Birnkraut Tim, Kellmann Michael, Jakowski Sarah
Faculty of Sport Science, Department of Sport Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
Front Sports Act Living. 2025 Apr 24;7:1583058. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1583058. eCollection 2025.
Sleep is a fundamental factor in an athlete's ability to sustain peak performance and endurance. Mindfulness, defined as a state of intentional, non-judgmental awareness of the present moment, has been linked to positive effects on sleep. The present study aims to investigate which recovery and sleep parameters are influenced by interindividual differences in mindfulness tendencies and intraindividual daily fluctuations in mindfulness.
A two-week continuous monitoring study was conducted with 33 elite-level judoka (17 female, 16 male; age: = 23.79, = 3.05) competing at the national and international level. Data collection included objective sleep monitoring via actigraphy and subjective monitoring through morning and evening self-report questionnaires. Sleep was analyzed as a function of both trait and daily mindfulness, as well as behavioral factors such as the number of training sessions, session intensity, and the implementation of recovery activities and naps.
Multilevel analyses revealed significant positive associations between mindfulness and qualitative subjective sleep parameters, as well as morning and evening recovery-stress states. Among the mindfulness facets, acting with awareness emerged as the strongest predictor. In terms of quantitative sleep parameters, mindfulness influenced both subjective and objective sleep latencies.
The findings suggest that mindfulness may play a key role in sleep regulation among athletes, particularly in enhancing perceived restfulness, improving recovery-stress states in the evening and morning, and facilitating the process of falling asleep. These results highlight mindfulness as a promising target for interventions aimed at improving subjective recovery and reducing sleep onset latencies through daily mindful behaviors. Furthermore, the study underscores the relative independence of qualitative and quantitative sleep parameters, suggesting they are influenced by distinct factors.
睡眠是运动员保持最佳表现和耐力的一个基本因素。正念被定义为一种对当下时刻有意识的、不加评判的觉察状态，已被证明对睡眠有积极影响。本研究旨在调查正念倾向的个体差异和正念的个体内每日波动会影响哪些恢复和睡眠参数。
对33名参加国家和国际比赛的精英级柔道运动员（17名女性，16名男性；年龄：平均=23.79，标准差=3.05）进行了为期两周的连续监测研究。数据收集包括通过活动记录仪进行客观睡眠监测，以及通过早晚自我报告问卷进行主观监测。将睡眠作为特质正念和日常正念以及训练次数、训练强度、恢复活动和小睡实施等行为因素的函数进行分析。
多层次分析揭示了正念与定性主观睡眠参数以及早晚恢复压力状态之间存在显著的正相关。在正念的各个方面，有意识地行动是最强的预测因素。在定量睡眠参数方面，正念影响主观和客观睡眠潜伏期。
研究结果表明，正念可能在运动员的睡眠调节中起关键作用，特别是在提高感知到的休息程度、改善早晚的恢复压力状态以及促进入睡过程方面。这些结果突出了正念作为一个有前景的干预目标，旨在通过日常的正念行为改善主观恢复并减少入睡潜伏期。此外，该研究强调了定性和定量睡眠参数的相对独立性，表明它们受不同因素的影响。
