May 10, 2024 • 41 mins
#71 — Tara Nylese was a career scientist and formerly a Regional Market Development Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific.
She left her Market Development Manager job to focus on other workplace wellness activities, and launched her book, Mindfulness in Everyday Life, which hit the #1 Best-selling new release in Business Health & Stress on Amazon.
She is passionate about mental and emotional well-being at work and is certified in Applied Positive Psychology and as a Meditation Instructor. Tara strives to bring mindfulness out of the yoga studio and into everyday life.
In this episode of The Happy Scientist, Tara joins Ken Vogt to talk about her new book, mediation strategies to boost your cognitive abilities and the measurable benefits of optimism on your work, life, and physical health.
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Episode Transcript
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Intro/Outro (00:30):
This is the Happy Scientist Podcast. Each episode
is designed to make you morefocused, more productive, and
more satisfied in the lab. Youcan find us online at
bitesizebio.com/ happyscientist. Your hosts are
Kenneth Vogt, founder of theexecutive coaching firm, Vera
Claritas, and doctor NickOswald, PhD, bioscientist, and
(00:52):
founder of Bite Size Bio.
Kenneth Vogt (01:00):
Welcome to a special episode of The Happy
Scientist. Today, we're going tobe interviewing author and
scientist Tara Niles. And she'sgot an interesting story and
some interesting activitiesgoing on right now. So I'm
looking forward to talking to toTara. So, first off, let me give
(01:20):
a let me give the re therecorded version of Tara's
background and history, and thenshe can add in whatever she
would like to add on.
So Tara Niles is a career longscientist, so don't don't forget
that. This is gonna matter as wetalk. She is passionate about
mental and emotional well-beingat work and is certified in
(01:42):
applied positive psychology andas a meditation instructor
instructor, that is. Shelaunched her book last year,
Mindfulness in Everyday Life,which hit number 1 best selling
new release in business, health,and stress on Amazon. She
strives to bring mindfulness outof the yoga studio and into
(02:02):
everyday life.
So to start off, let let mefirst ask you, Tara, is there
anything you'd like to add tothat bio?
Tara Nylese (02:10):
Sure. Yeah. And, for starters, thank you so much
for for the opportunity to behere. Super exciting, and I love
what you're doing. Happiness andscience are 2 very important
things and even better when theycome together.
So to add to that, I've been inelectron microscopy my entire
career. I completely loveelectron microscopy. And then
(02:32):
more recently, about, about 12or 13 years ago, I, started
becoming avid in meditation andmindfulness. And again, really
found that the combination ofthe 2 strengthens each other.
And also more importantly, whenyou take the science of
mindfulness or the science ofmeditation, you really see the
improved benefit.
(02:52):
And, I think that really, hitsthe right chord for a lot of
people. You know, it's notsomething that's just out there.
Well, now it's science backedand, that that gives a lot of
people confidence. So I'm happyto talk the happy scientist
perspective today.
Kenneth Vogt (03:08):
Okay. Well, the first the first thing that comes
to mind for me, I I I love theconnection between science and
mindfulness, and I love the ideathat a scientist got interested
in this topic. But why? Whyshould we focus on happiness and
well-being at work? What'swhat's the point of all that?
Tara Nylese (03:29):
Yeah. Great question. And, the reality is is
happy people are just morepresent. They're when we're
happy, we're more focused on thelife around us, the world around
us, what we're doing, what we'reexperiencing, how we're feeling
and happiness leads us to bemore engaged at work. And that's
important because it gets youinto the the flow.
(03:51):
You know, when we love whatwe're doing, then we're doing it
effortlessly and seamlessly andreally bringing our best selves
and effort to it. And, but whydo we wanna be engaged at work?
And, and that's because, thelast few years, you may have
heard of the term quietquitting, and it's something
that we started to see as wecame out of the pandemic. And
(04:11):
what it means is that people arepresent at work. Their bodies
are present at work, but theirminds are not there.
They're not engaged in whatthey're doing at work. You know,
when you hear the term quietquitting, it means that your
mind, escapes, escapes whereyour body is at work.
Kenneth Vogt (04:29):
Sure.
Tara Nylese (04:30):
And you, people who are in that lack of engagement
mode are not having an internalmotivation. They might have
external motivation. Yeah. Ihave to, you know, get a
paycheck. I've got to do this.
But the internal motivation isnot there when you, when you're
not engaged in what you'redoing, when you're not present
(04:50):
in what you're doing and reallyrouting back to to happiness.
And so, one of the the studiesthat I saw, when I was writing
my book was from Gallup Inc,and, they surveyed about
2,000,000 employees across morethan 200 organizations, and they
found just a wealth ofinformation about the benefits
(05:11):
of a highly engaged workforce.And so there there are some of
them that are maybe obvious andsome that are lesser obvious,
but the benefits of highlyengaged workforce go across the
organization. So for example,you have 41% lower absenteeism
in people who are highly engagedand 59% less turnover of
(05:32):
employees in an organization.And that's really important for
human resources.
You know, your your talentturnover isn't there. It means
that people are getting deeperin their job. They're not
missing work because of someexternal factors. So really
increasing that productivity.And that leads to, 17% higher
productivity in organizationsthat have an highly engaged
(05:55):
workforce.
That's great for for factoriesand people producing items, and
that means that there's more,stuff getting out there. They're
they're producing what they'remeant to do. And people who are
delivering higher productivityare delivering more to the
organization. That's that'sgreat for, you know, for
factories, like I mentioned.Then there's also an increase in
(06:19):
customer evaluation or customerranking of an organization.
And there's a 10% highercustomer happiness with a highly
engaged workforce or company.And so that's good for sales
service organizations whereyou're making your customers
happier than you're thriving asan organization. But perhaps the
most important aspect is theprofitability. So really
(06:44):
surprisingly and wonderfully,the benefits of a highly engaged
workforce include a 17% greaterprofitability for the
organization. And so everybodywins when you're working with
better profitability.
You know, the leaders, theleaders are happy. The
shareholders are happy and,people are happier to be there
(07:05):
because then the organizationitself supports a stronger
culture, has more perks, if youwill, really leads to less
stress. So engagement stems frombeing present at work and
present is a form of happinessat work.
Kenneth Vogt (07:23):
Sure. So let's dial this into scientists. You
mentioned factories. Youmentioned customer service
workers. But how would thisapply to scientists?
Why would they care about this?
Tara Nylese (07:33):
Yeah. Exactly. So scientists really need to have
that, creativity, that spark ofinsight. Right? The the greatest
scientific happenings happenwhen you have that moment of
that, you know, that that sparkof ingenuity.
And so when you're happy andyou're more present, you're
(07:56):
actually lowering the the brainchatter. You know? You don't
have all of these distractions.You don't have all these noise,
these external things firinginto your brain, you know,
distracting you from, from, fromthe real thinking. And so as a
scientist, you really wanna listlisten to those whispers of
insights, and then you want togain those moments from those
(08:20):
small whispers of insights inour mind.
And the best way of doing thatis by reducing the mental
chatter and letting thosewhispers come through loud and
clear.
Kenneth Vogt (08:30):
Alright. So on that that topic of of our mental
life, Yeah. Let's apply that tomental and emotional health. For
a lot of folks, that's like,well, you know, I I'd like to
get to that, but I I have moreimportant things to do. But,
but, it it, you know, may not becompared to, like, physical
(08:54):
health or exercising or eatingwell, but how do you relate
mental health and to physicalhealth, which is certainly gonna
impact one's job?
Tara Nylese (09:02):
Yeah. No. That's a that's an excellent point.
Truly, there is, theintertwining of mental and
physical health together. So,there's tons of scientific
evidence and a lot of what I'lltalk about today is backed by
science.
Pretty much everything that I'lltalk about is backed by science
because I'm always gathering,scientific, papers and talks on
(09:24):
these topics. So scientificevidence shows us that having a
positive mental outlook helps uslive longer and healthier lives.
This is this is fantastic. Youknow, just having a better
outlook helps us live longer andlive healthier. And, I'll talk
about something I read just lastweek from doctor Gary Small,
(09:44):
who's a cognitive brain expertfrom the Hackensack Meridian,
medical system.
