1.03.02. Informal well-being resources

There has been an increased emphasis on law student, lawyer, and judge well-being.  In 2016 the ABA formed the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being.  The focus of the task force’s report – which came out in August, 2017 – was how to improve the well-being of those in the legal profession.  It provides some really interesting concrete steps that you can take to help maintain a good work/life balance.

One thing that has really impressed me in learning about these well-being studies is how much stress and other attributes of a busy law student/lawyer impact the physical make-up of the body.  The problem is that these negative responses are largely automatic responses to the stress and require a conscious effort to counter (and reverse).  The problem is that some of the things that law students/lawyers (and law professors) feel like are “must-dos” are actually harmful not only to our physical well-being but also to our productivity.  One scholar put it this way:  “stresses facing law students and lawyers result in a significant decline in their well-being, including anxiety, panic attacks, depression, substance abuse, and suicide.”[1]  Part of the problem is that stress that you suffer in law school and law practice is chronic stress – that is long-lasting stress.  Your body is built to handle acute (short term) stress – by releasing hormones into the body to handle the stressful situation (run from the bear!) – and then to go back to a resting state.  It is not meant to handle stress that lasts for hours or days, and the result can be long-term problems, including loss of brain cells.  Chronic stress is an likely to remain an inherent part of the law school and the law firm culture (if you find a firm that has no stress and actually makes money – do not leave).  The key is to learn how to anticipate and handle stress so that you can minimize the negative side-effects as much as possible – what one author calls “neural self-hacking.”[2]

There are three neural self-hacks that you need to be aware of.  These are not going to surprise you.  However, what may not realize is how much adopting these “hacks” can actually change your body makeup and make you more productive as well as healthier.

• Exercise.  Exercise can restore cognitive function.  The recommendation is at least thirty minutes of aerobic exercise two or three times per week, plus some strength training.  Here is a list of a few of the things that exercise does:  (1) enhances oxygen and blood flow; (2) stimulates the production of brain cell building blocks; (3) improves blood flow deeper into body tissue; and (4) it increases beneficial neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) among others.[3]   

• Sleep.  The recommendation is for 8 hours of sleep a night.  Adequate sleep is crucial for learning and remembering material.  This is because memory consolidation occurs during sleep.  It is amazing, but research shows that communication between neurons in the brain is equal to or higher than when the brain is awake.  Lack of sleep causes you to have the cognitive ability of a much older person.  In one study, thirty-year olds were only allowed four hours of sleep for six nights and their internal structures were reduced to the function of a sixty year old.  It is important to be aware of when you do your best work and plan your sleep around that.  About 10% of folks are early birds who do their best work early in day and want to go to bed early.  About 20% are night owls – who do their best work at night and want to go to bed late in the evening (or early in the morning).  Most folks – 70% — are somewhere between these two extremes.  It is important to be aware when you are most productive and try to make sure you get sufficient sleep outside of those hours.  Also – naps can be very beneficial.  In one study a twenty-six minute nap improved the cognition function of NASA pilots for at least six hours.[4]

• Contemplative practices.  This would include things like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and relaxation.  Once again, these practices increase cognition and brain function and allow you to handle distractions and improve decision making.  The key is to gain control over your thoughts and emotions.  The action of contemplation actually trains the brain to operate in a controlled manner and to reduce anxiety/stress. The key here is relaxation and focus.  There are classes you can take, there are apps that you can download (just Google “mindfulness” or “meditation” apps), or you can read about the practice.[5]  A free online introduction to guided meditation from UCLA health is here:  http://marc.ucla.edu/mindful-meditations.  This website was recommended by a former student that works with military personnel dealing with stress/PTSD. 

• Eating well.  You know that you are what you eat.  It is important to be aware of what you are eating and its impact on your body (including your cognitive health).  Here are five things that you can do to get started to healthy eating:  (1) eat breakfast; (2) eat smaller meals and snacks; (3) eat a salad every day; (4) drink coffee tea and water; and (5) snack on about ¼ cup of a variety of nuts.  This is meant to be a way to start simple and make small steps to change your diet.  There is a very interesting article in the Oregon Law Review that discusses the science behind the need for a healthy diet and also lists a number of “super foods” that can help keep you healthy.[6]  

You might be wondering what all of this well-being stuff has to do with ethics. The reality is that anything that impacts a lawyer’s ability to represent their client implicates professional responsibility.  The very first Rule in the Rules of Professional Conduct says that a lawyer has an ethical obligation to be competent.  If a lawyer’s emotional or physical well-being impacts the ability of the lawyer to competently and diligently represent a client, then this class is implicated.  One study found that between 40 and 70 percent of disciplinary proceedings/malpractice claims involve substance abuse and/or depression.[7]  Therefore, these issues of lawyer well-being relate directly to the issues that we will address in this class.

[1] D.S. Austin, Killing Them Softly: Neuroscience Reveals how Brain Cells Die from Law School Stress and How Neural Self-Hacking Can Optimize Cognitive Performance, 59 Loy. L. Rev. 791, 796-97 (2013).

[2] D.S. Austin, Killing Them Softly: Neuroscience Reveals how Brain Cells Die from Law School Stress and How Neural Self-Hacking Can Optimize Cognitive Performance 59 Loy. L. Rev. 791, 798 (2013).

[3] D.S. Austin, Killing Them Softly: Neuroscience Reveals how Brain Cells Die from Law School Stress and How Neural Self-Hacking Can Optimize Cognitive Performance 59 Loy. L. Rev. 791, 828-834 (2013).

[4] D.S. Austin, Killing Them Softly: Neuroscience Reveals how Brain Cells Die from Law School Stress and How Neural Self-Hacking Can Optimize Cognitive Performance 59 Loy. L. Rev. 791, 834-37 (2013).

[5] One article directed specifically at law students is Teresa K. Brostoff, Meditation for Law Students: Mindfulness Practice as Experiential Learning, 41 Law & Psy. Rev. 159 (2017).  If you want a few apps for mindfulness, take a look at this article:  https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/apps-support-mental-health-mindfulness/story?id=55890971.

[6] Debra Austin, Food for Thought: The Neuroscience of Nutrition to Fuel Cognitive Performance, 95 Or. L. Rev. 425 (2017)(the super food list begins on page 507).

[7] Marjorie A. Silver, “Substance Abuse, Stress, Mental Health and the Legal Profession,” published by the New York State Lawyer Assistance Trust (2004)(quoting Douglas B. Marlowe, “Alcoholism: Symptoms, Causes & Treatments” in Stress Management for Lawyers (1997)).