Influence of Mindfulness on Levels of Impulsiveness, Moods and Pre-Competition Anxiety in Athletes of Different Sports.
Laura C Sánchez-sánchez, Clemente Franco, Alberto Amutio, Jaqueline García-silva, Juan González-hernández
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) March 21, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11060898 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA 10-week mindfulness programme (Flow Meditation) reduced impulsivity, improved mood, and lowered pre-competition anxiety in athletes. Compared to a wait-list control group, the intervention group showed large to very large reductions in cognitive, motor, and unplanned impulsivity, as well as in tension, depression, anger, somatic anxiety, and cognitive anxiety. Mindfulness appears to help athletes cope with high sport pressure and manage competition-related stress.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 41 |
| Population | Athletes (mean age 22.83 ± 5.62 years) |
| Intervention | Flow Meditation |
| Duration | 10-week intervention, pre- and post-test |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Awareness Psychosocial variables Sport |
| Citations | 35 |
| Key finding | A 10-week mindfulness intervention reduced impulsivity, improved mood, and lowered pre-competition anxiety in athletes compared to a control group. |
Abstract
Training in emotional regulation skills is one of the most important resources for the adaptation of athletes to contexts of sports pressure, especially during competitions. This study explored the effects of a mindfulness programme (Flow Meditation) on levels of impulsivity, mood and pre-competition anxiety-state in a sample of athletes (N = 41, 22.83 ± 5.62 years). Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (N = 21; 14 males and 7 females) which received the intervention over 10 weeks (a weekly session) and a control group (wait-list; N = 20; 13 males and 7 females). The variables under study were assessed through different questionnaires at pre- and post-test (T1-T2) in both groups. The mindfulness intervention was effective in reducing impulsivity (cognitive (t = -4.48, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.40), both motor (t = -4.03, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.20) and unplanned (t = -5.32, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.66)), mood (tension (t = -4.40, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.37), depression (t = -4.56, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.42), anger (t = -7.80, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen's d = 2.47), somatic anxiety (t = -5.28, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.65), and cognitive anxiety (t = -6.62, p ≤ 0.001, Cohen's d = 2.07) in the intervention group compared to the control group and with large to very large effect sizes. Mindfulness is a factor that enhances athletes' ability to cope with high sport pressure and the healthy management of competition (e.g., fear of failure), or with their daily life.