And he talked about howoptimists have fewer emotional
and physical difficulties. And,you know, when you when you
think about optimism, you say,okay, kind of makes sense. They
might have fewer emotionaldifficulties, but they also have
(10:04):
fewer physical difficulties too.And this is like, wow, okay.
Let's, let's explore this more.
Optimists have more energy.Optimists are always looking for
ways of making things happen andoptimists have less physical
pain. And, you know, you couldstart thinking about why, why
that is. It's like, okay, okay,optimists are focused on
(10:24):
solutions. You know, optimistsare focused on what works, what
doesn't work.
And because as soon as you startgetting onto the spiral of what
doesn't work, you could reallygo on a downward spiral. And,
you know, that's not productivefor, for work productivity, but
also for physical health too.Yeah. I'm not saying that
optimism is being a pollyanna,like, oh, the world is great.
(10:47):
Nothing is wrong.
Optimism optimists approachchallenges with a recognition
that challenges exist. You know,there are difficulties there,
but optimists, right. So mostapproach them like, okay, I'm I
see this problem. I'm going todeal with it. I could find a
solution and I'm gonna get itdone.
(11:08):
Whereas maybe the oppositemindset is less solutions
focused.
Kenneth Vogt (11:13):
Yes. We've we've talked about optimism on the
happy scientist several times,and you're you're spot on with
what we've been saying. It'sjust practical. It it and it's
funny. The average optimist, ifyou ask them, do you think
you're a realist?
(11:34):
They're like, maybe, maybe not.He has a pessimist. You bet I'm
a realist. I'm absolutely real.That's and it's not true.
Optimist is much more realisticthan a pessimist.
Tara Nylese (11:46):
Right. Yeah. That's that's a great distinction and a
great point. It is saying like,okay. We need to look at the
whole world.
We don't need to be just pulledin one direction or the other,
but, you know, I often use theanalogy if your house is on
fire, the best thing to say isto start with is my house is on
fire. And then what do I do fromthere? You know, and the
(12:08):
optimist again, solutionsoriented. Okay. Let's get
everybody out of the house.
Let's make sure everyone's safe.Let's call 911. Let's do it.
Let's move. Let's go forward.
Whereas with an opposite, lesssolutions focused mindset, you
say, say, oh my god. The houseis on fire. The house is on
fire. And then you just dwell onthe problem, and that's not
Kenneth Vogt (12:25):
gonna And all the possibilities of how it could go
wrong. House is
Tara Nylese (12:29):
on fire.
Kenneth Vogt (12:30):
I'm gonna lose all my stuff. House is on fire. I'm
gonna get hurt. House is onfire. Everybody's gonna die.
And chances are some of that maynot happen, but all of it is
highly unlikely to happen. Thatis not the way to operate in
life.
Tara Nylese (12:44):
Yes. Yes. Yes. Exactly. And what I also like
about what, doctor Small saidwas that 10 minutes a day on
daily meditation boostscognitive abilities, and I
completely love that.
And so this is coming from a,cognitive brain expert. It's
also supplementing what I readback in 2017 in Harvard Business
(13:06):
Review. There was an articleentitled 10 minutes a day on
mindfulness suddenly changeChanges Everything. And that was
really for me the inspirationfor my mindfulness program or my
website, which is 10 minutemindfulness.com. And really,
it's just that science andbusiness focus of 10 minutes a
day on mindfulness changes theway we make decisions, the way
(13:29):
that we're increasingproductivity.
It gives us that buffer to beable to effectively deal with
the the problems that come up.
Kenneth Vogt (13:37):
Yeah. And the notion that I'm so busy, I can't
do this. 10 minutes? Really? Youcan't sacrifice 10 minutes of
doomscrolling today?
Really? Right. Come on. Youcould do this. So Yeah.
This this air this area ofinterest may not be something
(13:57):
that every scientist spends alot of time in. They may not
know what's going on in thewellness industry. So the trends
there, what what do you what doyou see these days about the
wellness industry in general andspecifically about mental
wellness?
Tara Nylese (14:11):
Yeah. Great. Perfect. So back to a little bit
of research. So, McKinsey andCompany is a business reporting
company, and they have a reporton the future of wellness.
It's a survey that showsconsumers are taking greater
control of their health. Andthis is this is great, and it
shows, over time how things arechanging. So, so they report
(14:37):
that consumers are expectingcompanies to have science based
solutions to be effective in themental wellness space. So this
is this is really great, reportsthat that any people aren't just
blindly accepting, wellnessservices, but they're saying,
okay. We need to have it provento us now.
(14:57):
We need to have it backed byscience and expertise. And so,
the report shows that the globalwellness market is
1,800,000,000,000. That'strillion with a t,
$1,000,000,000,000. And this is,you know, this is an amazing,
market. It also that that numberalso includes things like your
(15:18):
athletic wear, your apparel,your fancy name brand leggings,
and and all this, your gadgets,your health trackers, and even
supplements and all this.
But one of the segments that'sgrowing, and they they report
that the meditation andmindfulness segment is now more
recently, gaining consumeracceptance. And about half of
(15:41):
the people surveyed said theywish they had more products and
services related to meditationand mindfulness. So this is a
great opportunity for companiesto, to be able to meet that
consumer need. So of that globalmarket of 1,800,000,000,000,
about 500,000,000,000, so halfof a trillion is just in the US.
(16:02):
And, 80% of consumers say thatthey consider wellness a top
priority in their everyday life.
So this is this is reallyencouraging, but I think the
most important thing is becauseof the new segment growth of the
meditation and mindfulness,trend, the global meditation
market has about a 20% compoundannual growth rate to 2030. So
(16:26):
this is expected to have anexplosive growth of products and
services related to deliveringmindfulness and meditation
services to, to to people.
Kenneth Vogt (16:36):
Okay. So that's the business side of it. But
what what does science have tosay about happiness and
mindfulness? What what are thejournals saying out there? What
are the medical and academicinstitutions saying about
mindfulness?
Tara Nylese (16:48):
Yes. You're speaking my language. Thank you.
So so there's just a completewealth of scientific and
medical, evidence across,prominent journals. And so, you
you know whenever whenever Ilook up I dig up information
from from NIH, the NationalLibrary of Medicine, the CDC
Nature Magazine, even, and,there's another one, the
(17:11):
American Institute of Stress.
And so this is a tidbit that Ilove from from that journal,
that publication. More than halfof Americans are stressed during
the day. Half of Americans arestressed during the day, but 94%
of Americans are stressed atwork. And about 60% of them are
(17:35):
ready to quit their job overstress. And I'm going to that
60% ready to quit their job overstress.
I definitely want to, while I'mquoting that from a journal, I
wanna put that with a grain ofsalt. I don't think that means
that people are actually goingto quit their jobs over over the
stress, but they're to the pointwhere the stress is impacting
their daily lives at work insciences. And so even the CDC
(17:58):
says that about 90% of diseaseshave some relation to stress.
Stress weakens the immunesystem. And as scientists, you
know, we understand that we getthat, you know, we understand
how the immune system works.
We understand when our cellularfunctioning isn't functioning in
the appropriate way, eitherbecause our blood vessels are
(18:20):
constricted, our blood pressureis elevated because of the
stress from the fight or flightresponse that might be
chronically present in in ourbodies, our elevated, heart
rate. All of those things overtime lead to chronic stress. And
as scientists, I think, youknow, we we get that pretty
easily. And then you have the,you know, the relation to
(18:43):
cardiovascular disease, cancer.And with a suppressed immune
system, it puts us even more atrisk for infectious diseases
too.
Right.
Kenneth Vogt (18:53):
Another I've always been surprised about
something about about stress andour immune system. It seems like
the moment I most need my immunesystem work well is when I'm
under stress, and that's when itdoesn't work very well.
Tara Nylese (19:07):
Right. Yes. Exactly. Because your your body
focuses on on the the stressor.You know, if we think about the
fight or flight response, ourbodies are tuned to that to
outrun a lion or maybe
Kenneth Vogt (19:22):
worry about feeling sick later.
Tara Nylese (19:24):
Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. You sort of put that
put that on the side and immunesystem isn't gonna help you
outrun a a lion or, know, if youstep off a a curve and a
crosswalk and there's a truckbarreling down on you, like,
that's when we need that fightor flight response, like quick
reaction. You know?
Yeah. And our immune systemisn't important to us, when
we're about to get hit by atruck. Right? So
Kenneth Vogt (19:46):
Yeah.
