16 November 2016: Corinthia Hotel London has teamed up with renowned neuroscientist Dr Tara Swart to research the mental resilience of people across various business sectors. It is a world first for any hotel to undertake such a programme.
Neuroscience is the study of the brain and how it impacts behaviour and cognitive function. This area of research is fundamentally changing our understanding of how the human brain works and how and why people behave the way they do. From November 2016, Corinthia Hotel London will host a year-long Neuroscientist in Residence programme advising staff at the hotel, as well as regular, loyal guests including high-profile business leaders and VIPs. Dr Tara Swart, leadership coach and Senior Lecturer at MIT, will examine the mental resilience of each group to analyse how they cope with stress. The resulting data will generate a special Brain Power Study at the end of the residency.
Dr Tara Swart works with leaders of some of the world’s most successful companies to help them achieve mental resilience and peak brain performance, and is the only top-tier leadership coach with both a PhD in neuroscience and medical career as a psychiatrist: “As a neuroscientist, I am fascinated by how the human brain works, and as a leadership coach I advise people whose professions or lifestyle mean that mental resilience is essential and expected. It’s hugely exciting to be researching this in more depth and in broader sectors in partnership with Corinthia Hotel London. Developing resilience in the workplace is about investing in the development of people and ensuring the brain-body connection is taken into account in an integrated approach to leadership, life and work.”
“This is a fantastic opportunity to discover how employees and leaders can create sustainable behavioural change,” says Corinthia Hotel London General Manager, Thomas M Fischer. “Through this study we will be able to provide insights for the way businesses interact with employees and customers and how they can change to be more effective.”
Brain Power Study: One of the main goals of the hotel’s Neuroscientist in Residence programme is to generate insights into how to maximise our potential, both at work and home, by building mental resilience in order to succeed in increasingly stressful work environments. Rising levels of cortisol and therefore stress, impact wellness and productivity.
The findings from the study will generate a number of fascinating insights for employees and business leaders, demonstrating how to increase ability to cope with change, learn new behaviours and skills, develop emotional awareness and maintain a positive outlook. These characteristics are recognised as fundamental factors in corporate wellbeing and success, and have even shown a direct lift of a company’s bottom line. Moreover, companies investing in resilience programmes report benefits including reduced stress, improved work satisfaction and increased productivity.
Insights into the Heroes of Hospitality: The Programme will study 40 selected Corinthia Hotel London staff members across a range of departments, and explore how and why mental resilience is a pre-requisite of working in a five-star hotel and how best to enhance their productivity, performance in and enjoyment of the workplace. Medical testing will include heart-rate variability monitors, food diaries, blood tests to check levels of cortisol and testosterone as well as a brain profile.
VIP guest taster sessions: Highly valued and loyal guests of Corinthia will be rewarded with one-to-one taster sessions with Dr Tara Swart, learning how to achieve peak brain performance and how to gain a competitive edge by focusing on an integrated approach to the brain-body connection.
Talk series: Four talks will take place at the hotel for guests, media and influencers to showcase the Neuroscientist in Residence concept as well as look at how the science of the brain can be applied to topics such as politics, technology and business.
Brain Power Packages: Corinthia Hotel London will launch various hotel packages designed by Dr Tara Swart with hotel experts to help guests build mental resilience and achieve peak brain performance. These will focus on neuronutrition, restorative sleep, hydration, mindfulness, exercise, while utilising the world-class facilities and expertise at Corinthia.
Rates for the Brain Power packages start at £280 per person.
The findings from the Neuroscientist in Residence Brain Power Mental Resilience Study will be published in summer 2017.
