In plain language
Athletes are often taught to control their thoughts and feelings—to relax, think positively, and push doubt away. Mindfulness and acceptance approaches take a different route: instead of fighting inner experiences, athletes learn to notice them with curiosity and keep attention on the task. This review asked how strong the scientific evidence really is that these approaches enhance sporting performance.
The authors systematically searched four major databases and found 66 studies involving 3,908 athletes. Two reviewers independently rated each study for risk of bias using the Cochrane tool, and the overall body of evidence was graded using the GRADE criteria—the same standards used in medical research.
Compared with no treatment, randomised trials showed large effects for improving mindfulness, flow, and performance, and for lowering competitive anxiety, with preliminary support for preventing injuries, reducing burnout, and boosting confidence. However, not a single study had a low risk of bias, so the evidence was graded as low quality. The practical message: these approaches look promising for athletes, but well-designed, pre-registered randomised trials are still needed before strong causal claims can be made.
Key findings
- Sixty-six studies with a combined 3,908 athletes met inclusion criteria—a much larger evidence base than earlier reviews of mindfulness in sport (e.g., 19 studies).
- In randomised trials against no-treatment controls, large effect sizes were found for improving mindfulness, flow, and athletic performance, and for reducing competitive anxiety.
- Preliminary evidence suggested mindfulness and acceptance interventions may also help prevent injuries, reduce burnout, and increase confidence.
- Observational studies showed that more mindful athletes tended to report higher mental toughness, more self-determined motivation, greater self-efficacy, lower stress, and lower perceived exertion.
- No included study was rated as having a low risk of bias, and the overall evidence was graded low quality under GRADE, so further research is very likely to change confidence in these effects.
- When compared head-to-head with established psychological skills interventions, no study found significant benefits in favour of mindfulness, underscoring the need for rigorous comparative trials.
How to cite
APA
Noetel, M., Ciarrochi, J., Van Zanden, B., & Lonsdale, C. (2019). Mindfulness and acceptance approaches to sporting performance enhancement: A systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12(1), 139–175. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2017.1387803
BibTeX
@article{noetel2019mindfulness,
title = {Mindfulness and acceptance approaches to sporting performance enhancement: a systematic review},
author = {Noetel, Michael and Ciarrochi, Joseph and Van Zanden, Brooke and Lonsdale, Chris},
journal = {International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology},
volume = {12},
number = {1},
pages = {139--175},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1080/1750984X.2017.1387803}
}
Related work
- All publications by Joseph Ciarrochi (searchable, with free PDFs)
- Process-Based Therapy & Idionomic Analysis
Author: Joseph Ciarrochi (ORCID 0000-0003-0471-8100). Free copy hosted with permission for scholarly use. Please cite the published version via the DOI above.