How does mindfulness shape affective experience during exercise? A think-aloud study of real-time psychological processes.
Psychology of Sport And Exercise July 1, 2026 Jiao Liu, Jian-Fen Pan, Wen-Jing Liu et al.
Mindfulness during treadmill running shifts attention toward internal bodily sensations and self-regulation in real time, rather than toward external distractions. Thirty-six adults completed three 20-minute moderate-intensity running sessions under mindfulness, distraction, and control conditions. Think-aloud verbalizations captured moment-to-moment experience showed that mindfulness consistently increased an index of internal versus external focus compared to both distraction and control conditions. This provides direct evidence that mindfulness changes how exercise is experienced by strengthening interoceptive monitoring and adaptive self-regulation, supporting proposed mechanisms for how mindfulness-based exercise may increase positive affect and promote continued physical activity.