Dr. Eli Susman is a psychologist who studies how well-being can fit into the smallest moments of an ordinary day. He coined the term “micropractice” to describe brief, evidence-based well-being practices that take thirty seconds or less, and has spent more than a decade researching how contemplative practices can be adapted to the rhythm of modern life rather than requiring us to rearrange it around them. His first book, Micropractice: A Science-Backed Approach for Calm, Clarity, and Joy in 30 Seconds or Less, published in October 2026, gathers this research into fourteen practices across four elements: move, touch, breathe and flow, alongside chapters on the science of habit formation and on breaking free of a “busy mindset.” 

Eli holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and has conducted research at Harvard. His best-known study, published in Behaviour Research and Therapy in 2024, tested a twenty-second daily practice he developed called “self-compassionate touch.” Those who practised almost daily showed gains in self-compassion, stress and mental health that rivalled interventions demanding many hours a week. The paper was covered in more than a hundred outlets across thirty languages, including The New York Times, CNN, the BBC, NPR’s Hidden Brain, Forbes and Psychology Today, and Greater Good magazine, who called the finding one of the Top 10 Insights from the Science of a Meaningful Life in 2024. 

Eli is also a certified yoga teacher, a laughter yoga leader and a longtime meditation facilitator, whose own practice has taken him everywhere from a Thai forest monastery to Plum Village in France.

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Links:

• Website

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• X (Twitter)

• TikTok

• Book: Micropractice: A Science-Backed Approach for Calm, Clarity, and Joy in 30 Seconds or Less (October 2026)

• Media highlights:

• Greater Good: The Top 10 Insights from the “Science of a Meaningful Life” in 2024

• CNN: “Doing this for 20 seconds a day can relieve stress and anxiety” 

• Newsletter: The Micro Memo