Effects Of Boosted-Mindfulness Exercise Training On Physical And Mental Health Of Female Univerisity Students

Previous research suggested that mindfulness-based exercises produced better effects on physical and mental health than other exercise. However, few studies have compared the effectiveness of incorporating mindfulness into different exercises. PURPOSE:To integrate mindfulness into Taichi and resistance training, and compare the effects of different mindfulness-based exercises on female university students. METHODS:Forty-seven female freshman university students were randomly assigned into the mindfulness-based Taichi group (MTC group, n = 22) or the mindfulness-based resistance training group (MRT group, n = 25). Both groups learned mindfulness and the practice focused on present, non-judgmental, peaceful state combining exercise. All students participated in a 24-week intervention, with 90 minutes weekly. Physical tests and mental health tests at baseline and after 24 weeks of the intervention were provided. Physical tests included lung function (vital capacity), running speed (50-meter run), flexibility (sit and reach), strength (1-minute sit-up, standing long jump), and endurance (800-meter run). Mental health tests included mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire), well-being (Index of Well-being), and health-promoting behavior (Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II). RESULTS:In terms of physical tests, significant group-by-time effects were observed in lung function (p = 0.015), running speed (p = 0.020), and flexibility (p < 0.001), with MTC group demonstrating better improvement than MRT group. No significant group-by-time effects in strength and endurance (p > 0.05) were reported. In mental health tests, there was a significant group-by-time effect in mindfulness and MTC group showed significantly better improvement than MRT group (p = 0.037). There were significant increases in well-being and health-promoting behavior in both groups after intervention, but there was no difference between the groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Prescribing additional mindfulness elements into mind-body exercises (such as Taichi), may elicit better physical and mental health of female university students as compared to mindfulness-added resistance exercise. However, effectiveness of the inclusion of mindfulness into other types of exercise needs further investigation.