Research summary · Sport psychology
Mindfulness and executive-function tests in baseball
A 12-week mindfulness trial examines laboratory executive-function tasks alongside brain-oxygenation and circulating biomarker measures in baseball players.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Randomized controlled trial
- Journal
- Psychology of Sport and Exercise
- Population / context
- Male and female baseball players
What the publication reports
Thirty-four players, including 12 women, were randomized equally. Mindfulness partially improved working-memory, inhibitory-control and cognitive-flexibility outcomes. Brain-oxygenation patterns changed, while circulating BDNF increased and IL-6 and cortisol decreased.
Limits and interpretation
The sample was small and numerous cognitive, physiological and biomarker outcomes were examined. Correlations between changes cannot establish a biological mechanism, and laboratory task improvements do not demonstrate better baseball match performance.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Effects of 12-week mindfulness-based intervention on executive functioning skills, brain oxygenation, and biomarkers of cognitive function in baseball players: a randomized controlled trial
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 41577062DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2026.103061Reader discussion
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