Effects of long-term mindfulness meditation training on attentional capacity in professional male fencer athletes.
Hong Ding, Lei Zhang, Chao Ma, Hebao Wen, Xiaojiang Zhao
Scientific Reports April 15, 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-97179-w (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 47 |
| Population | Professional male fencer athletes |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Dose | 3 sessions/week, 20 min/session |
| Duration | 20-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Cognition Fencer athletes Mindfulness meditation training Fnirs |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key findings | Twenty weeks of mindfulness meditation training improved attention span, concentrativeness, stability, and attentional networks, increased prefrontal cortex oxygenation, and reduced mental fatigue and salivary cortisol in male fencer athletes. |
Abstract
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.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations in Brain and Immune Function Produced by Mindfulness Meditation Healthy employees in a work environment | 2003 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 41 |
| Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2000 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 145 |
| Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Working adults | 2008 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 139 |
| Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation Undergraduate Chinese students | 2007 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 40 |
| Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: Replication and Exploration of Differential Relapse Prevention Effects. Recovered recurrently depressed patients | 2004 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 73 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Enhancing Psychological Well-Being in Athletes: A Scoping Review of Randomised Controlled Trials Healthcare September 8, 2026
- Vipassanā Meditation in Contemporary Psychiatry: Transformation of a Buddhist Practice into a Mental Health Intervention Kamali: Jurnal Ilmu Agama June 26, 2026
- The relationship between China university basketball association athletes' mindfulness, self-efficacy in sports training, and training competition satisfaction: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study. BMC Psychology February 2, 2026
- Intervention effects of subconscious cultivation in mindfulness-based physical education teaching and training on pain perception and psychological resilience in advanced cancer patients Psycho-Oncologie December 17, 2025
- Mindfulness training modulates EEG oscillations and improves shooting accuracy in competitive stress. Frontiers in Psychology May 18, 2026
Cites 27
- A mind you can count on: validating breath counting as a behavioral measure of mindfulness Frontiers in Psychology October 24, 2014
- Mindfulness Meditation Training and Executive Control Network Resting State Functional Connectivity: A Randomized Controlled Trial Psychosomatic Medicine March 22, 2017
- Brief mindfulness-based training and mindfulness trait attenuate psychological stress in university students: a randomized controlled trial BMC Psychology February 1, 2021
- Effects of Breathing Meditation Training on Sustained Attention Level, Mindfulness Attention Awareness Level, and Mental State of Operating Room Nurses American Journal of Health Behavior November 15, 2021
- Neural correlates of breath work, mental imagery of yoga postures, and meditation in yoga practitioners: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study Frontiers in Neuroscience March 21, 2024
and 22 more in the library