How does mindfulness training affect attention and penalty kick performance in university football player.
PloS one January 1, 2025 Jiaqi Wu, Lixin Ai 2 citations
Brief mindfulness training (15 minutes) improved visual attention behaviors in university football players during penalty kicks, especially under pressure. In non-stress conditions, players who received mindfulness training showed increased fixation duration and fixation count compared to a quiet-sitting control group, but their penalty kick scores did not change. Under pressure, the mindfulness group again showed significant gains in fixation duration and fixation count, yet penalty kick scores still did not significantly improve. The improvement in fixation duration was larger under pressure than in non-stress conditions, suggesting that brief mindfulness may help athletes maintain attentional stability when facing high-stakes tasks.