Sleep Deprivation, Mood, and the Effect of Mindfulness-Based Guided

Abstract:

             Sleep deprivation has been widely recognised as a factor impairing emotional regulation, cognitive performance, and overall well-being, particularly among athletes who frequently experience disrupted sleep due to training demands, travel, and competition-related stress (Fullagar et al., 2015; Lo et al., 2016). The present study aimed to examine the effect of Mindfulness-based guided breathing on mood among sleep-deprived athletes. Mindfulness-based guided breathing was operationalised as a 5-minute guided video that directed attention toward breathing, bodily sensations, and present-moment awareness. Mood was assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) in a pre-test and post-test design.For the sample (N = 33), Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were conducted to examine differences in Negative Affect (NA) and Positive Affect (PA) before and after the mindfulness intervention. Results for Pre-NA versus Post-NA indicated a positive change (W = 262.00, z = 1.75, p = .080). The reduction in Negative Affect was not statistically significant (p = .080), though a moderate effect size was observed (r = .39). This reflects a trend toward reduced negative affect following the intervention, although the change did not reach the conventional level of statistical significance.Overall, while participants demonstrated a trend toward improvement in negative affect, changes in positive affect were minimal and nonsignificant. These findings suggest that brief Mindfulness-based guided breathing may have a modest impact on emotional regulation among sleep-deprived athletes, highlighting its potential as a simple and low-cost strategy for maintaining psychological balance in high-performance settings.