Recent research provides strong evidence that practicing non-judgmental, present-moment awareness (a.k.a. mindfulness) changes the brain, and it does so in ways that anyone working in today’s complex business environment, and certainly every leader, should know about.

Mark Bertolini, the unconventional chief executive of Aetna, the health insurer, gave thousands of the lowest-paid employees a 33 percent raise, and he has introduced popular yoga classes. His discussions were influenced, in part, by a near-fatal ski accident.

For business leaders, encouraging mindfulness is more than just being tuned in; it’s a strategy to improve personal and company-wide performance and productivity, both of which support overall organizational resilience.

An understanding of what exactly constitutes emotional intelligence is important not only because the capacity is so central to leadership but because people strong in some of its elements can be utterly lacking in others, sometimes to disastrous effect.

Encouraging employees to slow down to focus on the present can seem at odds with a corporate culture of speed and goal attainment. But in today’s hyper-paced work environment, mindfulness practitioners know the importance of recharging in order to regain productivity.

Here are 20 scientifically-validated reasons you might want to get on the bandwagon today…