Videos
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Embracing Hope, Courage, and Compassion in Times of Crisis
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THE TELOMERE EFFECT: LIVING HEALTHIER, LONGER with Prof Elissa Epel at Happiness & Its Causes 2019
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Elissa Epel - Can the Mind Heal the Body?
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Generations Over Dinner (Over Lunch)
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Dr. Elissa Epel on Telomeres and the Role of Stress Biology in Cellular Aging
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Elissa Epel - How Do Human Brains Function?
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Conversations on Compassion with Dr. Elissa Epel
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The Telomere Effect
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GWS 2017: The Telomere Effect | Elissa Epel
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What stress does to your body (it isn’t always bad!)
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Lifespan Expanded: The Scientific Quest For A Fountain Of Youth
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Elissa Epel and Rick Hanson: Strengthening Your Body Against Stress
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Food and the Aging Brain: Updates on Nutrition and Cognitive Health in Older Adults
Learn More About Elissa Epel
Elissa Epel, Ph.D, is an international expert on stress, well-being, and optimal aging and a best-selling author. She is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at University of California, San Francisco where she is vice chair of psychology and directs the Aging Metabolism Emotions Center. She studies the environmental, psychological, behavioral and social factors that impact cellular aging, and is also focusing on climate wellness. She studies how self-care practices such as meditation and positive stress can promote psychological and physiological thriving, and is interested in large scale interventions for communal well-being and health equity. She co-wrote The New York Times bestseller “The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer” (Grand Central Publishing) with Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn (translated into 30 languages) and “Stress Prescription: Seven Days to More Joy and Ease” (Penguin Life) which became the #1 new release in Amazon’s stress management category almost instantly. She enjoys leading science-based meditation retreats at venues such as WEF/Davos, Esalen, Blue Spirit Costa Rica, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and 1440 Multiversity.
Epel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, current President of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, and co-chair of the Mind & Life Institute Steering Council. She has served as a consultant to NIH, CDC, Facebook, Apple, United Health, and to UC campus wide initiatives on stress and health. Epel’s research has been featured in documentaries and media outlets such as TEDMED, Wisdom 2.0, NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s Morning Show, 60 Minutes, National Public Radio, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
Elissa Epel is available to advise your organization via virtual and in-person consulting meetings, interactive workshops and customized keynotes through the exclusive representation of Stern Speakers & Advisors, a division of Stern Strategy Group®.
Using Happiness Science to Promote Emotional Well-Being and Health
What does the happiness research really tell us? Where is this field going? And how can we use these research insights in our daily life? In this fascinating presentation, Elissa Epel, Ph.D., who helped to lead the largest citizen science project examining happiness and how it varies by person and country, answers these questions and more. She will share some of the intriguing work of the new NIH emotional well being networks, and will lead highly interactive discussions in which participants will gain actionable strategies for promoting emotional well-being.
The Mental Health Crisis of Our Uncertain Era: Building Institutional and Personal Stress Resilience
According to University of California, San Francisco Professor Elissa Epel, work should not detract from health or add stress. Indeed, work can enhance health, well being, and purpose. In this engaging presentation, she educates leaders on understanding work burnout and the importance of and strategies for promoting mental and social preparedness for the next crises. She’ll explain the mental health and social inequities that were revealed during the Covid pandemic and shares effective blueprints from UCSF’s pandemic COPE program.
Obesity, Compulsive Eating, Sugar and Stress: Insights from the Lab, the Field, and Clinical Trials
Stress and compulsive eating (reward drive) are inter-related and lead to greater obesity, including abdominal fat deposition. In this eye-opening talk, University of California, San Francisco Professor Elissa Epel reveals new findings and lessons learned from clinical trials for healthy weight using mindful stress reduction and mindful eating. She’ll also detail the results of an influential interviewing study on sugared beverages, which is now being implemented across healthcare systems.
The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer
(Grand Central Publishing, January 2017)
Advance Praise for "The Stress Prescription"
“The scientific background and anecdotes from those who have gotten a handle on their stress enrich the advice. This is just what the doctor ordered.”
“'The Stress Prescription' is an incredibly wise guide with simple, powerful advice. If you incorporate even one of these daily practices it will lower your stress and boost your emotional well-being and health.”
“A preeminent expert sheds light on how to handle the daily hassles of life. It’s not just a manual for managing stress—it’s a toolkit for preventing it.”
“Epel’s decision to make this invaluable material available in such an accessible, practical, and impactful way for the public is a gift to us all. In 'The Stress Prescription', she reveals the often-invisible forces that affect all of our lives, and guides us towards a healthier, happier, and longer life. This is a must-read for our new era of challenges.”
“The compassionate and insightful writing in this book, combined with its highly accessible and practical guidance, make it a very valuable resource that will be used and appreciated by many in these uncertain times.”
“'In The Stress Prescription', Dr. Elissa Epel explores the deep science of how we create biological stress in our bodies by our beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors, which often unwittingly make us sick, anxious, and depressed. And she provides the antidote in a clear, step-by-step, day-by-day set of practices that will rewire your brain and body to become happier, healthier, and more stress resilient. A critical book for us all in an ever more stressful world.”
“'The Stress Prescription' beautifully combines the rigor of science with the wisdom of reflection, to offer a powerful and transformational roadmap for how to live a happier, healthier life. The wealth of ideas and practices presented in this illuminating work has the power to transform our individual and collective lives.”
Praise for "The Telomere Effect"
"Blackburn and Epel demonstrate that how we live each day has a profound effect not just on our health and well-being, but how we age, as well. It's a manual for how to live younger and longer."
"A classic. One of the most exciting health books to emerge in the last decade. It explains how we can slow the way we age at a fundamental level."
"'The Telomere Effect' explains the often-invisible things that affect all of our lives, helping us make better choices individually and socially for greater health and longevity. It will change the way we think of aging and disease."
"A revolutionary set of findings-with a wealth of science-based suggestions-that can transform the way we live our lives, shaping the very health of our cells by how we use our minds."
"This book is revolutionary, transforming the way our world thinks about health and living well, disease, and death. It reveals a stunning picture of healthy aging-it's not simply about individuals, it's about how we are connected to each other, today and through future generations. It is hard to overstate this book's importance."
"Grounded in cutting-edge science, this is the best book on how to have long-term health that I have read in a very long time. Written with clarity, verve, and heart, it is chock-full of practical suggestions based on fascinating research on our own DNA. Tremendous."
"An extraordinary, illuminating synthesis of biological and psychosocial factors that enhance healthful longevity by their effects on telomeres. These new advances in knowledge enable people to attain longer, healthier lives."
"'The Telomere Effect' gives us, in high relief and with exactly the practical level of detail we need, the long and the short of a new science revealing that how we live our lives, both inwardly and outwardly, individually and collectively, impinges significantly on our health, our well-being, and even our longevity. Mindfulness is a key ingredient, and importantly, issues of poverty and social justice are shown to clearly come into play as well. This book is an invaluable, rigorously authentic, and at its core, exceedingly compassionate and wise contribution to our understanding of health and well-being."
"From basic science to practical lifestyle advice, 'The Telomere Effect' is an extraordinary compendium of wisdom from a remarkable collaboration between a molecular biologist and a health psychologist. It is the supreme user-friendly guide to scientific research on telomeres and why knowing about them is important for your everyday life. This book is a must read for anyone who wishes to live with optimal health."
