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59 Loy. L. Rev. 791 (2013)
Killing Them Softly: Neuroscience Reveals How Brain Cells Die from Law School Stress and How Neural Self-Hacking Can Optimize Cognitive Performance

handle is hein.journals/loyolr59 and id is 833 raw text is: ARTICLES KILLING THEM SOFTLY: NEUROSCIENCE REVEALS HOW BRAIN CELLS DIE FROM LAW SCHOOL STRESS AND HOW NEURAL SELF-HACKING CAN OPTIMIZE COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE Debra S. Austin, J.D., Ph.D.* ABSTRACT Law is a cognitive profession, and the legendary stressors in legal education and the practice of law can take a tremendous toll on cognitive capacity. Lawyers suffer from depression at triple the rate of non-lawyers. This Article provides a groundbreaking synthesis on the neuroscience of achieving optimal cognitive fitness for all law students, law professors, and lawyers. A number of innovative companies have instituted programs designed to enhance the bottom line. Research shows that perks such as onsite gyms, stress management classes, and mindfulness training produce vibrant workplaces and thriving employees. Forward-looking law schools have created wellness programs designed to relieve law student stress and improve well-being. * J.D., Ph.D., Lawyering Process Professor, University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Many thanks to LWI-ALWD-LexisNexis for funding this research with a 2012 Legal Writing Scholarship Grant. Thank you for inviting me to speak on this topic: Chief Justice Lawton Nuss of the Kansas Supreme Court; the Legal Writing Institute; the Implications of Tiger Parenting on Legal Education Conference; the Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference; the Central States Legal Writing Conference; the Psychology and Lawyering Conference; Kansas Judicial Conference; and The Association of Reporters of Judicial Decisions. Thank you for your scholarship mentoring: Dr. Tom Russell; Professors Robin Wellford Slocum, Kathryn Stanchi, Nantiya Ruan, Corie Rosen Felder, Jan Jacobowitz, KK DuVivier, and Deborah Borman; and the Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Scholarship Group. Thank you for reading drafts: Gary Alexander and Dale Pugh, and for your cheerful and unflinching support: Research Assistants Kelsey Feldkamp and Keri Friedman. 791

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