International Journal of School and Cognitive Psychology
Open Access

Brief Note on Effects of Mindfulness in Sport Athletes

Fadwa Al Mughairbi^{* *}Correspondence: Fadwa Al Mughairbi, Department of Psychology and Counseling, University of United Arab Emirates, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, Email:

Author info »

About the Study

A state of non-judgmental awareness and acceptance of one's inner experiences is known as mindfulness. This condition has been attained through mindfulness-based interventions supported by research, which are beneficial for the treatment of psychological issues and for improving performance in athletes and other performers. The underlying processes of mindfulness are discussed in this article, along with the interventional elements that improve these processes and the value of mindfulness interventions in improving athletic performance.

It is simple to temporarily achieve the state of mindfulness, which is defined as the act of accepting the present moment for what it is without passing judgement. The problem is maintaining mindfulness during daily activities and throughout challenging situations. As a result, maintaining focused attention has benefits, such as promoting improved human performance. The most significant introduction to mindfulness in the western sporting world is given by former Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson. More than a decade later, Kee and Wang (2008) published their research on mindfulness, flow, and the acquisition of mental skills, which became the first study on mindfulness to be published in a sport psychology journal. After that, mindfulness was frequently discussed in academic and practical contexts, leading to fresh findings and discussions in the area. More recently, Roychowdhury noted that the majority of mindfulness research in the field lacked traditional, spiritual, and Eastern philosophical underpinnings and urged the need to concentrate on genuine, culturally considerate, and reflexive practises. In order to exchange ideas on mindfulness practises and research, there is a real need for ongoing communication between the East and the rest of the globe. In light of the fact that Eastern culture has a very rich history of contemplative practises that range across religious traditions like Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. The mindfulness that are pertinent for the discipline as mindfulness research and applied practises continue to attract attention in the sport and exercise psychology.

Exploring mindfulness

Most people, including both the general public and sport psychologists, would concur that maintaining an intense,totally focused attention on the athletic task, a condition frequently referred to as "flow" seems to be necessary for athletes to perform at their best. However, there are several challenges to stay focused, including distractions like audience noise, pressure to perform well, physical discomfort, and ideas about possible failure. It shows that attempts to control these factors (such as trying to ignore pain, crowd noise, and thoughts and emotions that seem to be getting in the way) are largely ineffective since these challenges are unavoidable. Instead, mindfulness interventions support athletes in gaining a non-judgmental awareness of their internal and external experiences, acceptance of their internal cognitive, emotional, and physiological (i.e., bodily sensations) states, and willingness to experience internal and external states while continuing to engage in behaviours that support their goals. It's important to note that the aim of mindfulness practise is not to develop qualities like confidence and positive thinking or to lessen, prevent, or change athletes' subjective distress. Instead, the objective is to acquire the abilities required to participate in present-moment attention without getting caught up in internal or external experiences, without categorising these experiences as good or bad, and without making an effort to alter these experiences. Being mindful encourages experiential acceptance, which is defined as a willingness to pursue (rather than avoid) one's goals (e.g., practising hard during each practise) and values (e.g., maximising athletic skill) regardless of how or what one may think or feel at any given moment which is quite different from those who engage in behaviors to avoid uncomfortable experiences.

Conclusion

The first two empirical publications demonstrated that both the Eastern and the western countries are still interested in conducting research on the effects of mindfulness interventions on athletes. The thorough examination of the effects of mindfulness practise is crucial since the results will ultimately help determine how effective mindfulness interventions are for athletes. The other two conceptual papers, which introduced Eastern mindfulness concepts and practises, are crucial for developing the field because they offer fresh perspectives from the East, which are typically less accessible to some audiences due to language problems and other issues. In fact, conceptual and empirical research complements one another to advance the limits of mindfulness study and application. We truly hope that professionals in the area would keep in mind as a preferred medium for spreading mindfulness research.