Exploring the Impact of a Low-Dose Mindfulness Intervention on Perceived Exertion, Attention, and Rowing Performance

Objectives: This study examined the effects of a four-week low-dose mindfulness intervention on ratings of perceived exertion, heart rate, attentional allocation, and performance outcomes, including power output, distance rowed, and strokes per minute, during a rowing task. Methods: Thirty-two participants between 18 and 37 years of age (21.09 ± 3.67) who met the World Health Organization (WHO) physical activity guidelines and had no previous experience with mindfulness or meditation completed a four-week intervention. Participants were either in the mindfulness intervention (n = 17) or the placebo group (n = 15). Participants completed ten visits over four weeks, each consisting of watching an episode of either Headspace Guide to Meditation or Wild Babies on Netflix, followed by a 25 min rowing task. Results: Results indicated no significant group-by-session interaction for any variables. However, a significant main effect for session showed that perceived exertion was significantly lower at the post-assessment compared to the pre-assessment for all participants (p = 0.013, η_p² = 0.19). Additionally, a significant main effect for time revealed a linear increase in perceived exertion across the rowing task (p < 0.001, η_p² = 0.81). Both groups also showed a significant shift from dissociative to associative attention (p < 0.001, η_p² = 0.25). For performance, a significant main effect for session was observed, with greater power output (p = 0.008, η_p² = 0.22) and distance rowed (p = 0.013, η_p² = 0.19) at the post-assessment for both groups. Conclusions: The lack of significant group differences suggests that a low-dose, pre-exercise mindfulness video intervention is likely ineffective for altering psychophysiological responses, indicating that future research should prioritize higher-dosage or real-time guided interventions.