Numerous studies have shown that dispositional mindfulness is positively associated with many mental abilities related to sports performance, including psychological skills and mental toughness. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, psychological skills, and mental toughness among different types of athletes. For this cross-sectional study, 101 college athletes were recruited. Their dispositional mindfulness, psychological skills, and mental toughness were measured by the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Athletic Psychological Skills Inventory (APSI), and Traits of Mental Toughness Inventory for Sports Scale (TMTIS). Pearson’s correlation was used to calculate how dispositional mindfulness is associated with psychological skills and mental toughness. The results revealed that dispositional mindfulness is positively associated with comprehensive APSI (r = 0.21–0.36, p < 0.05), TMTIS overall (r = 0.27, p < 0.01), positive effort (r = 0.26, p = 0.01), and pressure (r = 0.30, p < 0.01). These findings suggest a positive linkage between mindfulness and the two examined psychological characteristics related to sports performance. Other approaches to increase mindfulness may be considered in the future.

This study aimed to determine the dose-response relationship between exercise duration and task switching in older adults. Acute moderate intensity aerobic exercise for 20 min resulted in shorter response times than control and 10-min sessions in the heterogeneous, non-switch, and switch conditions, but not in the homogeneous condition. Additionally, linear and cubic trends between exercise duration and global switching performance as well as local switching performance were revealed with faster times being predicted by longer duration exercise; however, the cubic relationship resulted in performance following the 45-min session being not significantly different from the other three sessions. Acute aerobic moderate intensity exercise for 20 min is an effective duration to improve task switching. Although a longer duration of exercise is not optimal for benefiting task switching, it does not harm task switching in older adults and hence may be of value for other health-related reasons.

Effective warm-up routines are crucial for enhancing athletic performance and reducing the risk of injuries. Among various warm-up methods, foam rolling and dynamic stretching have gained popularity for their potential benefits on range of motion, explosive power, and speed. To investigate the effects of foam rolling combined with dynamic stretching on the performance of elite collegiate track and field athletes. Thirty open-category track and field athletes were selected as participants. All subjects completed three experiments using an intra-group design. Each experiment involved a different stretching scenario conducted randomly: dynamic stretching (DS), static stretching combined with dynamic stretching (SSCDS), and foam rolling combined with dynamic stretching (FRCDS). Immediately after completion of each stretching protocol, sit-and-reach performance, explosive power, and sprint performance were assessed. There was a minimum 48-hour interval between each experiment. Statistical analysis was conducted using repeated measures one-way ANOVA for comparison. If the F value showed significant differences, Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons were performed, with the significance level set at P < 0.05. The study found significant effects of different stretching interventions on sit-and-reach performance, standing long jump, vertical jump, and 30-meter sprint performance. The FRCDS condition consistently outperformed both DS and SSCDS in sit-and-reach performance (34.63 ± 11.49 cm vs. 30.33 ± 11.25 cm and 31.30 ± 11.21 cm), standing long jump (252.43 ± 38.09 cm vs. 247.50 ± 39.56 cm and 248.56 ± 38.34 cm), and vertical jump (41.54 ± 8.47 cm vs. 39.42 ± 8.28 cm and 39.85 ± 8.24 cm). In the 30-meter sprint, SSCDS was superior to DS (4.36 ± 0.42 s vs. 4.42 ± 0.47 s), while FRCDS outperformed both (4.25 ± 0.48 s). The results of this study suggest that foam rolling combined with dynamic stretching may acutely improve sit-and-reach performance, explosive power, and sprint performance in elite collegiate track and field athletes.