From mind to medal: How the neurocognitive effects of mindfulness training can explain athletic performance enhancement in closed-skill sports

Abstract

In competitive sports, athletes are always looking for ways to get better at their sports beyond just physical training. Recently, mindfulness practice in particular has become increasingly popular. Mindfulness involves being fully aware of the present moment without judgment. This can possibly help athletes to concentrate and manage their emotions better, which is particularly important in sports that require precise skills and a high level of focus like gymnastics, shooting and golf (i.e., closed-skill sports). While the effects of mindfulness practice seem to be positive, the exact mechanisms are still unknown. Therefore, the present literature review explores how mindfulness training can improve the performance of athletes practicing closed-skill sports. Recent scientific studies on both the behavioral and brain-related effects of mindfulness will be discussed accordingly. On a behavioral level, studies consistently show that mindfulness practice benefits athletes by improving their focus, reducing anxiety, and improving overall sports performance. Mindfulness practice also helps athletes to handle stress and distraction better, improving their performance under pressure. Specifically, mindfulness practice allows athletes to be more aware of internal body states and better self-regulate their attention and emotion accordingly. It is believed this has a critical role in closed-skill sports performance, therefore could underlie the beneficial effects of mindfulness practice. ​ Recent studies using brain imaging techniques have begun to uncover how mindfulness practice exactly affects attention, emotion regulation and sports performance in athletes practicing closed-skill sports. Brain activation patterns seem to be dependent on the level of mindfulness expertise. Novels to mindfulness practice show higher levels of brain activity in regions linked to cognitive control, mainly in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This can possibly be explained by the high amount of effort they have to exert to maintain a mindful state. But also by the high level of cognitive control necessary to sustain and orientate attention. Expert practitioners however show less consistent elevations of PFC-activity. In these practitioners, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity is consistently elevated. The ACC is known for its critical role in the awareness of internal body states and self-regulation. Therefore, we propose that mindfulness practice improves closed-skill sports performance of athletes through two principal pathways: 1) better cognitive control, driven by PFC activation; 2) better awareness of internal body states and self-regulation, driven by ACC activation. Even though the first pathway relies more on conscious effort and the second is more automatic, both can result in improved attention and emotion regulation, better performance under pressure, and eventually, improved sports performance. It is therefore recommended to integrate mindfulness practice in the daily training routines of athletes, since regular and long-term practice is believed to result in sustained improvements of sports performance. While future research should investigate different aspects of mindfulness practice to determine the most effective methods, this review underscores the potential of mindfulness training to improve athletes’ performance in closed-skill sports.