The effect of mindfulness meditation therapy on performance, pre-competition stress, and salivary cortisol in female pistol shooters

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of a 6-week mindfulness meditation therapy (MMT) program on shooting performance, and pre-competition stress and salivary cortisol levels of female shooters. Material and methods: Nineteen shooters (mean standard deviation for age: 15.51.5 years, and body mass index: 22.92.7 kg/m2) completed the study protocol among two groups: MMT (n=10) and control (n=9). The MMT group performed five 20-minute sessions per week of training, while the control group did not receive any intervention. 10 m pistol shooting performance, and pre-competition stress (using a standard scale) and salivary cortisol concentration (using an ELISA kit) were measured twenty-four hours before and after the intervention. The independent samples t-test and the paired samples t-test were used to compare the intergroup and intragroup differences, respectively, with a significance level set at p<0.05. Results: No significant differences were found between the groups in the pre-test measurements (p<0.05). Compared with the waitlist control shooters, shooting performance scores were higher (a 2.1% increase vs. a 0.2% reduction, p=0.030), while pre-competition stress (a 10.5% vs. a 1.7% reduction, p=0.002) and cortisol levels (a 23.8% vs. a 0.6% reduction, p=0.002) were lower in MMT group following the intervention.Conclusions: It seems that the six-week MMT program has a positive effect on the pistol shooting performance of female shooters by decreasing pre-competition stress and salivary cortisol level. Hence, the implementation of this psychological training protocol for female shooters is recommended.