Health
The Brain
![Aspen Ideas: Health 2024 Reading List](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/3edda8db-f2e6-4d67-97bf-ced91456c01a/2024BookBannerImage1.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=710%2C0%2C2702%2C2700&w=290)
The Aspen Ideas: Health team is proud to showcase the diverse writing of our 2024 speakers. Explore these must-read books from leading physicians, researchers, advocates, artists, journalists and more, who will join the conversations this summer.
![2024 Aspen Ideas: Health Speaker Preview](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/7c60a93c-a1cd-4537-a441-3504e6bc58ba/AIHSpeakerPreviewBlog.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C32%2C890%2C890&w=290)
Take a sneak peek at some of the big thinkers and innovative doers who will take the stage at Aspen Ideas: Health from June 20-23, 2024!
![Mind in Motion: The Science Behind Cognitive Health](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ba2fe809-c144-4f7a-9a01-c531ed86a448/AIFStockHeroImages18.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1312%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=290)
Researchers have made remarkable strides in understanding the intricate workings of the brain, and this knowledge can empower us to take proactive steps in preserving and enhancing our brain health. Learn from experts in the fields of neurology, psychology, and neuroplasticity as they explain the most important things we can do to care for our brains. Not only do these tip...
![How to Talk to Your Teen](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/16b72010-78ab-4b45-bf73-a9b0da9a249a/AIFStockHeroImages2.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1963%2C0%2C3377%2C3375&w=290)
Lisa Damour is a clinical psychologist, author, and a senior advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University. We caught up with her about how psychologists understand mental health and solicited her advice on how parents can encourage healthy social media use for their teens.
![How to Tune-In to Aspen Ideas: Health 2023!](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null503a2654-c755-42e7-9b96-005bb9f7a15f/48373083081_ea331a93c6_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1097%2C0%2C2194%2C2196&w=290)
Watch select daily livestreams and join the virtual #AspenIdeasHealth conversation from June 21-24!
![Health Fellow Spotlight: Patience Lee, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b975fbac-e30e-4325-b9dd-7f0a8aaff258/AIHPatienceLee.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=5073%2C0%2C6754%2C6750&w=290)
Meet Patience Lee, a 2023 Aspen Ideas: Health Fellow who’s building cultural awareness into mental health support services for unaccompanied refugee children in the United States.
![7 Things You Didn't Know About Sleep](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e5a7e5b9-1c88-496a-b424-7cda083b1eaf/Flygare.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=5215%2C0%2C6754%2C6750&w=290)
In today's society, sleep is often seen as a luxury, but Project Sleep's Julie Flygare wants us to envision a world where pulling a “sleep-all-nighter” is the new badge of honor. The sleep advocate, who spoke at Aspen Ideas: Health 2023, shares seven fascinating facts about sleep and how we can better access its power to improve our waking lives.
![(Re)Discovering Your Five Senses with Gretchen Rubin](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e5a7e5b9-1c88-496a-b424-7cda083b1eaf/Rubin.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=5064%2C0%2C6752%2C6750&w=290)
Are you truly tuned in to the sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and textures that surround you every day? Ahead of her book talk at Aspen Ideas: Health, best-selling author Gretchen Rubin shares how she reconnected to the world around her through her five senses – and how you can too!
![Exploring Psychedelics in a New Era of PTSD Treatment](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/c34cd697-b510-4835-9abc-7f0b5a47d964/AIHBlogpsychedelics.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=365%2C8%2C341%2C340&w=290)
For people with post-traumatic stress disorder, therapy assisted by the drug MDMA may provide lasting relief, with a new way of seeing their trauma and themselves. Rachel Yehuda explains the pioneering study of this promising therapy. Presented by Mount Sinai Health System.
![The Dangers of Our Bias Towards Beauty](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/3195523f-473e-4b4f-bce3-fabe86aa3c97/AIFSpeakerGuestBlogs7.png?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=809%2C0%2C2161%2C2160&w=290)
Neurologist Anjan Chatterjee explains why humans evolved to enjoy beauty, how sociocultural contexts shape our aesthetic preferences, and the "beauty is good" stereotype.
![A Rational Case for Following Your Emotions](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullc24417d4-7a62-488f-906c-1b5c90484b20/AdobeStock_171820542.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1236%2C0%2C3301%2C3301&w=290)
While all emotions are valid, their usefulness might ultimately come down to how well a person is able to interpret the signals that their feelings provide.
![Mental Health is Getting the Psychedelic Treatment](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d3e84211-0649-4bec-bd72-410d356463c0/AdobeStock_102224481.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1210%2C0%2C3744%2C3744&w=290)
Rick Doblin wants to be a legally licensed psychedelic therapist. Learn about his work using MDMA, or ecstasy, to help people suffering from PTSD.
![Nobody is Immune from Suffering](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/ab876572-c806-4dbb-ab82-e3d5d8363a5f/AdobeStock_164302946.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=596%2C0%2C3717%2C3717&w=290)
![Using Rituals to Improve the Workplace](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/eb08ae6d-c82b-45fe-919a-d825238088a6/AdobeStock_202457959.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=638%2C0%2C2829%2C2828&w=290)
![The Brain and Learning: What Works, What Doesn’t](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/e48ce9f7-1c80-497b-82b4-5af660af523f/34683490434_a141f1f567_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=2162%2C25%2C2170%2C2172&w=290)
![Can Zika Be Contained?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/08dff6ec-0b17-42ab-9f70-5fb778bd32fc/27880994725_e8bf25d0b1_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=2453%2C0%2C4907%2C4912&w=290)