Effects of long-term mindfulness meditation training on attentional capacity in professional male fencer athletes.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether long-term mindfulness meditation (MM) enhances attentional function and alters brain activity related to attention in male athletes.
Results Summary
The study found that 20-week MM training improved attention span, concentrativeness, stability, and prefrontal cortex oxygenation while reducing mental fatigue and salivary cortisol levels, though no significant effects were observed on distractibility or attentional blink.
Population
47 professional male fencer athletes
Effective Dosage
3 sessions per week (20 minutes per session)
Duration
20 weeks
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mindfulness meditation training | increase | attention span | professional male fencer athletes | - | were better | #1 |
mindfulness meditation training | increase | attention concentrativeness | professional male fencer athletes | - | were better | #2 |
mindfulness meditation training | increase | attention stability | professional male fencer athletes | - | were better | #3 |
mindfulness meditation training | increase | attentional networks on task-relevant information (targets) | professional male fencer athletes | - | were better | #4 |
mindfulness meditation training | increase | oxygenated haemoglobin (HbO) concentration in the prefrontal cortex | professional male fencer athletes | - | eliciting increased | #5 |
mindfulness meditation training | no change | distractibility on task-irrelevant information | professional male fencer athletes | - | no remarkable different | #6 |
mindfulness meditation training | no change | attentional blink on task-irrelevant information | professional male fencer athletes | - | no remarkable different | #7 |
mindfulness meditation training | decrease | mental fatigue level | professional male fencer athletes | - | lower | #8 |
mindfulness meditation training | decrease | salivary cortisol concentration | professional male fencer athletes | - | lower | #9 |
20-week MM training interventions after physical training | increase | attentive capacity | professional male fencer athletes | - | improve | #10 |
20-week MM training interventions after physical training | increase | cerebral oxygenation concentration | professional male fencer athletes | - | improve | #11 |
20-week MM training interventions after physical training | decrease | salivary cortisol concentrations | professional male fencer athletes | - | decrease | #12 |
20-week MM training interventions after physical training | decrease | mental fatigue | professional male fencer athletes | - | decrease | #13 |
Attention is a crucial cognitive ability for sports performance. The current research aimed to investigate whether long-term mindfulness meditation (MM) intervention enhances male athletes' attentional function and alters the activity of brain regions related to attention. In this experiment, we recruited 47 professional male fencer athletes completed two main trials-an MM trial and a control trial. In MM trial, the participants were provided with 3 sessions/wk (20 min/session) of mindfulness meditation training for 20 weeks. In control trial, the participants were instead assigned a mind-wandering related audio to listen to at that time. In each main trial, the five facets of mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ), cognitive function (i.e. attention span, attention concentrativeness, attention stability, attentional network, distractibility and attentional blink), salivary cortisol, blood lactate and mental fatigue were measured at baseline (pretest) and after the intervention (posttest). The cerebral oxygenation status was recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS) during the cognitive function test. In cognition test, participants' attention span, attention concentrativeness, attention stability, attentional networks on task-relevant information (targets) were better in the MM group, supported by eliciting increased oxygenated haemoglobin (HbO) concentration in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Conversely, there are no remarkable different of distractibility and attentional blink on task-irrelevant information in the MM group than in the Con group (p > 0.05). Moreover, a lower mental fatigue level and lower salivary cortisol concentration were observed in the MM group than in the Con group after the intervention at posttest. Overall, 20-week MM training interventions after physical training improve attentive capacity and cerebral oxygenation concentration, decrease salivary cortisol concentrations and mental fatigue. The findings suggest that long-term MM training interventions after physical training facilitates focus during competition and improves athletic performance.