Mindful breathing can interrupt our stress and fight-or-flight reactions—meditation may “quiet” the amygdala, the area of the brain that responds to stress.

 When we multitask, our concentration levels deplete But the simple act of returning to the breath, over and over again, builds the “muscle” of attention, helping you both stay on task and recognize distractions. 

We tend to focus on the negative. Research suggests mindfulness might help us shift gears out of our knee-jerk reactivity toward “bad” things. 

When combined with traditional approaches, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy may help individuals with anxiety and depression work with rumination and troubling thoughts.