معرفی
Hiromitsu Miyata is a Professor at Waseda University's Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences (School of Culture, Media and Society), where he has been teaching since 2019. He previously served as an Associate Professor at the same institution from 2017-2019 and has held various academic positions including Visiting Researcher at Japan Institute of Lifelong Learning (2016-2022), Part-time Lecturer at Aoyama Gakuin University (2014-2022), and Associate Professor at The University of Tokyo Center for Research and Development of Higher Education (2013-2014).
Dr. Miyata received his Ph.D. in Letters from Kyoto University in 2009, following an MA (2006) and BA (2004) from the same institution. His academic journey began at Todaijigakuen Junior & Senior High School (1994-2000).
Dr. Miyata's research focuses on the transformation of mind and body through Eastern traditional mind-body practices. Using psychological research methods including surveys, experiments, and interventions, he investigates traditional yoga and meditation, martial arts, laughter yoga, speed-reading, regimen, traditional performing art, and mindfulness. His work examines the psychological and physiological mechanisms underlying these practices, employing various measurement techniques such as psychological scales, autonomic nervous system activity monitoring, behavioral experiments, and clinical interventions. His earlier research explored planning abilities in avian species (pigeons and keas) and human children using maze tasks, traveling salesperson problems, and artificial-fruit problems, incorporating functional neuroimaging by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and eye-tracking.
Analysis of Dr. Miyata's recent publications reveals a strong focus on the intersection of mindfulness, psychological health, and Eastern mind-body practices. His work demonstrates how contemplative practices like yoga, martial arts, and laughter yoga impact psychological states, interoceptive awareness, and stress management. Many studies examine the moderating effects of mindfulness on psychological health during challenging circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic. His research also explores specialized applications such as the effects of breathing meditation on eating behavior, mantra meditation on bruxism, and Ayurveda's biomedical and psychological aspects.
Dr. Miyata has received several prestigious awards including:
- Excellent Presentation Award from the 13th Society for Tokyo Young Psychologists (2023)
- Best Poster Award at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Mindfulness (2021)
- JPA Awards for International Contributions to Psychology (2016)
- Research Grant from NeuroCreative Lab (2016)
- Poster Award at the 17th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of Cognitive Neuroscience (2012)
Dr. Miyata has supervised numerous students and collaborators, evident from his many co-authored publications. His research has been supported by multiple grants including Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) for "Integration of awareness on one's internal and external environment through mental training" (2018-2021) and "Research on mindfulness and changes of information processing" (2014-2017). He has also received funding from NPO NeuroCreative Lab for "Training that enhances creativity: Changes in information processing induced by meditation" (2016-2017).
Dr. Miyata actively contributes to academic communities as a Steering Committee member of the Japan Association of Somatics & Somatic Psychology (2020-present) and as a member of multiple professional societies including the Japan Society for Laughter and Humor Studies, The Japanese Association of Health Psychology, Japan Emotionology Society, Japanese Association of Mindfulness, Japanese Cognitive Science Society, The Japan Neuroscience Society, Society for Neuroscience, and The Japanese Psychological Association. He has organized academic events including serving as Congress Chair for Waseda Somatic Forum 2023 and the 8th Commemoration Meeting of the Japan Association of Somatics & Somatic Psychology.
