However, the practice is really meant to highlight this natural trajectory of the mind, and in doing so, it trains your attention systems to become more aware of the mental landscape at any given moment, and more adept at navigating it. With repeated practice, it doesn’t take so long to notice that you’ve slipped into some kind of rumination or daydream. It also becomes easier to drop your current train of thought and return your focus to the breath. Those who practice say that thoughts start to seem less “sticky”—they don’t have such a hold on you..
Via Howard Rheingold
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An excellent short overview of the benefits of conscious metacognitive exercise -- the attentional side of infotention. There's a lot of touchy-feely and neurobollocks about metacognition and meditation lately.
"when people’s minds were wandering, they tended to be less happy, presumably because our thoughts often tend towards negative rumination or stress."
That is presuming a lot since meditation affects our minds on so many levels. Familiarity with our thought process helps us to realize that we are not solid and that change/flux is the norm. It helps us realize that we have some control; albeit paradoxical control. Meditation slows our reactivity to people events and helps us appreciate our lives and other people. That's what I've experienced anyway.