The effect of mindfulness meditation therapy on performance, pre-competition stress, and salivary cortisol in female pistol shooters
Journal of Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences August 6, 2025 Bibi Purmirza, Mahdi Gholizadeh, Farhad Rahmani-Nia et al.
A six-week mindfulness meditation therapy (MMT) program improved pistol shooting performance and reduced pre-competition stress and salivary cortisol levels in female shooters. Nineteen shooters (mean age 15.5 years) were assigned to either an MMT group (five 20-minute sessions per week) or a control group. After the intervention, the MMT group showed a 2.1% increase in shooting performance scores versus a 0.2% reduction in controls, a 10.5% reduction in pre-competition stress versus 1.7%, and a 23.8% reduction in cortisol levels versus 0.6%. The program appears beneficial for female shooters by lowering stress and cortisol.