ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Mindfulness
Mind-body effects of mindfulness-based training in athletes: a preliminary randomized controlled trial
Carmelo Campo 1
Filippo Cellucci 1
Giacomo Treggiari 2
Giorgio Alfredo Spedicato 3
Stefano Lasaponara 1,4
David Conversi 1,5
1. Universita degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza Dipartimento di Psicologia, Rome, Italy
2. Universita degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Rome, Italy
3. Università Milano-Bicocca Dipartimento di Statistica e Metodi Quantitativi, Milan, Italy
4. Laboratorio di "Neuropsicologia dell'attenzione" Fondazione Santa Lucia-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
5. Centro di ricerca in Neurobiologia "Daniel Bovet", Rome, Italy
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Abstract
Previous research has shown that mindfulness practice is associated with a range of indicators related to better mental and cognitive health. Emerging evidence also supports benefits for physical health, although these findings are not yet comprehensive. Consequently, this practice is attracting increasing interest in sports, despite the current lack of extensive research and limited application in this context. Thus, this study analyzed the effects of an 8-week mindfulness-based training program in athletes on several psychological and physiological variables that may influence sports performance. Forty-six athletes were recruited and randomly assigned to a study group, which joined the mindfulness-based training, or a waitlist control group. Levels of interoceptive awareness, cognitive inhibition, heart rate variability (HRV), pulmonary function, and muscle flexibility were assessed before (T0) and after (T1) the treatment. Results showed statistically significant improvements in interoceptive awareness and SDNN parameter of HRV in the study group compared to the control group following the treatment. These preliminary results partially support the holistic health benefits of mindfulness and encourage the integration of mindfulness techniques into sports training. Future research should explore these findings in larger samples and for longer treatment durations.
Summary
Keywords
Athletes, Cognitive Inhibition, HRV, Interoceptive Awareness, mindfulness, Muscle flexibility, Pulmonary Function, Sport
Received
26 November 2025
Accepted
26 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Campo, Cellucci, Treggiari, Spedicato, Lasaponara and Conversi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: David Conversi
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