Tara Nylese (19:46):
That's the that helps in that situation. The
important part is the stressmanagement side of it. And
again, there's so much scienceand prominent journals that show
us that mindfulness meditation,stress reduction, stress
management are all crucial keysto getting us out of these
(20:07):
chronic stress disease states.I'd love to quote a couple, if
if you'd like to hear some.
Kenneth Vogt (20:15):
How about it?
Tara Nylese (20:17):
All right. So, NIH, reports that work related stress
is the leading workplace healthproblem, even more so than
obesity. So like this is reallywow. Like this is a really big
thing. Work related stress isthe leading workplace health
problem.
Like that is that's big. And theproductivity losses facing us
(20:41):
are $225,000,000,000 per year oralmost $2,000 per employee. And
that's the productivity that Imentioned before about, you
know, absenteeism, employeeturnover, just not being engaged
in what you're doing. Your youroutput isn't there, and that's
related to stress and thechronic stress that catches up
(21:04):
with us over time. So that's theproblem.
So stress is the problem andwell-being, mental and emotional
health, happiness, mindfulnessare all part of the solution.
And so there was, a scientificpublication in JAMA, a few year
last year. And it said that in arandomized clinical trial, an 8
(21:30):
week mindfulness based stressreduction program was non
inferior to a common antianxiety medication and sort of
in more lay people speak. Whatdoes that mean? It means
practicing mindfulness over timeis gonna be just as effective at
controlling one's anxiety as apill, except for, without all of
(21:53):
the detrimental side effects, ofa pill.
So I, I appreciated that onefrom, you know, from this from
the medical journal. And, again,as scientists loving, quoting
all of these, you could youcould just look up and see NIH
works showing improved focus,concentration, better
(22:14):
relationships, more, selfawareness, emotional regulation,
sleep, and so on, and the listgoes on and on.
Kenneth Vogt (22:21):
Right. So speaking to the audience, at the top of
of this conversation, I pointedout to you that that Tara Niles
is a scientist. And since then,you didn't have to believe me.
You've heard her just list offhow a scientist would see this
and the studies that she'slooked at, and and it does bring
(22:45):
to mind the question, these arestudies that may be new to all
of you. Why, Tara, did you getattracted to mindfulness and go
looking for all this stuff?
Tara Nylese (22:54):
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for for asking the the
personal question, and it'ssomething that I I do feel
strongly about. As I mentioned,I've been a scientist my whole
career.
I fell in love with electronmicroscopy when I was in my
teens. I saw a, an image in mybiology high school textbook,
(23:15):
and I was like, wow, I have todo this. So I completely love
that. And, you know, my passionwas there. And then, when I rose
through the ranks and made somegood career, choices and had
some great opportunities thatI'm super grateful for.
There's a lot of stress at work,a lot of lot of stuff to manage.
(23:37):
And
Kenneth Vogt (23:38):
I don't think this is gonna be news to our
audience.
Tara Nylese (23:42):
No. Yeah. We're we all it's there for for all of
us. Balancing the demands of ahome life, career life and
family life are are all toughstuff. And for me, I was
actually really proud of being amultitasker at one point in
time.
And I really was convinced thatthis was the best way to be. And
(24:03):
maybe
Kenneth Vogt (24:03):
I'm going to send you a study on multitasking.
Tara Nylese (24:08):
I I believe you. Yes. I I would love to see the
study to to add to my list of,evidence backed, that that it's
not great. But at the time, Ithought it was
Kenneth Vogt (24:19):
than not great. It's it fails across the
Tara Nylese (24:23):
board. Right. Yes. True. Better better said than I.
Right. But at the time, I, like,I was proud of being a
multitasker. Like I thoughtlike, this is what I had to do.
I was really tying in my selfworth to what I was doing. I was
equating, you know, the, thequality of my person to the
stuff that I did and when Ieventually came to realize I was
(24:47):
lacking the depth, I, you know,it just wasn't there, for me.
And so I one day I went to a,meditation class in a community
library and, local library. AndI was like, wow, this is really
okay. This is there's, there'ssomething here. And then I ended
up exploring it more, got agreat opportunity to see the
(25:10):
Dalai Lama, which was amazing,and then traveled around the
world and, got to experienceother cultures where Buddhism
was prominent. And it brought meto a group that I'm involved
with now for now over 12 years,a Kadampa Meditation Center.
They're based in the UK, butthey're all over here in the US
(25:30):
as as well. And I would go tothe New York one, which was in
Manhattan in New York City inChelsea. And, you know, just a
lot of professional peoplecoming to this meditation
center. They I would go to theThursday evening class at 7 PM,
and you have men from WallStreet in suits coming into
meditation class. And it's like,okay.
(25:51):
This is meditation for the reallife. Like, for the real, you
know, this is for, for what wedeal with in our careers or
professional life. And it reallyclicked with me. And I started
feeling the effectiveness andthat was the key. It was like,
okay, like, this is notsomething that's touchy feely.
This is not something that's outthere. It actually works. I felt
(26:13):
the the benefit of it. And forme, that was really scientific
because as a scientist toexperiments, you know, that's
what we do. We say, if thisworks, you know, if you see the
benefit of the effectiveness,then do more of that.
If it doesn't work, then tweakit and maybe maybe it works
better or differently. And onceI really found that that worked,
(26:36):
then I stuck with it. And, youknow, I even remember going to
retreats where we'd talk about,like, what we do for a living.
And I remember once saying thatI'm a scientist, and somebody
said, wow. That's weird.
Kenneth Vogt (26:49):
Well, I was thinking about it from the other
standpoint. You know, granted,you saw a variety of people that
are professional and andsuccessful at retreats and at
classes. But when you went backto to your job, when when you
went back to the lab, didn'tthose people think you were a
little odd?
Tara Nylese (27:07):
Yeah. That was, you know, that was always a big one.
I had a good friend thatencouraged me to to keep up with
it, which I forever appreciate,and for that, you know, that
that support. But, yeah, youknow, it wasn't something that I
talked about a lot 10 years ago.You know, I would go to work and
I would go to meditation classand, you know, really had this
(27:29):
sort of, dichotomy of approach,between the lab and to my,
outside hours.
But when I traveled in, Asia,Thailand, Malaysia, Buddhism is
really a way of life there. Sothat started giving me a little
bit more confidence that, okay,this might be weird in the US,
(27:49):
but it's not weird in otherplaces of of the world. And for
the for the big one for me was,writing my book. I kept it to
myself when I was writing it.And
Kenneth Vogt (28:01):
when I get to you're gonna have to let the
world know about that.
Tara Nylese (28:04):
Exactly. Right? Yeah. Yeah. I I sure do.
And, my manager was reallysupportive on that. And, she
actually put me on the spot alittle bit when she started
announcing it to everybody, youknow, sending emails and all
this. And then that encouragedme, like, okay. I'm gonna post
it up on LinkedIn. And, thecommunity, the scientific
(28:24):
community was super receptive toit.
And it's it's that support thatgot me to the number one best
selling release spot in businessto help in stress, which I think
is great because that is a it'sa niche. It's mindfulness in a
business stress category. But itshows like, okay. This you know,
there's something there. Andthen I think even most,
(28:47):
impactful to me was the amountof people who would, you know,
post on social media, would posttheir pictures with my book.
And even when Earl brought hercopy of the book to the M and M
show, the microscopy andmicroanalysis show, last year
for me to sign. And that, youknow, that really meant the
(29:08):
world to me. It helped me getover the imposter syndrome. And
now here I am talking aboutmindfulness as a scientist.
Yeah.
Kenneth Vogt (29:17):
Well, you know, I've made no secret on the
podcast that I'm not personallya scientist. So when you said
you met somebody at an M and Mshow, and I'm thinking you went
to a rap show and they broughtyour book.
Tara Nylese (29:33):
Yeah. Microscopy and microanalysis.
Kenneth Vogt (29:36):
There you go. Gotta love it. So how can how
can others then benefit frommindfulness at work as a
scientist, and how can theyincorporate this in their daily
lives?
Tara Nylese (29:47):
Yeah. I think this is this is probably the most
crucial aspect. It's you know, Icould talk about intellectually
why it's important. I could citescientific journals and
reference, statistics, butreally what's important is you
find a routine that works foryou. You find something that you
(30:09):
enjoy.
