brain science

How our goal-setting mind causes us to fixate on one track, and how we can become more responsive to the richness and complexity that each moment presents. Read more

Recent studies show how compassion meditation can improve young people’s mental health, people with autism can benefit from a tailored mindfulness program, and more. Read more

From the science of awe to navigating grief and loss, here are six mindful books and three podcasts to inspire your practice this winter. Read more

Some of us chatter to ourselves all day long while others’ inner lives take the form of pictures or, like Einstein, abstract visual concepts. But as mindfulness urges us to pay more attention, it’s worth asking: What can our interior life teach us? Read more

Most of the time, we don’t pay attention to our breath at all. Experts share how our outbreath is key to allowing the body to let go of stress. Read more

While many of us yearn to sharpen our memory, the science of sleep shows that, in fact, our brains are designed to forget—a process that unlocks the mind’s capacity to dream and think in creative ways. Read more

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction may not change the structure of our brains, but scientists say that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing Read more

Our brains crave novelty. Neuroscientist and writer Stephanie Cacioppo explores whether or not unpredictable events might invigorate love, and how we can benefit from making more room for improvisation in our relationships. Read more

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

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