Investigating the associations between stress and mindfulness

Background: The experience of stress, both psychological and physical, differs substantially between individuals. A plethora of research has demonstrated that regular mindfulness practice can reduce the amount of stress experienced by individuals, however the benefits of ‘one-off’ mindfulness exercises has received less attention. Thus, the current study aimed to determine the effect of a single episode mindfulness exercise on both psychological and physiological stress responses within a performance context. Methods: A random control design was used. Participants were required to complete a questionnaire package, wear a heart rate monitor, supply a number of cortisol samples, and take part in the widely used Trier Social Stress Test. The experimental group also participated in a short mindfulness activity. The study consisted of 22 participants (female n= 14, male n=8) ranging between 18 and 59 years of age. Findings: Preliminary results indicate that the Trier Social Stress test successfully increased the amount of perceived stress in participants, with the experimental group reporting significantly greater stress during the task (M=22.30, SD=4.60) when compared to baseline (M=5.5, SD=1.78), t (9) =-11.06, p<0.01. These results were consistent with those for the control group (task: M=19.67, SD=7.64; baseline: M=6.25, SD=2.18; t (-11) = 6.06, p<0.01). Interestingly, however, was that the control group experienced a smaller increase in mean perceived stress scores (214.8%) than the experimental group (305%). Discussion: These findings imply that the use of ‘one-off’ mindfulness exercises to reduce perceived and physiological stress may actually be counter-productive when applied within performance contexts.