You understand that the benefitsare there. I could tell you
about the benefits. You know,being present helps us get in
the flow, helps us be moreengaged in our lives, be more
engaged at work, have betterteams, more creativity, more
productivity, all importantthings. But what really matters
(30:32):
is that you find a routine thatworks for you. And, this is for
anybody listening.
This is the time to get a penand write this down because this
is the big takeaway. You know,the really two important things
are that you find a routine foryou that you enjoy, that you
like doing, you know, that's nota burden, that that you you
(30:53):
enjoy. Like, okay. Yeah. This isthis is good.
You know, it might be a mindfulwalk and, you know, turning off
your mind. It's not justwalking. It's a mindful walk.
It's saying I'm just focusing onmy one foot right in front of
the other, right. Left, right.
Left. And, and really justclearing your mind and focusing
(31:14):
on what you're doing. And thenthe second thing is to feel the
effectiveness because it'sthere. And I've talked about
it's there. Science shows usthere, but you need to feel the
effectiveness to really embodyit, to convince yourself and to
get a habit out of it.
And so if you're not feeling theeffectiveness, then tweak it,
(31:37):
you know, do something a littlebit different. And so with
these, you know, with these twofactors, find something that you
enjoy doing and that you feelthe effectiveness. You have a
wealth of of, tools available toyou. A tremendous tool chest in
the meditation and mindfulnessspace now, and and growing, at
(31:57):
every moment. But there are,guided meditation sessions,
guided mindfulness sessions.
In my book, my chapters areseparated by topics. So I have
mindfulness at work, mindfulnessfor teenagers, mindfulness for
for seniors. And so I talk aboutthe benefits and the background
(32:20):
and the rationale behind it or II write about it. And so you
could read and understandintellectually about it, But
then I also include a writtenmindfulness script that you
could read to actually digestthe action. So you could
understand the action.
And then it links to my sitewith the guided mindfulness
(32:42):
sessions, the recorded sessionsthat you could listen to. So you
could read to to learn. You canread the practice to understand,
and then you could listen toactually practice and get it.
And so that's syncing up the thebrain and the body together to
feel the effectiveness. Butthere's also small ways.
I've got these mindfulnesscalendars, which have been super
(33:02):
popular. Like, tens of thousandsof people have, accessed my
mindfulness calendar calendar inthe last couple of months. And
they're short daily tips on howto practice mindfulness. And,
one of the, the gals who whouses them, she told me she
prints them out, posts them onher fridge, and she encourages
her children to read the dailytips and, take action on them.
(33:25):
And she said her husband toldher that, wow, this mindfulness
stuff must really be working foryou because I don't remember the
last time that you yelled at thekids, and I don't remember the
last time that you yelled at me.
So, you know, if it's thosedaily tips, great. That can also
be formal classes. They could be1 on 1 coaching sessions, you
(33:48):
know, just simply reading, butthere's there's stuff out there
to, to build your tool chest,to, again, create a routine that
works for you that's enjoyableand that's effective.
Kenneth Vogt (34:00):
Right. Well, then you've got so many tools there.
And I will say having havingread your book, you know,
mindfulness for everyday life,the structure of the book is
really good. I mean, it's veryclear. Every chapter, I know
what I'm gonna find there.
I know where I can find it. It'sreally straightforward. It's I I
(34:20):
can see the scientist in you inhow the book is structured. It's
it's and yet it still flows.It's it's not it's not so
uptight that you'd that that youcan't enjoy reading it.
And it's an easy well, I'm gonnasay easy read. I don't wanna
diminish it, but it's accessibleto read. You you don't have to
(34:43):
you don't have to have Tara'sscientific mind to get this.
Tara Nylese (34:48):
Yeah. Right. Thank thank you. Thank you for saying
that. And to me, it wasimportant to organize it in such
a manner because it has a placefor everyone.
It has a place for teenagers. Ithas a place for career
professionals, busy moms, and,even for seniors. So if you're
not a senior, don't read thesenior chapter. If you're not a
teenager, don't re read theteenager chapter or give it to
(35:11):
your to your
Kenneth Vogt (35:12):
Secret. You can read it if you want to.
Tara Nylese (35:14):
Exactly. Right. Yes. Exactly. Because you do
pick up tips from differentperspective.
But, yeah, that was important tome to show that it, yeah. It
applies to everyone again, backto that sort of philosophy,
bringing mindfulness out of theyoga studio and into everyday
life for everybody.
Kenneth Vogt (35:34):
We're just thinking it. I may wanna do an
episode on yoga sometime for thehappy scientists. Be an
interesting juxtaposition. Yeah.
Tara Nylese (35:43):
I would I would love to hear that.
Kenneth Vogt (35:47):
Well, if people wanted to to continue to follow
your work, where would they go?
Tara Nylese (35:52):
Yeah. Great. Yeah. So, you can get my book,
mindfulness in everyday life. Iencourage you to, get it on
Amazon, or you can also get itdirectly on my website, which is
10 minute mindfulness.com.
That's t e n spelled out a 10minute mindfulness. And, there's
also a vast amount of resourceson my website. There are the
(36:15):
book guided sessions. So everysession that's in the book also
has an audio recording on thewebsite, so you can just listen
to that. I also have a sectionon the website called the sleep
suite, and that's for people whohave trouble falling asleep or
staying asleep, waking up in themiddle of the night.
And that one was reallyimpactful for me because I have
(36:37):
some people who that really hasresonated with. And, I enjoyed
hearing that that it helps,helps people. One person said
they they can't listen to myvoice now without thinking they
they should be falling asleep.
Kenneth Vogt (36:52):
Oh, boy. Which I
Tara Nylese (36:53):
don't know if that's a good thing, but, and
I'll tell you, even I even Ilisten to it sometime too if I
wake up in the middle of thenight, and, it is it is weird.
My partner says it's weird, but,but I think I think it's okay,
and it does put me to sleep. Andso but I also, I've created
guided sessions for, one womanrecently was saying that she
(37:15):
needs a little help with hermotivation to get going, to get
inspired during the day. So Ihave a guided audio session on
motivation and, you know,getting your day started with
some energy and dedication andfocus. So, really, I can create
any of these audios for anybodywho has a specific need as well.
So there's stuff out there, orthere's even customizable
(37:37):
options.
Kenneth Vogt (37:38):
Wow. Well, there's the full gamut. I I am so glad
that my cohost here, doctor NickOswald from Bite Size Bio, put
us to put the 2 of us togetherbecause, I I feel I feel we have
a kindred spirit. So
Tara Nylese (37:54):
I do too.
Kenneth Vogt (37:55):
I wanna help scientists. Obviously, you wanna
help scientists. It's great.
Tara Nylese (37:59):
Yes. Yes. I I certainly do. And, get over that
imposter syndrome. You can be ascientist and a meditation
practitioner, and you could evendo it at work.
Kenneth Vogt (38:11):
Gotta love it. Alright. Well, is there anything
you wanna you wanna cap this offwith?
Tara Nylese (38:18):
Yeah. I guess, since I just mentioned, AtWork,
I recently did a presentation atwork for a women's empowerment
group being that, it's women'shistory month. And I was really,
really emboldened by the numberof women who joined in, was was
a tremendous attendance. And tome, that underscored that there
(38:44):
are people who are embracingwell-being at work. It's now
it's acceptable.
It's it's now being acknowledgedas mainstream, and we need to
focus on our well-being at work.And you can simply do these
breathing exercises at yourdesk, and you can bring it into
the workplace and practice withother people. You're, your
(39:08):
mainstream if you're doing thatnow.
Kenneth Vogt (39:11):
There you go. Alright. Well, with that, I
think we will call it a day.Once again, we've had with us
Tara Niles, biologist, chemist,and mindfulness expert with us
here today on the HappyScientist, and be sure to check
out Tara's book and her website,and and go as deep as you wanna
(39:34):
go. So on that note, once again,we're so happy to have everyone
with us.
You can see more episodes fromthe happy scientist at the happy
I'm sorry.Bitesizebio.com/thehappyscientist.
And you will find lots of pastepisodes there. Many of them may
speak to you. Some things thatwe talked about today, there's
(39:55):
whole episodes on, say, theimposter syndrome, for instance,
or about the multitaskingmethod.
