3Research has shown that a brief mindfulness intervention may counteract the depleting effects of 4 an emotion suppression task upon a subsequent psychological task that requires self-control. However, 5 the effects of a brief mindfulness intervention on perceptual-motor tasks particularly in stressful 6 situations have not yet been examined. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a brief 7 mindfulness intervention can counteract the detrimental effects of ego-depletion in basketball free throw 8 performance under pressure. Seventy-two basketball players (mean age = 28.6 ± 4.0 yrs) were randomly 9 assigned to one of the following 4 groups: depletion/mindfulness, no depletion/mindfulness, depletion/no 10 mindfulness and control (no depletion/no mindfulness). The mindfulness intervention consisted of a 15-11 min breathe and body mindfulness audio exercise, while the control condition (no mindfulness) listened 12 to an audio book. A modified Stroop color-word task was used to manipulate self-control and induce 13 ego depletion. Participants performed 30 free throws before and after the experimental manipulations. 14 Results showed that basketball players' free throw performance decreased after ego-depletion, but when 15 ego-depletion was followed by the mindfulness intervention, free throw performance was maintained at a 16 level similar to the control group. Our results indicate that a brief mindfulness intervention mitigates the 17 effects of ego depletion in a basketball free-throw task. 18 ). This model has received 43 considerable empirical support in a sport context. For example, it has been shown that a non-sports 44 related primary task that requires cognitive effort, in particular attentional control (e.g., Stroop color 45 word test), leads to self-control failures in a secondary physical task with decreases in repeated maximum 46 4 Bray, 2013). Additionally, in a narrative review, Pageaux and Lepers (2018) confirmed the existence of 50 decrements in sport-related motor tasks after self-control depletion or mental fatigue. Other theoretical 51 models challenge the notion of limited self-control strength, and highlight the importance of identifying 52 other mechanisms through which the actual processes of ego depletion impair performance. For example, 53 according to motivational and attentional shifts theory, exerting self-control in a first task reduces success 54 at self-control at a second task due to shifts in motivation and attention (Inzlicht & Schmeichel, 2016). 55However, in a recent empirical study, Baumeister and Vohs (2018) argued that these alternative 56 explanations of ego depletion suggested by other theoretical models, are aligned with the strength model 57 of self-control. Regarding motivational and attentional shifts theory, Baumeister and Vohs (2018) 58 suggested that limited resource theory works better if it is assumed that performance changes caused by 59 ego depletion could be either a direct effect of low energy or an indirect effect mediated by motivational 60 and atte...

The authors tested the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based program in reducing sport-injury incidence. A total of 168 young male elite soccer players were randomly assigned to mindfulness and control groups. The mindfulness group consisted of seven sessions based on the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment approach, while the control group consisted of seven presentations on sport-injury psychology. Athlete exposure and injury data were recorded during one season. State and trait mindfulness, sport anxiety, stress, and attention control of participants were assessed. Number of injuries, average of injuries per team, and days lost to injury in the mindfulness group were significantly lower than those in the control group. Mindfulness and attention control were lower and sport anxiety and stress were higher in injured players than in noninjured players. Psychological variables were associated with injury. Mindfulness training may reduce the injury risk of young soccer players due to improved mindfulness and attention control and reduced sport anxiety.

The aim of the study was to examine the influence of acute bouts of low and moderate resistance exercise on the executive function of community-living older adults. Forty older adults (20 men and 20 women; age range: 60-75 years) were randomly assigned to an exercise or control group. The exercise group completed two 45-min resistance exercise bouts at 40% and 70% of their individual 10-repetition maximum on different days, whereas the control group watched an exercise-related video. To assess immediate and delayed effects of exercise on executive function, tests assessing working memory, response inhibition, and cognitive flexibility were performed before (pre-test), and 15 and 180 mins after the exercise. Exercise improved executive function, but no change was observed in the control group. The exerciseinduced gains were i) larger after moderate than low intensity exercise, ii) similar for women and men, and iii) larger at 15 than 180 min after exercise. These results indicate that exercise improves, at least transiently, executive function in healthy older adults.