Objective-This study examined whether mindfulness increased through participation in movement based courses and whether changes in self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, and perceived stress mediated the relationship between increased mindfulness and better sleep.Participants-166 college students enrolled in the 2007-2008 academic year in 15 week classes in Pilates, Taiji quan, or GYROKINESIS®.Methods-At beginning, middle, and end of the semester, participants completed measures of mindfulness, self-regulatory self-efficacy, mood, perceived stress and sleep quality.Results-Total mindfulness scores and mindfulness subscales increased overall. Greater changes in mindfulness were directly related to better sleep quality at the end of the semester after adjusting for sleep disturbance at the beginning. Tired Mood, Negative Arousal, Relaxed Mood, and Perceived Stress mediated the effect of increased mindfulness on improved sleep.Conclusions-Movement based courses can increase mindfulness. Increased mindfulness accounts for changes in mood and perceived stress that explain, in part, improved sleep quality. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptIn college students, poor sleep quality has been associated with difficulties with mental and physical health. [1][2][3] Reported rates of sleep difficulties in college students have ranged from 31.6% to 64% depending on the measures used. [3][4][5][6] Sleep disturbances can be caused by many different factors including biological, cognitive, and/or behavioral factors. While pharmaceuticals can provide some relief, behavioral interventions have no side effects and target the cognitive and behavioral aspects of sleep disorders.One behavioral intervention often recommended as an important sleep aid is exercise. Epidemiologic studies have consistently shown an association between self-reports of exercise and better sleep. 7 However, experimental studies have found none or only modest effects of exercise on sleep. 8 An explanation for this lack of association is that the experimental studies assessed good sleepers who have little room for improvement. Individuals with sleep problems who then begin to exercise might be expected to see greater improvement in their sleep. 9Additional promising behavioral interventions for treating insomnia are those focusing on alleviating stress and reducing worry.9 , 10 One such intervention is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a formalized psychoeducational group intervention in which participants receive training in formal meditation techniques such as body-scan meditation, sitting meditation, walking meditation, and Hatha yoga with simple stretches and postures. Several research studies support the effectiveness of MBSR in reducing stress and anxiety in college students. 11-13 A recent review of the effects of MBSR on sleep disturbance found some evidence associating improved sleep with increased practice of mindfulness techniques.14 Mindfulness has been defined as "paying attention in a particula...
Methods of exercise such as Pilates and taiji quan, which have been shown to have beneficial effects on physical and mental characteristics, have been studied more often in samples of older participants. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a semester of either Pilates or taiji quan training on perceived self-efficacy, sleep quality and mood, as well as strength and balance in college-age individuals. Self-efficacy was found to be improved in the Pilates and taiji quan groups and there was a trend towards improvement in sleep quality. Mood was found to be improved significantly in the Pilates group while the taiji group showed a trend towards improvement. There were no changes or group differences in the strength or balance measures. Pilates and taiji quan are effective exercise modes to improve mental parameters in college-age individuals.
Relative to a recreation control group, taijiquan classes for college students are associated with increased mindfulness and improved sleep quality, mood, and perceived stress, but not self-regulatory self-efficacy. Randomized control design studies are needed to substantiate the causal role of taijiquan exercise in the development of mindfulness and associated improvements in well-being.
The Pilates Method is a form of somatic education with the potential to cultivate mindfulness – a mental quality associated with overall well-being. However, controlled studies are needed to determine whether changes in mindfulness are specific to the Pilates Method or also result from other forms of exercise. This quasi-experimental study compared Pilates Method mat classes and recreational exercise classes on measures of mindfulness and well-being at the beginning, middle and end of a 15 week semester. Total mindfulness scores increased overall for the Pilates Method group but not for the exercise control group, and these increases were directly related to end of semester ratings of self-regulatory self-efficacy, perceived stress and mood. Findings suggest that the Pilates Method specifically enhances mindfulness, and these increases are associated with other measures of wellness. The changes in mindfulness identified in this study support the role of the Pilates Method in the mental well-being of its practitioners and its potential to support dancers’ overall well-being.
P erceived self-efficacy is an indicator of maintenance, effort, and per formance of various behaviors, including recreational activities. Experiential programming can be structured to enhance partici pants' efficacy regarding specific activities. This can be done by address ing the fotu sources of efficacy information (verbal persuasion, vicarious experience, affective state, mastery experiencesj that participants use to make judgments regarding their ability to perform a particular recreation al activity.The piupose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of one of the sources of efficacy information, vicarious experience via modeling, in enhancing efficacy beliefs of at-risk youth participating in a wildemess therapy activity. This study also investigated the influence of activity-spe cific efficacy perceptions on both self-regulatory self-efficacy (perceptions of ability to evaluate courses of action, diagnose task demands, and set sub-goalsj and perceived performance in the specific activity.Three groups of at-risk youth participated in three separate rock climbing sessions at the Clemson University Outdoor Laboratory's climb ing tower. The participants (n = 38} in this study, both males and females ranging in age from 6 to 18, were drawn from a year-round private school for at-risk youth. All students from the school were invited to participate. Prior to arrival at the climbing site, school adminisfrators divided partici pants into groups according to existing residential housing assignments.Upon arrival, each group took a rock climbing and self-regulatory self-efficacy questionnaire. This questionnaire included a previous rock
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