Mindfulness (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)

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Mindfulness Can Literally Change Your Brain

By Christina Congleton, Britta K. Hölzel, and Sara W. Lazar

The business world is abuzz with mindfulness. But perhaps you haven’t heard that the hype is backed by hard science. Recent research provides strong evidence that practicing nonjudgmental, present-moment awareness (aka mindfulness) changes the brain, and it does so in ways that anyone working in today’s complex business environment—and certainly every leader—should know about.¹

We contributed to this research in 2011 with a study on participants who completed an eight-week mindfulness program.² We observed significant increases in the density of their gray matter. In the years since, neuroscience laboratories from around the world have also ...