Mindfulness-based Research

Research studies and information

For comprehensive information on mindfulness-based research studies and information we recommend the following website: 

Mindfulness Research Guide 

UMass medical School

Links to Specific Mindfulness-based research

This study of mindfulness concludes that “mindfulness training might enhance general features of coping with distress and disability in everyday life, as well as under more extraordinary conditions of serious disorder or stress.”

 Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits – a meta-analysis

A study with cancer patients demonstrates that “increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress.”

The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being

Meditation “can produce increases in relative left-sided anterior activation that are associated with reductions in anxiety…” and those with this brain activity recover relatively quickly after an emotional hijack. It also strengthens the immune system.

Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation

Matthieu Ricard, a French Buddhist monk who resides in Nepal, significantly outperformed hundreds of volunteers on a happiness scale tested by the University of Wisconsin, earning him the title “happiest man in the world.”

Matthieu Ricard: Meet Mr. Happy

Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education developed a Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) protocol and subsequently tested it. A centerpiece in the protocol is meditation, and the study found that “the amount of formal meditation practiced during CCT was associated with increased compassion for others.”

Enhancing Compassion: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Compassion Cultivation Training Program