Mindfulness may both moderate and mediate the effect of physical fitness on cardiovascular responses to stress: a speculative hypothesis.
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.
Department of Preventive Medicine, "Mente Aberta" - Brazilian Center for Mindfulness and Health Promotion, Universidade Federal de São Paulo São Paulo, Brazil.
Marcelo M P
MM
Demarzo
Department of Psychiatry, Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud de la Red de Actividades Preventivas y de Promoción de la Salud (REDIAPP), Universidad de Zaragoza Zaragoza, Spain.
Jesús
J
Montero-Marin
Heart Rate Variability Laboratory, Division of Cardiology, Internal Medicine Department, Washington University School of Medicine Saint Louis, MO, USA.
Phyllis K
PK
Stein
Department of Basic and Clinical Psychology and Psycholobiology, Universitat Jaume I Castellón, Spain ; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red - Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn) Madrid, Spain.
Ausiàs
A
Cebolla
Human Centered Technology Department, Instituto en Bioingeniería y Tecnología Orientada al Ser Humano, Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia, Spain.
Jaime G
JG
Provinciale
Department of Psychiatry, Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud de la Red de Actividades Preventivas y de Promoción de la Salud (REDIAPP), Universidad de Zaragoza Zaragoza, Spain.
Javier
J
García-Campayo
cardiovascular system; mediational model; mindful exercise; mindfulness; moderator effects; physical fitness; psychological stress