Amishi Jha

Filmed 1/29/16

Training the Brain to Be More Attentive: How Elite Athletes, Military Personnel, and Others Perform Better Under Stress

Attention is necessary for everything we do—from learning, to making decisions, to regulating our mood. Yet our capacity to pay attention is limited when we are under stress. Amishi Jha, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, works with elite athletes, firefighters, active duty military personnel, accountants, and others in high-stress careers to better understand how we can do our best even in the most demanding and challenging situations. Learn what cutting-edge research is revealing about how you can protect your brain from stress and train yourself to pay attention using mindfulness.


Amishi JhaAmishi Jha is a neuroscientist and associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami and director of contemplative neuroscience for the UMindfulness Initiative. She studies how the brain pays attention and the effects of mindfulness training on cognition, emotion, and resilience. With grants from the Department of Defense and private foundations she has been investigating the potential of mindfulness training in education, sports, business, and the military. Her work has been featured in scientific journals and is frequently cited by the national media. She has received several awards for teaching and innovation in science, and speaks around the globe on topics such as optimizing attention, brain fitness, mindfulness, and other forms of contemplative training.

@AmishiJha