Research & Science

Stay at the forefront of mindfulness science with Mindful.org’s Mindfulness Research category. Here, we dive into the latest studies and findings that reveal the science behind mindfulness. Understand how mindfulness practices can impact the brain, enhance cognitive functions, and improve overall health and well-being. Our in-depth articles and analyses translate complex research into actionable insights, keeping you informed and knowledgeable about the empirical evidence supporting mindfulness.  
The Science of Gratitude—A woman lays on grass outdoors and looks up at the sky. Along the border are flowers, birds, and butterflies.
Gratitude
The Science of Gratitude 

Research shows gratitude isn’t just a pleasant feeling—being grateful can also support greater health, happiness, and wisdom in ourselves and our communities. Read More 

  • Misty Pratt
  • February 17, 2022
How Integrity Can Heal Burnout - A group of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers walking down a hallway in scrubs and uniforms
Learn
How Integrity Can Heal Burnout 

Evidence from healthcare worker communities shows how strengthening our moral resilience, with support by mindfulness, can help us avoid overwhelm at work. Read More 

  • Caren Osten Gerszberg
  • January 27, 2022
Don’t Stop at Empathy. Your Employees Need Compassion.
Learn
Don’t Stop at Empathy. Your Employees Need Compassion 

Compassion is more empowering than empathy, according to research. Mindful leadership expert Rasmus Hougaard breaks down how excessive empathy can contribute to burnout, and explains five key ways to support your teams by leading with compassion. Read More 

  • Rasmus Hougaard
  • January 19, 2022
The science of curiosity
Focus & Attention
The Science of Curiosity 

The thrill of curiosity can motivate us to learn—or it can send us hurtling into rabbit holes and habit loops. Dr. Judson Brewer breaks down what this inner drive has to do with shifting our most ingrained habits. Read More 

  • Judson Brewer
  • January 6, 2022
Find Your Focus with Amishi Jha
Expert Interviews
Find Your Focus with Amishi Jha 

Amishi Jha and Mindful managing editor Stephanie Domet discuss the brain science of attention, how mindfulness meditation helps hone focus, and why our brains are so distractible in the first place. Read More 

  • Mindful Staff
  • December 9, 2021
We’re All Biased. Here’s How Meditation May Help—Painting of two hands painted in many colors coming together from left and right with their fingers interlocking in the middle over a red background.
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We’re All Biased. Here’s How Meditation May Help. 

By engaging in practices that increase awareness, focus on our similarities, and develop care and kindness, writes Mind & Life Institute Science Director Wendy Hasenkamp, we might also be loosening the hold of implicit bias. Read More 

  • Wendy Hasenkamp
  • November 4, 2021
Daily Gratitude
Gratitude
How to Make Gratitude a Daily Habit 

It’s easy to focus on what we want rather than what we have. But when we shift our awareness to the present moment, we begin finding moments of gratitude in everyday life. Read More 

  • Eric Langshur
  • November 1, 2021
Ad for a mindfulness app with meditations, articles, and a section sidebar, shown on a phone held in hand.