There's a lot of possibilities.So with that note, thank you
everyone for for listening in,and we'll see you next time on
the Happy Science.
Tara Nylese (40:09):
Thank you.
Intro/Outro (40:16):
The happy scientist is brought to you by Bite Size
Bio, your mentor in the lab.Bite Size Bio features thousands
of articles and webinarscontributed by hundreds of PhD
scientists and scientificcompanies who freely offer their
hard won wisdom and solutions tothe bite sized bio
This is the Happy Scientist Podcast. Each episode
is designed to make you morefocused, more productive, and
more satisfied in the lab. Youcan find us online at
bitesizebio.com/ happyscientist. Your hosts are
Kenneth Vogt, founder of theexecutive coaching firm, Vera
Claritas, and doctor NickOswald, PhD, bioscientist, and
(00:52):
founder of Bite Size Bio.
Kenneth Vogt (01:00):
Welcome to a special episode of The Happy
Scientist. Today, we're going tobe interviewing author and
scientist Tara Niles. And she'sgot an interesting story and
some interesting activitiesgoing on right now. So I'm
looking forward to talking to toTara. So, first off, let me give
(01:20):
a let me give the re therecorded version of Tara's
background and history, and thenshe can add in whatever she
would like to add on.
So Tara Niles is a career longscientist, so don't don't forget
that. This is gonna matter as wetalk. She is passionate about
mental and emotional well-beingat work and is certified in
(01:42):
applied positive psychology andas a meditation instructor
instructor, that is. Shelaunched her book last year,
Mindfulness in Everyday Life,which hit number 1 best selling
new release in business, health,and stress on Amazon. She
strives to bring mindfulness outof the yoga studio and into
(02:02):
everyday life.
So to start off, let let mefirst ask you, Tara, is there
anything you'd like to add tothat bio?
Tara Nylese (02:10):
Sure. Yeah. And, for starters, thank you so much
for for the opportunity to behere. Super exciting, and I love
what you're doing. Happiness andscience are 2 very important
things and even better when theycome together.
So to add to that, I've been inelectron microscopy my entire
career. I completely loveelectron microscopy. And then
(02:32):
more recently, about, about 12or 13 years ago, I, started
becoming avid in meditation andmindfulness. And again, really
found that the combination ofthe 2 strengthens each other.
And also more importantly, whenyou take the science of
mindfulness or the science ofmeditation, you really see the
improved benefit.
(02:52):
And, I think that really, hitsthe right chord for a lot of
people. You know, it's notsomething that's just out there.
Well, now it's science backedand, that that gives a lot of
people confidence. So I'm happyto talk the happy scientist
perspective today.
Kenneth Vogt (03:08):
Okay. Well, the first the first thing that comes
to mind for me, I I I love theconnection between science and
mindfulness, and I love the ideathat a scientist got interested
in this topic. But why? Whyshould we focus on happiness and
well-being at work? What'swhat's the point of all that?
Tara Nylese (03:29):
Yeah. Great question. And, the reality is is
happy people are just morepresent. They're when we're
happy, we're more focused on thelife around us, the world around
us, what we're doing, what we'reexperiencing, how we're feeling
and happiness leads us to bemore engaged at work. And that's
important because it gets youinto the the flow.
(03:51):
You know, when we love whatwe're doing, then we're doing it
effortlessly and seamlessly andreally bringing our best selves
and effort to it. And, but whydo we wanna be engaged at work?
And, and that's because, thelast few years, you may have
heard of the term quietquitting, and it's something
that we started to see as wecame out of the pandemic. And
(04:11):
what it means is that people arepresent at work. Their bodies
are present at work, but theirminds are not there.
They're not engaged in whatthey're doing at work. You know,
when you hear the term quietquitting, it means that your
mind, escapes, escapes whereyour body is at work.
Kenneth Vogt (04:29):
Sure.
Tara Nylese (04:30):
And you, people who are in that lack of engagement
mode are not having an internalmotivation. They might have
external motivation. Yeah. Ihave to, you know, get a
paycheck. I've got to do this.
But the internal motivation isnot there when you, when you're
not engaged in what you'redoing, when you're not present
(04:50):
in what you're doing and reallyrouting back to to happiness.
And so, one of the the studiesthat I saw, when I was writing
my book was from Gallup Inc,and, they surveyed about
2,000,000 employees across morethan 200 organizations, and they
found just a wealth ofinformation about the benefits
(05:11):
of a highly engaged workforce.And so there there are some of
them that are maybe obvious andsome that are lesser obvious,
but the benefits of highlyengaged workforce go across the
organization. So for example,you have 41% lower absenteeism
in people who are highly engagedand 59% less turnover of
(05:32):
employees in an organization.And that's really important for
human resources.
You know, your your talentturnover isn't there. It means
that people are getting deeperin their job. They're not
missing work because of someexternal factors. So really
increasing that productivity.And that leads to, 17% higher
productivity in organizationsthat have an highly engaged
(05:55):
workforce.
That's great for for factoriesand people producing items, and
that means that there's more,stuff getting out there. They're
they're producing what they'remeant to do. And people who are
delivering higher productivityare delivering more to the
organization. That's that'sgreat for, you know, for
factories, like I mentioned.Then there's also an increase in
(06:19):
customer evaluation or customerranking of an organization.
And there's a 10% highercustomer happiness with a highly
engaged workforce or company.And so that's good for sales
service organizations whereyou're making your customers
happier than you're thriving asan organization. But perhaps the
most important aspect is theprofitability. So really
(06:44):
surprisingly and wonderfully,the benefits of a highly engaged
workforce include a 17% greaterprofitability for the
organization. And so everybodywins when you're working with
better profitability.
You know, the leaders, theleaders are happy. The
shareholders are happy and,people are happier to be there
(07:05):
because then the organizationitself supports a stronger
culture, has more perks, if youwill, really leads to less
stress. So engagement stems frombeing present at work and
present is a form of happinessat work.
Kenneth Vogt (07:23):
Sure. So let's dial this into scientists. You
mentioned factories. Youmentioned customer service
workers. But how would thisapply to scientists?
Why would they care about this?
Tara Nylese (07:33):
Yeah. Exactly. So scientists really need to have
that, creativity, that spark ofinsight. Right? The the greatest
scientific happenings happenwhen you have that moment of
that, you know, that that sparkof ingenuity.
And so when you're happy andyou're more present, you're
(07:56):
actually lowering the the brainchatter. You know? You don't
have all of these distractions.You don't have all these noise,
these external things firinginto your brain, you know,
distracting you from, from, fromthe real thinking. And so as a
scientist, you really wanna listlisten to those whispers of
insights, and then you want togain those moments from those
(08:20):
small whispers of insights inour mind.
And the best way of doing thatis by reducing the mental
chatter and letting thosewhispers come through loud and
clear.
Kenneth Vogt (08:30):
Alright. So on that that topic of of our mental
life, Yeah. Let's apply that tomental and emotional health. For
a lot of folks, that's like,well, you know, I I'd like to
get to that, but I I have moreimportant things to do. But,
but, it it, you know, may not becompared to, like, physical
(08:54):
health or exercising or eatingwell, but how do you relate
mental health and to physicalhealth, which is certainly gonna
impact one's job?
Tara Nylese (09:02):
Yeah. No. That's a that's an excellent point.
Truly, there is, theintertwining of mental and
physical health together. So,there's tons of scientific
evidence and a lot of what I'lltalk about today is backed by
science.
Pretty much everything that I'lltalk about is backed by science
because I'm always gathering,scientific, papers and talks on
(09:24):
these topics. So scientificevidence shows us that having a
positive mental outlook helps uslive longer and healthier lives.
This is this is fantastic. Youknow, just having a better
outlook helps us live longer andlive healthier. And, I'll talk
about something I read just lastweek from doctor Gary Small,
(09:44):
who's a cognitive brain expertfrom the Hackensack Meridian,
medical system.
And he talked about howoptimists have fewer emotional
and physical difficulties. And,you know, when you when you
think about optimism, you say,okay, kind of makes sense. They
might have fewer emotionaldifficulties, but they also have
(10:04):
fewer physical difficulties too.And this is like, wow, okay.
Let's, let's explore this more.
