TY - JOUR
T1 - Mindfulness may both moderate and mediate the effect of physical fitness on cardiovascular responses to stress
T2 - A speculative hypothesis
AU - Demarzo, Marcelo M.P.
AU - Montero-Marin, Jesús
AU - Stein, Phyllis K.
AU - Cebolla, Ausiàs
AU - Provinciale, Jaime G.
AU - García-Campayo, Javier
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - The psychological construct of mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally paying attention to the present experience in a non-judgmental or evaluative way. This particular quality of awareness has been associated to several indicators of physical and psychological health, and can be developed using mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), and therefore MBIs have been successfully applied as preventive and complementary interventions and therapies in medicine and psychology. Together with quiet sitting and lying meditation practices, mindful physical exercises such as "mindful walking" and "mindful movement" are key elements in MBIs and couple muscular activity with an internally directed focus, improving interoceptive attention to bodily sensations. In addition, MBIs seem to share similar mechanisms with physical fitness (PF) by which they may influence cardiovascular responses to stress. Based on these facts, it is feasible to raise the question of whether physical training itself may induce the development of that particular quality of awareness associated with mindfulness, or if one's dispositional mindfulness (DM) (the tendency to be more mindful in daily life) could moderate the effects of exercise on cardiovascular response to stress. The role of mindfulness as a mediator or moderator of the effect of exercise training on cardiovascular responses to stress has barely been studied. In this study, we have hypothesized pathways (moderation and mediation) by which mindfulness could significantly influence the effects of PF on cardiovascular responses to stress and discussed potential practical ways to test these hypotheses.
AB - The psychological construct of mindfulness refers to an awareness that emerges by intentionally paying attention to the present experience in a non-judgmental or evaluative way. This particular quality of awareness has been associated to several indicators of physical and psychological health, and can be developed using mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), and therefore MBIs have been successfully applied as preventive and complementary interventions and therapies in medicine and psychology. Together with quiet sitting and lying meditation practices, mindful physical exercises such as "mindful walking" and "mindful movement" are key elements in MBIs and couple muscular activity with an internally directed focus, improving interoceptive attention to bodily sensations. In addition, MBIs seem to share similar mechanisms with physical fitness (PF) by which they may influence cardiovascular responses to stress. Based on these facts, it is feasible to raise the question of whether physical training itself may induce the development of that particular quality of awareness associated with mindfulness, or if one's dispositional mindfulness (DM) (the tendency to be more mindful in daily life) could moderate the effects of exercise on cardiovascular response to stress. The role of mindfulness as a mediator or moderator of the effect of exercise training on cardiovascular responses to stress has barely been studied. In this study, we have hypothesized pathways (moderation and mediation) by which mindfulness could significantly influence the effects of PF on cardiovascular responses to stress and discussed potential practical ways to test these hypotheses.
KW - Cardiovascular system
KW - Mediational model
KW - Mindful exercise
KW - Mindfulness
KW - Moderator effects
KW - Physical fitness
KW - Psychological stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84897931221&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fphys.2014.00105
DO - 10.3389/fphys.2014.00105
M3 - Article
C2 - 24723891
AN - SCOPUS:84897931221
SN - 1664-042X
VL - 5 MAR
JO - Frontiers in Physiology
JF - Frontiers in Physiology
M1 - Article 105
ER -