Scientific references

Last updated: October 17, 2026

Bambú is a wellbeing and training app, not a medical service. We talk about practice, habit and feeling better, not guaranteed results. When we mention research, we link to it here so you can read it yourself.

What we mean by mindfulness

A widely used definition comes from Jon Kabat-Zinn: the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Kabat-Zinn introduced mindfulness-based programs into academic medicine at the University of Massachusetts in the late 1970s. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) grew out of that work.

What the research suggests, with care

  • A large systematic review and meta-analysis of meditation programs found moderate evidence of small improvements in anxiety, depression and pain in adults, and low evidence for improvements in stress and quality of life. The authors note that meditation was not better than other active approaches such as exercise (Goyal et al., 2014). We read this as “meditation can be a useful practice”, not as “meditation is a treatment”.
  • Researchers have studied how an eight-week mindfulness program relates to changes in brain gray-matter density in regions involved in learning, memory and emotion regulation (Hölzel et al., 2011). These studies are interesting, but small, and they don’t show what any one person will experience.
  • Richard Davidson’s research program, summarized for a general audience in The Emotional Life of Your Brain (Davidson and Begley, 2012), explores how attention and emotional habits can change with practice.

The mental exercises in Bambú (estimation, explanation, spotting errors) are practice, the way a short walk is practice for your body. We don’t claim they raise IQ or produce measurable cognitive gains.

Papers

  • Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156. doi:10.1093/clipsy.bpg016
  • Hölzel, B. K., et al. (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 191(1), 36–43. doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.08.006
  • Goyal, M., et al. (2014). Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine, 174(3), 357–368. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018

Books

  • Kabat-Zinn, J. Full Catastrophe Living. Delacorte, 1990 (revised edition 2013).
  • Kabat-Zinn, J. Mindfulness for Beginners. Sounds True, 2012.
  • Davidson, R. J., and Begley, S. The Emotional Life of Your Brain. Hudson Street Press, 2012.
  • Stahl, B., and Goldstein, E. A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook. New Harbinger, 2010.
  • Williams, M., and Penman, D. Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World. Rodale, 2011.
  • Goldstein, E. Uncovering Happiness. Atria, 2015.
  • Burch, V. Living Well with Pain and Illness. Piatkus, 2008.
  • Thich Nhat Hanh. The Miracle of Mindfulness. Beacon Press, 1975.
  • Tolle, E. The Power of Now. New World Library, 1997.

Spanish-language readers can also see our referencias científicas, which include Spanish editions and Spanish-language works such as García Campayo, Cebolla and Demarzo’s Mindfulness y ciencia (2014).

If you’re going through a difficult time, please talk to a health professional. If you’re in crisis, contact your local emergency services or a helpline.