Some potential tests include the Graded Exercise Test (GXT), the Stroop Test, and the  Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (CMAAS). In a study of the effectiveness of mindfulness in sports performance, scientists looked at the endurance performance, executive functioning process and mindfulness levels of 46 student-athletes at the National Taiwan Sport University. 


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Some useful types of meditation for maximizing athletic performance include focused attention meditation (FAM) and open monitoring meditation (OMM). FAM refers to centering one’s attention on a particular object whereas OMM includes a more broad meditation where the mind is free to explore their wandering thoughts without focusing on one specific experience or object.

Types of Meditation for improving Athletic Performance

Nien, J. T., Wu, C. H., Yang, K. T., Cho, Y. M., Chu, C. H., Chang, Y. K., & Zhou, C. (2020). Mindfulness Training Enhances Endurance Performance and Executive Functions in Athletes: An Event-Related Potential Study. Neural plasticity, 2020, 8213710. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8213710

Mindfulness Training Enhances Endurance Performance and Executive Functions in Athletes: An Event-Related Potential Study

Tests that Study Effectiveness of Mindfulness in Sports Performance

In a study done on 42 Division I Female Soccer and Rowing Athletes, they participated in a multi-step reporting process to determine the effects to which mindfulness meditation impacted their sport intervention. Researchers utilized the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS), Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), The Positive Affect, Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) as the participants completed a twelve sessions of mindfulness meditation (30 minutes each). While this study does not focus on improved performance directly, the mindfulness meditation intervention positively affected the emotions of the intervention group from their self-reported scores while the other athletes without the mindfulness intervention reported more negative emotions. Therefore these results indicate that a combination of shorter sessions (30 minutes) of MM may potentially improve a person’s mindfulness.

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