The Relaxation Response is a term coined by Herbert Benson, M.D, of Harvard Medical School, in his 1975 best-seller The Relaxation Response (New York: William Morrow).
Physically speaking, the Relaxation Response suggests increased activity in the parasympathetic nervous system and reduced brain wave amplitude (alpha and theta waves). However, what Benson focused on was not simply that the body has a natural response to stress -- but that individuals can voluntarily activate that response through the practice of relaxation techniques.
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