Apr 1

Science Meets Mindfulness

Mindfulness has been steadily taking root in the United States over the past 50 years. It has become more mainstream because of the enormous body of impressive research supporting its impact and benefits coming from many of our finest institutions and scholars. Similar to how exercise builds stronger bodies and immune systems, researchers continue to zero in on ways mindfulness-based strategies help cultivate healthier minds, greater resilience and stronger relationships.
At the core of all mindfulness research is the brain’s remarkable quality of neuroplasticity, which means the brain is constantly being shaped by our experiences. 

We’ve highlighted just some of the top research universities that continue to shape our collective understanding of the infinite ways we can harness this quality of mind. We invite you to take a deeper dive to learn more about ways mindfulness is being used to cultivate significant improvements in well-being and greater human connection.
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What research do you find most compelling? What questions do you have? 

University of Wisconsin Madison

Center for Healthy Minds

Founded by world renowned neuroscientist Dr. Richard Davidson, the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison works to cultivate well-being and relieve suffering on an individual and global scale. Their breakthrough research has provided a framework for understanding the components of well-being that can be cultivated through practice in daily life.  

While no small undertaking, the Center continues to blaze paths toward fulfilling its mission to create a kinder, wiser, more compassionate world through a scientific understanding of the mind. 
Want to read more? 
THIS LINK takes you to research articles on:
Mindfulness and Baby Brains
Mindfulness and Cultivating Creativity
Mindfulness and Alzheimer’s
Mindfulness and Police Resilience
Mindfulness and Adolescents
Mindfulness and COVID resilience
Mindfulness and Schools
... and more.

University of California
Los Angeles

Mindful Awareness Research Center

For more than 15 years, the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) has gathered leading experts and scientists committed to equipping the public with the mindfulness tools to improve both mental and physical health.  
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The Center’s deep ties with the university’s medical community has led to key insights into the ways practicing mindfulness improves immune system function, quality of sleep, and reduction of inflammatory processes that lead to disease. Their webpage details an extensive body of ongoing research demonstrating widespread benefits of mindfulness across a plethora of settings with both children and adults.
Want to read more? 
THIS LINK takes you to research articles on:
Mindfulness and Altruism
Mindfulness and ADHD
Mindfulness and HIV
Mindfulness and Loneliness
Mindfulness and Elementary School Age Executive Functioning
Mindfulness and Disease Prevention
Mindfulness and Breast Cancer Survivors
... and more.

Brown University

The Mindfulness Center

Located in the School of Public Health, the Mindfulness Center at Brown recognizes, “We are at a time in history when mindfulness research is rapidly expanding, and mindfulness has become a $1 billion industry in the United States alone. There is great need for methodologically rigorous research to help determine whether reported impacts of mindfulness on health are fad or fact.” The Mindfulness Center at Brown leads initiatives in this area.
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The Center’s research team includes experts from medicine, public health, and humanities dedicated to examining mindfulness from all angles, and disseminating education and training to improve the health and well-being of all communities.
Want to read more? 
THIS LINK takes you to research articles on:
Mindfulness' impact on College Students
Mindfulness and Blood Pressure Reduction
Mindfulness and Prenatal Hypertension
Mindfulness and Sleep
... and more.

Harvard Medical School

Mindfulness Research Collaborative

The Mindfulness Research Collaborative (MRC) is a network of mindfulness researchers, scholars, and practitioner-teachers taking a team-science approach to testing and refining neurobiologically-informed models to identify and validate the specific ways mindfulness and other mind-body health practices function to reduce clinical symptoms of mental distress, improve well-being, and cultivate a healthy mind and body across the lifespan.  

Their website offers an extensive database for diving deeper into cognitive, affective and contemplative neuroscience research. 
Want to read more? 
THIS LINK takes you to research articles on:
Mindfulness and Depression
Mindfulness and Police Forces
Mindfulness and Opioid Crisis
Mindfulness and Weight Loss
... and more.
(links are towards the bottom of the page)

Rowan University

Mindfulness, Stress, and Health Lab

The Mindfulness, Stress, and Health (MSH) Lab at Rowan University conducts interdisciplinary research bringing psychology, medicine, biology, and neuroscience together to study the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness. Led by Dr. Jeffery Greeson, this team of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level researchers investigate how the core qualities of mindfulness - including attention, awareness, acceptance, and the ability to respond versus react to stress - support both physical and emotional well-being.
Want to read more? 
THIS LINK takes you to research articles on:
Mindfulness and Treating stress conditions
Mindfulness and Reactivity
Mindfulness and Depression
Mindfulness in Elder Retirement Communities
Mindfulness and Chronic Pain
Mindfulness and Smoking
Mindfulness and Addiction
... and more.

University of California
Berkely

Greater Good Science Center

Since 2001, the GGSC has been at the fore of the scientific movement to explore the roots of happy and compassionate individuals, strong social bonds, and altruistic behavior—the science of a meaningful life. The center is unique in its commitment to both science and practice, sponsoring groundbreaking research into emotional well-being and helping people apply the research to their personal and professional lives.
This link will take you to articles and resources on mindfulness, compassion, gratitude, empathy, and the center’s other core themes.