Effectiveness of mindfulness sport performance enhancement (MSPE) on attention, planning and sport performance of elite Judoka

Introduction: In recent years, focus on processes and cognitive abilities of athletes has been considered by psychologists and cognitive science professionals. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness sport performance enhancement (MSPE) on attention, planning and sport performance of elite Judoka. Method: This study was a clinical trial with pretest, posttest, and follow-up assessment and also control group. The statistical population of this study consisted of elite Judoka of Tehran and by that 30 athletes were selected by convenience sampling with the mean age of 24.41 ± 2.35 and the sport history of 12.6 ± 2.35 in the both experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the Mindfulness-based intervention on athletic performance enhancement in the six weeks. All of the athletes were evaluated by Complex Stroop Test, Continuous Performance, London Tower and Sports Performance scale. In order to analyze the data, the repeated measures of MANOVA and ANOVA were used. Results: The results of the present study showed that Mindfulness sport performance enhancement training significantly improved the Continuous attention, selective attention and planning (p<0.001). Also, the results of the athletic performance scale showed the growing trend of the athletes during intervention and follow-up process. Conclusion: Therefore, Mindfulness sport performance enhancement training can be effective in improving cognitive and athletic performance and using that along with physical exercises will improve athletic performance of athletes.