Y’all have probably heard, read, seen or have had first-hand experience with the benefits of meditation. Most can feel a sense of ease or calm after only a few minutes of focused attention on the breath or the body. But when meditation is ‘practiced’, which means it is something you regularly engage in for at least three times a week, the benefits can go beyond feeling calm. For instance, a 2014 clinical review of research found that meditation can improve conditions of hypertension, diabetes type 2 and high cortisol and encouraged more research in comparing meditation to therapeutic treatments like some medications.

The number of mindfulness studies have experienced a surge in the last 20 years—in 1999 there was hardly any scientific research in the field.

Mindfulness meditation is now regarded as an effective, evidence-based treatment that can improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions.

Brain imaging research has shown that regularly practicing mindfulness is associated with beneficial changes in the activation of certain parts of the brain.