Mindfulness training reduces stress

Creswell and Lindsay highlight a body of work that depicts the biological mechanisms of mindfulness training's stress reduction effects. When an individual experiences stress, activity in the prefrontal cortex -- responsible for conscious thinking and planning -- decreases, while activity in the amygdala, hypothalamus and anterior cingulate cortex -- regions that quickly activate the body's stress response -- increases. Studies have suggested that mindfulness reverses these patterns during stress; it increases prefrontal activity, which can regulate and turn down the biological stress response.

These findings complement my personal experience, having found "mindfulness" techniques helpful under a variety of circumstances. I think different people get different mileage from the various techniques that are out there, but those that have proven most useful for me include sitting mediation and stream-of-consciousness typing.

The remainder of the article can be read here.