Impact of mindfulness-based interventions on sports performance and mental health: An umbrella review.
Boyuan Xie, Siman Lei, Ngai Choi, Siu Ming Choi, Xiuqiang Wang, Yiwen Chen
Journal of exercise science and fitness October 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.jesf.2025.06.008
Summary
Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) show promise in enhancing sports performance and mental health among athletes, with 73% of 15 systematic reviews indicating positive trends across various outcomes. Analyzing data from over 10,500 athletes, the majority of reviews suggested improvements in mindfulness and mental health indicators. However, the overall quality of these reviews was low, with 11 rated critically low. To strengthen the evidence for MBIs in sports, future studies must adopt rigorous methodologies and standardized protocols to produce reliable results.
Abstract
While Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) are increasingly explored for enhancing sports performance and mental health in athletes, existing systematic reviews present conflicting results regarding their efficacy due to methodological inconsistencies and varied athlete populations. To address these discrepancies, this umbrella review critically evaluates evidence from systematic reviews to determine the aggregate effects of MBIs on sports performance, mindfulness indicators, and mental health outcomes among athletes. Systematic searches of PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, and Scopus were conducted from inception to January 2024. Included studies were systematic reviews examining MBIs for athletic populations and reporting on sports performance, mindfulness indicators, or mental health outcomes. Methodological quality of included reviews was appraised using AMSTAR-2. Fifteen systematic reviews and meta-analyses, encompassing 10,503 athletes, met inclusion criteria. Most reviews indicated positive trends for MBIs in improving sports performance, mindfulness indicators and various mental health outcomes. However, substantial methodological heterogeneity in primary study designs and MBIs protocols across reviews limited definitive conclusions. Critically, AMSTAR-2 assessments revealed that the majority (11 of 15, 73 %) of included reviews were of critically low methodological quality, with the remainder rated as low quality. While MBIs show potential to foster improved sports performance and mental health in athletes, the current evidence base is considerably weakened by the poor methodological quality of existing systematic reviews. A pressing need exists for future research to employ more rigorous methodologies, standardised intervention protocols, and consistent outcome reporting to establish a robust evidence base for the application of MBIs in sports.