For example, researchers at the University of Wisconsin taught “mindfulness” to R&D scientists at a biotech firm who were complaining about the stressful pace of their jobs. 18 Mindfulness is a skill that helps people keenly focus on the present moment and drop distracting thoughts (such as worries) rather than getting lost in them, thus producing a calming effect. After just eight weeks, the R&D people reported noticeably less stress, and they felt more creative and enthusiastic about their work. But most remarkably, their brains had shifted toward less activity in the right prefrontal areas
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