Optimists have more energy.Optimists are always looking for
ways of making things happen andoptimists have less physical
pain. And, you know, you couldstart thinking about why, why
that is. It's like, okay, okay,optimists are focused on
(10:24):
solutions. You know, optimistsare focused on what works, what
doesn't work.
And because as soon as you startgetting onto the spiral of what
doesn't work, you could reallygo on a downward spiral. And,
you know, that's not productivefor, for work productivity, but
also for physical health too.Yeah. I'm not saying that
optimism is being a pollyanna,like, oh, the world is great.
(10:47):
Nothing is wrong.
Optimism optimists approachchallenges with a recognition
that challenges exist. You know,there are difficulties there,
but optimists, right. So mostapproach them like, okay, I'm I
see this problem. I'm going todeal with it. I could find a
solution and I'm gonna get itdone.
(11:08):
Whereas maybe the oppositemindset is less solutions
focused.
Kenneth Vogt (11:13):
Yes. We've we've talked about optimism on the
happy scientist several times,and you're you're spot on with
what we've been saying. It'sjust practical. It it and it's
funny. The average optimist, ifyou ask them, do you think
you're a realist?
(11:34):
They're like, maybe, maybe not.He has a pessimist. You bet I'm
a realist. I'm absolutely real.That's and it's not true.
Optimist is much more realisticthan a pessimist.
Tara Nylese (11:46):
Right. Yeah. That's that's a great distinction and a
great point. It is saying like,okay. We need to look at the
whole world.
We don't need to be just pulledin one direction or the other,
but, you know, I often use theanalogy if your house is on
fire, the best thing to say isto start with is my house is on
fire. And then what do I do fromthere? You know, and the
(12:08):
optimist again, solutionsoriented. Okay. Let's get
everybody out of the house.
Let's make sure everyone's safe.Let's call 911. Let's do it.
Let's move. Let's go forward.
Whereas with an opposite, lesssolutions focused mindset, you
say, say, oh my god. The houseis on fire. The house is on
fire. And then you just dwell onthe problem, and that's not
Kenneth Vogt (12:25):
gonna And all the possibilities of how it could go
wrong. House is
Tara Nylese (12:29):
on fire.
Kenneth Vogt (12:30):
I'm gonna lose all my stuff. House is on fire. I'm
gonna get hurt. House is onfire. Everybody's gonna die.
And chances are some of that maynot happen, but all of it is
highly unlikely to happen. Thatis not the way to operate in
life.
Tara Nylese (12:44):
Yes. Yes. Yes. Exactly. And what I also like
about what, doctor Small saidwas that 10 minutes a day on
daily meditation boostscognitive abilities, and I
completely love that.
And so this is coming from a,cognitive brain expert. It's
also supplementing what I readback in 2017 in Harvard Business
(13:06):
Review. There was an articleentitled 10 minutes a day on
mindfulness suddenly changeChanges Everything. And that was
really for me the inspirationfor my mindfulness program or my
website, which is 10 minutemindfulness.com. And really,
it's just that science andbusiness focus of 10 minutes a
day on mindfulness changes theway we make decisions, the way
(13:29):
that we're increasingproductivity.
It gives us that buffer to beable to effectively deal with
the the problems that come up.
Kenneth Vogt (13:37):
Yeah. And the notion that I'm so busy, I can't
do this. 10 minutes? Really? Youcan't sacrifice 10 minutes of
doomscrolling today?
Really? Right. Come on. Youcould do this. So Yeah.
This this air this area ofinterest may not be something
(13:57):
that every scientist spends alot of time in. They may not
know what's going on in thewellness industry. So the trends
there, what what do you what doyou see these days about the
wellness industry in general andspecifically about mental
wellness?
Tara Nylese (14:11):
Yeah. Great. Perfect. So back to a little bit
of research. So, McKinsey andCompany is a business reporting
company, and they have a reporton the future of wellness.
It's a survey that showsconsumers are taking greater
control of their health. Andthis is this is great, and it
shows, over time how things arechanging. So, so they report
(14:37):
that consumers are expectingcompanies to have science based
solutions to be effective in themental wellness space. So this
is this is really great, reportsthat that any people aren't just
blindly accepting, wellnessservices, but they're saying,
okay. We need to have it provento us now.
(14:57):
We need to have it backed byscience and expertise. And so,
the report shows that the globalwellness market is
1,800,000,000,000. That'strillion with a t,
$1,000,000,000,000. And this is,you know, this is an amazing,
market. It also that that numberalso includes things like your
(15:18):
athletic wear, your apparel,your fancy name brand leggings,
and and all this, your gadgets,your health trackers, and even
supplements and all this.
But one of the segments that'sgrowing, and they they report
that the meditation andmindfulness segment is now more
recently, gaining consumeracceptance. And about half of
(15:41):
the people surveyed said theywish they had more products and
services related to meditationand mindfulness. So this is a
great opportunity for companiesto, to be able to meet that
consumer need. So of that globalmarket of 1,800,000,000,000,
about 500,000,000,000, so halfof a trillion is just in the US.
(16:02):
And, 80% of consumers say thatthey consider wellness a top
priority in their everyday life.
So this is this is reallyencouraging, but I think the
most important thing is becauseof the new segment growth of the
meditation and mindfulness,trend, the global meditation
market has about a 20% compoundannual growth rate to 2030. So
(16:26):
this is expected to have anexplosive growth of products and
services related to deliveringmindfulness and meditation
services to, to to people.
Kenneth Vogt (16:36):
Okay. So that's the business side of it. But
what what does science have tosay about happiness and
mindfulness? What what are thejournals saying out there? What
are the medical and academicinstitutions saying about
mindfulness?
Tara Nylese (16:48):
Yes. You're speaking my language. Thank you.
So so there's just a completewealth of scientific and
medical, evidence across,prominent journals. And so, you
you know whenever whenever Ilook up I dig up information
from from NIH, the NationalLibrary of Medicine, the CDC
Nature Magazine, even, and,there's another one, the
(17:11):
American Institute of Stress.
And so this is a tidbit that Ilove from from that journal,
that publication. More than halfof Americans are stressed during
the day. Half of Americans arestressed during the day, but 94%
of Americans are stressed atwork. And about 60% of them are
(17:35):
ready to quit their job overstress. And I'm going to that
60% ready to quit their job overstress.
I definitely want to, while I'mquoting that from a journal, I
wanna put that with a grain ofsalt. I don't think that means
that people are actually goingto quit their jobs over over the
stress, but they're to the pointwhere the stress is impacting
their daily lives at work insciences. And so even the CDC
(17:58):
says that about 90% of diseaseshave some relation to stress.
Stress weakens the immunesystem. And as scientists, you
know, we understand that we getthat, you know, we understand
how the immune system works.
We understand when our cellularfunctioning isn't functioning in
the appropriate way, eitherbecause our blood vessels are
(18:20):
constricted, our blood pressureis elevated because of the
stress from the fight or flightresponse that might be
chronically present in in ourbodies, our elevated, heart
rate. All of those things overtime lead to chronic stress. And
as scientists, I think, youknow, we we get that pretty
easily. And then you have the,you know, the relation to
(18:43):
cardiovascular disease, cancer.And with a suppressed immune
system, it puts us even more atrisk for infectious diseases
too.
Right.
Kenneth Vogt (18:53):
Another I've always been surprised about
something about about stress andour immune system. It seems like
the moment I most need my immunesystem work well is when I'm
under stress, and that's when itdoesn't work very well.
Tara Nylese (19:07):
Right. Yes. Exactly. Because your your body
focuses on on the the stressor.You know, if we think about the
fight or flight response, ourbodies are tuned to that to
outrun a lion or maybe
Kenneth Vogt (19:22):
worry about feeling sick later.
Tara Nylese (19:24):
Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. You sort of put that
put that on the side and immunesystem isn't gonna help you
outrun a a lion or, know, if youstep off a a curve and a
crosswalk and there's a truckbarreling down on you, like,
that's when we need that fightor flight response, like quick
reaction. You know?
Yeah. And our immune systemisn't important to us, when
we're about to get hit by atruck. Right? So
Kenneth Vogt (19:46):
Yeah.
Tara Nylese (19:46):
That's the that helps in that situation. The
important part is the stressmanagement side of it. And
again, there's so much scienceand prominent journals that show
us that mindfulness meditation,stress reduction, stress
management are all crucial keysto getting us out of these
(20:07):
chronic stress disease states.I'd love to quote a couple, if
if you'd like to hear some.
