Short-term mindfulness intervention mitigates mental fatigue effects on basketball technical performance
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications July 9, 2026 Shudian Cao, Soh Kim Geok, Zi Wang et al.
A 30-minute audio mindfulness intervention reduced the negative effects of mental fatigue on basketball technical performance. In a cluster randomized controlled trial, 54 male basketball players aged 18–24 were assigned to a control group, a mental fatigue group, or a mental fatigue group that received the mindfulness intervention. Mental fatigue was induced with a 30-minute Stroop task. The mindfulness group reported lower perceived fatigue and showed better performance on points, rebounds, and field goal percentage compared with the mental fatigue group. No significant differences in motivation or mood were observed. The authors suggest the intervention may help but caution against generalizing to real competitions.