, 500, 5,000 years ago, but we do know that today, living in this world, stresses are different. You're carrying your phone in your pocket. I had to turn it off when I came in here, and I'm probably already getting nervous about how many emails are stacking up while I'm having this nice conversation with you.

We don't know what stress levels were 200, 500, 5,000 years ago, but we do know that today, living in this world, stresses are different. You're carrying your phone in your pocket. I had to turn it off when I came in here, and I'm probably already getting nervous about how many emails are stacking up while I'm having this nice conversation with you.

The, you know, the exigencies of modern life are complicated. Add to that the environmental stresses. You know, we're living in a world where, you know, the temperature is rising, pollutants are increasing. are bombarding our body, those are danger signals. And so there is a tonic level of stress there that I think is probably new in the industrial age. Processing that is our brain by and large.

The, you know, the exigencies of modern life are complicated. Add to that the environmental stresses. You know, we're living in a world where, you know, the temperature is rising, pollutants are increasing. are bombarding our body, those are danger signals. And so there is a tonic level of stress there that I think is probably new in the industrial age. Processing that is our brain by and large.

The, you know, the exigencies of modern life are complicated. Add to that the environmental stresses. You know, we're living in a world where, you know, the temperature is rising, pollutants are increasing. are bombarding our body, those are danger signals. And so there is a tonic level of stress there that I think is probably new in the industrial age. Processing that is our brain by and large.

And the brain can send signals to the body that promote inflammation. You know, inflammation is good when you cut your finger. It's bad when you have it for 10 years. So the immune system is triggered by stress to generate inflammation.

And the brain can send signals to the body that promote inflammation. You know, inflammation is good when you cut your finger. It's bad when you have it for 10 years. So the immune system is triggered by stress to generate inflammation.

And the brain can send signals to the body that promote inflammation. You know, inflammation is good when you cut your finger. It's bad when you have it for 10 years. So the immune system is triggered by stress to generate inflammation.

accelerated inflammation, which contributes to all these immune-mediated inflammatory diseases that we're talking about, contributes to acceleration of aging, and that includes aging of the immune system. And we have this great term called immunosenescence. It doesn't sound good. It does not sound good, right. So all of this is going on.

accelerated inflammation, which contributes to all these immune-mediated inflammatory diseases that we're talking about, contributes to acceleration of aging, and that includes aging of the immune system. And we have this great term called immunosenescence. It doesn't sound good. It does not sound good, right. So all of this is going on.

accelerated inflammation, which contributes to all these immune-mediated inflammatory diseases that we're talking about, contributes to acceleration of aging, and that includes aging of the immune system. And we have this great term called immunosenescence. It doesn't sound good. It does not sound good, right. So all of this is going on.

That's right. So with that as a background, the question is, what the heck do we do about it?

That's right. So with that as a background, the question is, what the heck do we do about it?

That's right. So with that as a background, the question is, what the heck do we do about it?

It's mapped out in incredible detail. And we can look at people who have mood disorders. We can look at people who are caregivers for patients with cancer or dementia. We can look at people with PTSD. We can look at all of these populations. And there's profound perturbation of their immune response. So how do we move that needle? How can we do that?

It's mapped out in incredible detail. And we can look at people who have mood disorders. We can look at people who are caregivers for patients with cancer or dementia. We can look at people with PTSD. We can look at all of these populations. And there's profound perturbation of their immune response. So how do we move that needle? How can we do that?

It's mapped out in incredible detail. And we can look at people who have mood disorders. We can look at people who are caregivers for patients with cancer or dementia. We can look at people with PTSD. We can look at all of these populations. And there's profound perturbation of their immune response. So how do we move that needle? How can we do that?

Well, there are a variety of techniques, but the ones that have been best studied surround the use of mindfulness meditation. And I'd like to just take a couple minutes to talk about this with you, because I know that you're a great practitioner. And so for those in your audience who are well familiar with this, the cognitively-based mindfulness-based stress reduction developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn