Effects of "Mindfulness Acceptance Insight Commitment" Training on Flow State and Mental Health of College Swimmers: A Randomized Controlled Experimental Study

The Impact of Yoga on Athletes' Mental Well-Being: An Experimental Study

Background Athletes have a variety of obstacles that might shrink their chances of getting adequate rest, including competing and training times, travel, stress, academic responsibilities, and overtraining. Furthermore, athletes have been reported to have poor self-reports of their sleep length and quality. The study aims to assess the impact of yoga practice on sleep quality, stress, anxiety, psychological rigidity, and experience avoidance. Methods A pre- and post-test randomized design was applied for the research. Forty-four recreational athletes (age 18-45 years) were selected per the inclusion criteria from the athletes studying at Banaras Hindu University. Exclusion criteria are a likely severe psychiatric disorder, chronic illness, substance abuse, disability, endocrine or metabolic disorders, and history of using psychotropic drugs and smoking. The Yogic intervention contains the Pranayama and meditation, which was practiced for six weeks in the intervention group. Outcome variables were stress, sleep, anxiety, mindfulness, psychological rigidity, and experience avoidance. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Sport Competition Anxiety Test, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) were applied to measure the outcomes. Results The majority of the participants (30 (68%)) were male, and 44 (100%) had more than two years of sports experience. Of the participants, 18 (40.90%) had a habit of 3-5 hours of internet surfing. We noticed that there was a significant mean difference from pre- to post-intervention in terms of stress, sleep, anxiety, mindfulness, psychological rigidity, and experience avoidance (p < 0.0001). Conclusion The results concluded positive effects of yoga on athletes' stress, sleep, anxiety, mindfulness, psychological rigidity, and experience avoidance in athletes. Stress alleviation and reduced anxiety are the strongest predictors of improving psychological flexibility skills in athletes' daily lives. Improving mindfulness and supporting good sleep patterns could be good indicators of improving psychological rigidity and experience avoidance.

Variables e instrumentos para evaluar la salud mental en nadadores de competición: una revisión narrativa

Background

Mental health issues are becoming increasingly prevalent among elite athletes, and during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, this issue became a pressing concern. In particular, several athletes complained about their mental health in relation to the highly demanding demands of their sport. High-performance swimming exposes athletes to a variety of stressors due to the physical, technical and mental demands of the sport. The study has carried out a narrative review of the main variables related to mental health, their dimensions and evaluations in competitive swimmers.

Methods

Clearly planned and ordered potential studies were identified using combined search methods. The search was carried out in different bibliographic databases (Dialnet, Web of Science and Scopus) between 1990 and 2023. Google Scholar was used to manually search the reference lists of the retrieved studies to identify potentially eligible studies that were not included in the electronic searches. The studies were examined from three different perspectives. Firstly, the methodology, sample, swimming categories and their relationship with mental health were analysed. Secondly, the variables related to mental health symptoms and disorders. Finally, the main mental health analysis tools and the conclusions of the studies.

Results

The concept of mental health in competitive swimmers needs to be clarified in the scientific literature, as different variables have been analysed and multiple instruments have been used with small samples of swimmers, without any intervention and prevention protocol. In addition, the bodies and institutions involved should work in an interdisciplinary and collaborative manner, establishing specific programmes to ensure effective prevention and care.

Conclusions

Studies are needed to fill this gap and it is necessary to work under the same consensus and in collaboration with specified technical teams. In order to monitor, evaluate and provide services through detection tests and support to swimmers in their training and competitions.

How flow and mindfulness interact with each other in mindfulness-based augmented reality mandala coloring activities

Introduction

This study explores the effects of different types of augmented reality (AR) mandala coloring activities on mindfulness and flow in college students.

Methods

A total of 76 college students participated in the study and were divided into two groups based on their drawing skills: the high-skilled group (n = 38) and the low-skilled group (n = 38). With the help of AR technology, two groups of subjects carried out three mandala coloring experiments with structured mandala, free mandala and cooperative mandala in order. The measurement evaluation in the experimental program included a pre-test before all the experiments (Time 0) and each post-test after three mandala coloring activities (Time 1, Time 2 and Time 3). The balance dimensions of flow and challenge skills of the two groups were measured.

Results

ANOVA results showed that a single 30-min short-term datura coloring activity did not significantly improve mindfulness (f = 2.339, p = 0.074, η2 = 0.031), but did significantly improve flow (f = 11.918, p = < 0.001, η2 = 0.139). Linear regression results found positive correlations between mindfulness and certain dimensions of flow (e.g., focus on a task, unambiguous feedback, sense of control, challenge -- skill balance, and automatic experience). Mindfulness was also found to be negatively correlated with the loss of the self-conscious component of flow. We also found that the free mandala was quite challenging for subjects in the low-skill group, while the teamwork in the cooperative mandala helped them overcome difficulties and cope with challenges.

Discussion

Flow can be quickly and effectively improved through short AR mandala coloring exercises. The contribution of this study is to provide inspiration and reference for further exploring how AR mandola coloring can improve subjects' mental state and promote the perfection and development of positive psychological mechanism.

Effect of yoga and mindfulness on psychological correlates in young athletes: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

This meta-analysis planned to assess the impact of yoga and mindfulness practice in reducing stress and anxiety to improve athletes' sports performance.

METHODS

Several databases were electronically searched for eligible articles till September 2022. Participants aged 18-45 yrs, male and female, and recreational athletes from different sports were included. Athletes' stress, competitive anxiety, and sports performance were measured. The mean difference or standardized mean difference with a 95% confidence interval was calculated in RevMan software 5.4. The fixed effect model was applied to test the statistical significance difference and heterogeneity (p < 0.05). The GRADE pro evidence was also created to assess the quality of evidence.

RESULTS

Results were analyzed with pooled data from fifteen articles. Forest plots showed an overall significant effect of yoga and mindfulness on Mindfulness [Z = 4.13 (p < 0.0001)] [(I2 = 48%), MD -2.6, (95% CI, -3.85, -1.37)] and flow state [Z = 9.49 (p < 0.00001)] [(I2 = 85%), SMD 3.13, (95% CI, 2.48, 3.77)]. The insignificant effects were noted on attention and awareness [Z = 1.51 (p = 0.13)] [(I2 = 25%), SMD -0.26, (95% CI, -0.60, 0.80)], and action and acceptance [Z = 0.43 (p = 0.67)] [(I2 = 0%), MD 0.20, (95% CI, -0.69, 1.08)]. We also observed a significant effect for the comparison of stress [Z = 6.56 (p < 0.00001)] [(I2 = 76%), SMD -0.74, (95% CI, -0.97, 0.52)] and an insignificant effect for comparing anxiety [Z = 1.62 (p = 0.11)] [(I2 = 14%), SMD -0.31, (95% CI, -0.69, 0.07)].

CONCLUSION

The findings of this meta-analysis provides valuable insights to the beneficial or complementary effects of yoga and mindfulness on athletes' psychological health and sports performance.

Assessing Decentering Capacity in Athletes: A Moderated Mediation Model

Decentering has received more attention in sports literature as a self-regulating skill capable of significantly limiting episodes of mental block in competitive situations. This contribution depicts a comparative study conducted with 375 Italian national and international athletes. The objective was to evaluate athletes' decentralization skills across different sports and levels of competition and test a mediation model of decentering in sports with coping and emotional balance variables. Pearson bivariate correlations, linear hierarchical regression, and simple mediation analysis were conducted for all main measures (The Decentering Sport Scale, The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and The Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced). Outputs reported significant associations with emotional regulation and coping styles. Mediation analysis confirmed the central mediating role of decentering capacity which has indirect effects on both the coping ability of problem solving (z-value = 2.986; p = 0.003) and cognitive reappraisal (z-value = 2.779; p = 0.005). Decentering acts as a mediator between an athlete's positive attitude, problem-orientation ability, and management of emotions in competition through cognitive reappraisal. The study highlights the significance of evaluating and enhancing decentralization skills in order to establish specific action mechanisms, which are crucial for both peak performance and the athlete's health.

The Effect of Mindfulness Intervention on the Psychological Skills and Shooting Performances in Male Collegiate Basketball Athletes in Macau: A Quasi-Experimental Study

BACKGROUND

This study adopted a quasi-experimental design to examine the effect of a 7-week mindfulness intervention on the psychological coping ability and shooting performance of college-level male basketball athletes in Macau.

METHODS

A total of 43 male college basketball athletes in Macau were selected as the participants. Besides the regular basketball training, the intervention group (n = 23) received a 7-week mindfulness training; the weekly mindfulness intervention session lasted around one hour according to the mindfulness training manual for athletes, while the control group (n = 20) did not receive any mindfulness training. Before and immediately after the 7-week intervention, all players performed the following tests: the "Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire", the "Acceptance and Action Questionnaire", the "Sport Competition Anxiety Test", the "Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale", and three shooting tests. An independent-sample t-test and a paired-sample t-test were used to analyze the between- and within-group differences. Moreover, a repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess the group, time, and group-by-time effects on psychological skills and shooting performances.

RESULTS

The intervention resulted in both significant between-group and within-group differences in mindfulness level, acceptance level, attention level, three-point, and free-throw shooting performances (all p < 0.05, Cohen's d ranging from 0.565 to 1.117).

CONCLUSION

While further study is necessary, the present study suggests that the 7-week mindfulness training program can significantly improve psychological outcomes and shooting performance in Macau college basketball athletes. Future studies involving competition settings and objective metrics will aid in verifying mindfulness as the prevalent practice among basketball practitioners and athletes.