Kenneth Vogt (20:15):
How about it?
Tara Nylese (20:17):
All right. So, NIH, reports that work related stress
is the leading workplace healthproblem, even more so than
obesity. So like this is reallywow. Like this is a really big
thing. Work related stress isthe leading workplace health
problem.
Like that is that's big. And theproductivity losses facing us
(20:41):
are $225,000,000,000 per year oralmost $2,000 per employee. And
that's the productivity that Imentioned before about, you
know, absenteeism, employeeturnover, just not being engaged
in what you're doing. Your youroutput isn't there, and that's
related to stress and thechronic stress that catches up
(21:04):
with us over time. So that's theproblem.
So stress is the problem andwell-being, mental and emotional
health, happiness, mindfulnessare all part of the solution.
And so there was, a scientificpublication in JAMA, a few year
last year. And it said that in arandomized clinical trial, an 8
(21:30):
week mindfulness based stressreduction program was non
inferior to a common antianxiety medication and sort of
in more lay people speak. Whatdoes that mean? It means
practicing mindfulness over timeis gonna be just as effective at
controlling one's anxiety as apill, except for, without all of
(21:53):
the detrimental side effects, ofa pill.
So I, I appreciated that onefrom, you know, from this from
the medical journal. And, again,as scientists loving, quoting
all of these, you could youcould just look up and see NIH
works showing improved focus,concentration, better
(22:14):
relationships, more, selfawareness, emotional regulation,
sleep, and so on, and the listgoes on and on.
Kenneth Vogt (22:21):
Right. So speaking to the audience, at the top of
of this conversation, I pointedout to you that that Tara Niles
is a scientist. And since then,you didn't have to believe me.
You've heard her just list offhow a scientist would see this
and the studies that she'slooked at, and and it does bring
(22:45):
to mind the question, these arestudies that may be new to all
of you. Why, Tara, did you getattracted to mindfulness and go
looking for all this stuff?
Tara Nylese (22:54):
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for for asking the the
personal question, and it'ssomething that I I do feel
strongly about. As I mentioned,I've been a scientist my whole
career.
I fell in love with electronmicroscopy when I was in my
teens. I saw a, an image in mybiology high school textbook,
(23:15):
and I was like, wow, I have todo this. So I completely love
that. And, you know, my passionwas there. And then, when I rose
through the ranks and made somegood career, choices and had
some great opportunities thatI'm super grateful for.
There's a lot of stress at work,a lot of lot of stuff to manage.
(23:37):
And
Kenneth Vogt (23:38):
I don't think this is gonna be news to our
audience.
Tara Nylese (23:42):
No. Yeah. We're we all it's there for for all of
us. Balancing the demands of ahome life, career life and
family life are are all toughstuff. And for me, I was
actually really proud of being amultitasker at one point in
time.
And I really was convinced thatthis was the best way to be. And
(24:03):
maybe
Kenneth Vogt (24:03):
I'm going to send you a study on multitasking.
Tara Nylese (24:08):
I I believe you. Yes. I I would love to see the
study to to add to my list of,evidence backed, that that it's
not great. But at the time, Ithought it was
Kenneth Vogt (24:19):
than not great. It's it fails across the
Tara Nylese (24:23):
board. Right. Yes. True. Better better said than I.
Right. But at the time, I, like,I was proud of being a
multitasker. Like I thoughtlike, this is what I had to do.
I was really tying in my selfworth to what I was doing. I was
equating, you know, the, thequality of my person to the
stuff that I did and when Ieventually came to realize I was
(24:47):
lacking the depth, I, you know,it just wasn't there, for me.
And so I one day I went to a,meditation class in a community
library and, local library. AndI was like, wow, this is really
okay. This is there's, there'ssomething here. And then I ended
up exploring it more, got agreat opportunity to see the
(25:10):
Dalai Lama, which was amazing,and then traveled around the
world and, got to experienceother cultures where Buddhism
was prominent. And it brought meto a group that I'm involved
with now for now over 12 years,a Kadampa Meditation Center.
They're based in the UK, butthey're all over here in the US
(25:30):
as as well. And I would go tothe New York one, which was in
Manhattan in New York City inChelsea. And, you know, just a
lot of professional peoplecoming to this meditation
center. They I would go to theThursday evening class at 7 PM,
and you have men from WallStreet in suits coming into
meditation class. And it's like,okay.
(25:51):
This is meditation for the reallife. Like, for the real, you
know, this is for, for what wedeal with in our careers or
professional life. And it reallyclicked with me. And I started
feeling the effectiveness andthat was the key. It was like,
okay, like, this is notsomething that's touchy feely.
This is not something that's outthere. It actually works. I felt
(26:13):
the the benefit of it. And forme, that was really scientific
because as a scientist toexperiments, you know, that's
what we do. We say, if thisworks, you know, if you see the
benefit of the effectiveness,then do more of that.
If it doesn't work, then tweakit and maybe maybe it works
better or differently. And onceI really found that that worked,
(26:36):
then I stuck with it. And, youknow, I even remember going to
retreats where we'd talk about,like, what we do for a living.
And I remember once saying thatI'm a scientist, and somebody
said, wow. That's weird.
Kenneth Vogt (26:49):
Well, I was thinking about it from the other
standpoint. You know, granted,you saw a variety of people that
are professional and andsuccessful at retreats and at
classes. But when you went backto to your job, when when you
went back to the lab, didn'tthose people think you were a
little odd?
Tara Nylese (27:07):
Yeah. That was, you know, that was always a big one.
I had a good friend thatencouraged me to to keep up with
it, which I forever appreciate,and for that, you know, that
that support. But, yeah, youknow, it wasn't something that I
talked about a lot 10 years ago.You know, I would go to work and
I would go to meditation classand, you know, really had this
(27:29):
sort of, dichotomy of approach,between the lab and to my,
outside hours.
But when I traveled in, Asia,Thailand, Malaysia, Buddhism is
really a way of life there. Sothat started giving me a little
bit more confidence that, okay,this might be weird in the US,
(27:49):
but it's not weird in otherplaces of of the world. And for
the for the big one for me was,writing my book. I kept it to
myself when I was writing it.And
Kenneth Vogt (28:01):
when I get to you're gonna have to let the
world know about that.
Tara Nylese (28:04):
Exactly. Right? Yeah. Yeah. I I sure do.
And, my manager was reallysupportive on that. And, she
actually put me on the spot alittle bit when she started
announcing it to everybody, youknow, sending emails and all
this. And then that encouragedme, like, okay. I'm gonna post
it up on LinkedIn. And, thecommunity, the scientific
(28:24):
community was super receptive toit.
And it's it's that support thatgot me to the number one best
selling release spot in businessto help in stress, which I think
is great because that is a it'sa niche. It's mindfulness in a
business stress category. But itshows like, okay. This you know,
there's something there. Andthen I think even most,
(28:47):
impactful to me was the amountof people who would, you know,
post on social media, would posttheir pictures with my book.
And even when Earl brought hercopy of the book to the M and M
show, the microscopy andmicroanalysis show, last year
for me to sign. And that, youknow, that really meant the
(29:08):
world to me. It helped me getover the imposter syndrome. And
now here I am talking aboutmindfulness as a scientist.
Yeah.
Kenneth Vogt (29:17):
Well, you know, I've made no secret on the
podcast that I'm not personallya scientist. So when you said
you met somebody at an M and Mshow, and I'm thinking you went
to a rap show and they broughtyour book.
Tara Nylese (29:33):
Yeah. Microscopy and microanalysis.
Kenneth Vogt (29:36):
There you go. Gotta love it. So how can how
can others then benefit frommindfulness at work as a
scientist, and how can theyincorporate this in their daily
lives?
Tara Nylese (29:47):
Yeah. I think this is this is probably the most
crucial aspect. It's you know, Icould talk about intellectually
why it's important. I could citescientific journals and
reference, statistics, butreally what's important is you
find a routine that works foryou. You find something that you
(30:09):
enjoy.
You understand that the benefitsare there. I could tell you
about the benefits. You know,being present helps us get in
the flow, helps us be moreengaged in our lives, be more
engaged at work, have betterteams, more creativity, more
productivity, all importantthings. But what really matters
(30:32):
is that you find a routine thatworks for you. And, this is for
anybody listening.
