Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction to Enhance Flow and Performance During Basketball Ending Season: A Pilot Protocol
Published 2025-09-17
Keywords
- Mindfulness, Status of Flow, Athletic performance.
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2025 Valeria Cioffi, Enrica Tortora, Serena Genghi, Serena Porpora, Chiara Cioffi, Fabiana Iacopino, Gianmaria Granato, Nunzia Annunziata, Vincenzo Filoso, Pietro Paolo Di Somma, Francesca Morelli, Carlo Acanfora, Antonio Rivoli, Marco Filippini, Daniela Cantone
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Objective: Numerous studies demonstrated the efficacy of mindfulness in enhancing recovery, and stress management in athletes, in various domains, including attention, emotional regulation, athletic performance. Flow, a state of deep absorption and involvement in an activity, has been identified as a key predictor of excellent performance in sport. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a 6-week mindfulness protocol to increase athletic performance and facilitate access to the state of Flow during professional basketball playoffs.
Patients and Methods: A sample of 15 male players (mean age 28; standard deviation ±6.5), from Serie A 2 and Serie B national leagues, received a weekly audio track (almost 10 minutes) accompanied by operational instructions, an optional diary, and weekly debriefing. Objective measures of performance (game statistics, Heart Rate Variability) and subjective measures were collected using the following questionnaires: The Flow State Scale, the Mindfulness Inventory for Sport, the Spor Anxiety Scale and the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes. The data analysis built on a range of metrics, including single-group pre–post comparisons (repeated measures ANOVA), as well as correlations between mindfulness, Flow, and performance, and Heart Rate Variability and sleep analysis utilizing wearable devices (Oura, Polar).
Results: Preliminary results indicate a marked enhancement in the subjective aspects of Flow, with an average increase evident within the initial week in scores pertaining to task concentration, perception of body control, and spontaneity in action. Sleep data indicate an increase in REM time and a reduction in nighttime awakenings. A significant limitation of this study is certainly the lack of a control group.
Conclusions: Given the single-group pre-post design and small sample (N=15), findings are preliminary and do not permit causal inference and expectancy/placebo effects cannot be ruled out. For future developments we plan to expand the sample and carry out a comparison control.
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