Short-term mindfulness intervention mitigates mental fatigue effects on basketball technical performance

Mental fatigue (MF) negatively affects athletes’ performance, particularly in basketball, where decision-making and technical skills are crucial. This study aims to examine whether a 30-min short-term audio mindfulness intervention could mitigate MF-induced decline in basketball technical performance. This study employed the cluster randomized controlled trial (cRCT) design. A total of 54 male basketball players aged 18–24 were recruited from three universities and randomly assigned into a control group (CG), mental fatigue group (MFG), and mental fatigue-mindfulness group (MF-MG). A 30-min Stroop task was first used to induce MF in the MFG and MF-MG. Subsequently, participants in the MF-MG received a 30-min short-term audio mindfulness intervention. MF was associated with reduced attention and several technical performance indicators (points, rebounds, and field goal percentage) compared with the CG. In contrast, the short-term mindfulness group reported lower perceived MF and showed better performance on these indicators compared with the MFG ( p < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in motivation or mood among groups. The findings suggest that a short-term mindfulness intervention may help attenuate the negative effects of MF on basketball technical performance and attention in a controlled experimental setting. However, these results should be considered preliminary, and caution is warranted when generalizing to real competitive environments.