Ancient meditation practices like the “Loving Kindness” meditation and related compassion meditations are particularly beneficial. Compassion meditation strengthens the connection between the prefrontal cortex and the brain’s circuits for optimism, joy and happiness.  The benefits are apparent right from the beginning of meditation practice and they increase with time spent.

A recently published study of college students by Birgit Koopmann-Holm found compassion meditation to be the most effective in fostering optimism.