This is the time to get a penand write this down because this
is the big takeaway. You know,the really two important things
are that you find a routine foryou that you enjoy, that you
like doing, you know, that's nota burden, that that you you
(30:53):
enjoy. Like, okay. Yeah. This isthis is good.
You know, it might be a mindfulwalk and, you know, turning off
your mind. It's not justwalking. It's a mindful walk.
It's saying I'm just focusing onmy one foot right in front of
the other, right. Left, right.
Left. And, and really justclearing your mind and focusing
(31:14):
on what you're doing. And thenthe second thing is to feel the
effectiveness because it'sthere. And I've talked about
it's there. Science shows usthere, but you need to feel the
effectiveness to really embodyit, to convince yourself and to
get a habit out of it.
And so if you're not feeling theeffectiveness, then tweak it,
(31:37):
you know, do something a littlebit different. And so with
these, you know, with these twofactors, find something that you
enjoy doing and that you feelthe effectiveness. You have a
wealth of of, tools available toyou. A tremendous tool chest in
the meditation and mindfulnessspace now, and and growing, at
(31:57):
every moment. But there are,guided meditation sessions,
guided mindfulness sessions.
In my book, my chapters areseparated by topics. So I have
mindfulness at work, mindfulnessfor teenagers, mindfulness for
for seniors. And so I talk aboutthe benefits and the background
(32:20):
and the rationale behind it or II write about it. And so you
could read and understandintellectually about it, But
then I also include a writtenmindfulness script that you
could read to actually digestthe action. So you could
understand the action.
And then it links to my sitewith the guided mindfulness
(32:42):
sessions, the recorded sessionsthat you could listen to. So you
could read to to learn. You canread the practice to understand,
and then you could listen toactually practice and get it.
And so that's syncing up the thebrain and the body together to
feel the effectiveness. Butthere's also small ways.
I've got these mindfulnesscalendars, which have been super
(33:02):
popular. Like, tens of thousandsof people have, accessed my
mindfulness calendar calendar inthe last couple of months. And
they're short daily tips on howto practice mindfulness. And,
one of the, the gals who whouses them, she told me she
prints them out, posts them onher fridge, and she encourages
her children to read the dailytips and, take action on them.
(33:25):
And she said her husband toldher that, wow, this mindfulness
stuff must really be working foryou because I don't remember the
last time that you yelled at thekids, and I don't remember the
last time that you yelled at me.
So, you know, if it's thosedaily tips, great. That can also
be formal classes. They could be1 on 1 coaching sessions, you
(33:48):
know, just simply reading, butthere's there's stuff out there
to, to build your tool chest,to, again, create a routine that
works for you that's enjoyableand that's effective.
Kenneth Vogt (34:00):
Right. Well, then you've got so many tools there.
And I will say having havingread your book, you know,
mindfulness for everyday life,the structure of the book is
really good. I mean, it's veryclear. Every chapter, I know
what I'm gonna find there.
I know where I can find it. It'sreally straightforward. It's I I
(34:20):
can see the scientist in you inhow the book is structured. It's
it's and yet it still flows.It's it's not it's not so
uptight that you'd that that youcan't enjoy reading it.
And it's an easy well, I'm gonnasay easy read. I don't wanna
diminish it, but it's accessibleto read. You you don't have to
(34:43):
you don't have to have Tara'sscientific mind to get this.
Tara Nylese (34:48):
Yeah. Right. Thank thank you. Thank you for saying
that. And to me, it wasimportant to organize it in such
a manner because it has a placefor everyone.
It has a place for teenagers. Ithas a place for career
professionals, busy moms, and,even for seniors. So if you're
not a senior, don't read thesenior chapter. If you're not a
teenager, don't re read theteenager chapter or give it to
(35:11):
your to your
Kenneth Vogt (35:12):
Secret. You can read it if you want to.
Tara Nylese (35:14):
Exactly. Right. Yes. Exactly. Because you do
pick up tips from differentperspective.
But, yeah, that was important tome to show that it, yeah. It
applies to everyone again, backto that sort of philosophy,
bringing mindfulness out of theyoga studio and into everyday
life for everybody.
Kenneth Vogt (35:34):
We're just thinking it. I may wanna do an
episode on yoga sometime for thehappy scientists. Be an
interesting juxtaposition. Yeah.
Tara Nylese (35:43):
I would I would love to hear that.
Kenneth Vogt (35:47):
Well, if people wanted to to continue to follow
your work, where would they go?
Tara Nylese (35:52):
Yeah. Great. Yeah. So, you can get my book,
mindfulness in everyday life. Iencourage you to, get it on
Amazon, or you can also get itdirectly on my website, which is
10 minute mindfulness.com.
That's t e n spelled out a 10minute mindfulness. And, there's
also a vast amount of resourceson my website. There are the
(36:15):
book guided sessions. So everysession that's in the book also
has an audio recording on thewebsite, so you can just listen
to that. I also have a sectionon the website called the sleep
suite, and that's for people whohave trouble falling asleep or
staying asleep, waking up in themiddle of the night.
And that one was reallyimpactful for me because I have
(36:37):
some people who that really hasresonated with. And, I enjoyed
hearing that that it helps,helps people. One person said
they they can't listen to myvoice now without thinking they
they should be falling asleep.
Kenneth Vogt (36:52):
Oh, boy. Which I
Tara Nylese (36:53):
don't know if that's a good thing, but, and
I'll tell you, even I even Ilisten to it sometime too if I
wake up in the middle of thenight, and, it is it is weird.
My partner says it's weird, but,but I think I think it's okay,
and it does put me to sleep. Andso but I also, I've created
guided sessions for, one womanrecently was saying that she
(37:15):
needs a little help with hermotivation to get going, to get
inspired during the day. So Ihave a guided audio session on
motivation and, you know,getting your day started with
some energy and dedication andfocus. So, really, I can create
any of these audios for anybodywho has a specific need as well.
So there's stuff out there, orthere's even customizable
(37:37):
options.
Kenneth Vogt (37:38):
Wow. Well, there's the full gamut. I I am so glad
that my cohost here, doctor NickOswald from Bite Size Bio, put
us to put the 2 of us togetherbecause, I I feel I feel we have
a kindred spirit. So
Tara Nylese (37:54):
I do too.
Kenneth Vogt (37:55):
I wanna help scientists. Obviously, you wanna
help scientists. It's great.
Tara Nylese (37:59):
Yes. Yes. I I certainly do. And, get over that
imposter syndrome. You can be ascientist and a meditation
practitioner, and you could evendo it at work.
Kenneth Vogt (38:11):
Gotta love it. Alright. Well, is there anything
you wanna you wanna cap this offwith?
Tara Nylese (38:18):
Yeah. I guess, since I just mentioned, AtWork,
I recently did a presentation atwork for a women's empowerment
group being that, it's women'shistory month. And I was really,
really emboldened by the numberof women who joined in, was was
a tremendous attendance. And tome, that underscored that there
(38:44):
are people who are embracingwell-being at work. It's now
it's acceptable.
It's it's now being acknowledgedas mainstream, and we need to
focus on our well-being at work.And you can simply do these
breathing exercises at yourdesk, and you can bring it into
the workplace and practice withother people. You're, your
(39:08):
mainstream if you're doing thatnow.
Kenneth Vogt (39:11):
There you go. Alright. Well, with that, I
think we will call it a day.Once again, we've had with us
Tara Niles, biologist, chemist,and mindfulness expert with us
here today on the HappyScientist, and be sure to check
out Tara's book and her website,and and go as deep as you wanna
(39:34):
go. So on that note, once again,we're so happy to have everyone
with us.
You can see more episodes fromthe happy scientist at the happy
I'm sorry.Bitesizebio.com/thehappyscientist.
And you will find lots of pastepisodes there. Many of them may
speak to you. Some things thatwe talked about today, there's
(39:55):
whole episodes on, say, theimposter syndrome, for instance,
or about the multitaskingmethod.
There's a lot of possibilities.So with that note, thank you
everyone for for listening in,and we'll see you next time on
the Happy Science.
Tara Nylese (40:09):
Thank you.
Intro/Outro (40:16):
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