Freediving awareness: a health promotion intervention

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Giulia Zucca, Oriana Mosca
Publishing Year 2025 Issue 2025/1
Language Italian Pages 17 P. 56-72 File size 216 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2025-001006
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Freediving involves diving underwater without a respirator while holding one’s breath. This can cause feelings of distress as apnoea continues, leading to psychophysical stress. To consume less oxygen, freedivers must stay calm, focused, and use precise technical movements. Research shows that mindfulness practices can promoteg wellbeing, self-acceptance and emotional regulation and improving athletic performance. The available research highlights that mindfulness can help combat stress, increase self-compassion and improve well-being. To help freedivers manage these challenges and improve apnea performance, a six-week mindfulness course was offered to a group of competitive freedivers. A mindfulness group composed of 12 participating subjects, consisting of competitive freedivers, was conducted between 2022 and 2023. Measurements were carried out at 3 times (pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up) through the administration of the Five Facet of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Wellbeing (QBE) and the survey of times and distances covered in apnoea. Data analysis included parametric correlations (Pearson) and within-subject analysis of variance the three measurement times. The analyses demonstrate a general improvement for all the variables considered with fluctuations on specific sub-scales. Qualitative analyses provide a deeper understanding of the results. The deepening of these local findings would enrich mindfulness-based interventions applied to sport and its applications on global trajectories to build health in apnea.

Keywords: mindfulness, freediving, emotion regulation, health promotion.

  1. Eberth J. and Sedlmeier P. (2012). The effects of mindfulness meditation: a meta-analysis. Mindfulness, 3(3): 174-189.
  2. Archibald M.M. (2016). Investigator triangulation: A collaborative strategy with potential for mixed methods research. Journal of mixed methods research, 10(3): 228-250. DOI: 10.1177/155868981557009
  3. Baer R.A., Smith G.T., Hopkins J., Krietemeyer J. and Toney L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13(1): 27-45.
  4. Birrer D., Röthlin P. and Morgan G. (2012). Mindfulness to enhance athletic performance: Theoretical considerations and possible impact mechanisms. Mindfulness, 3(3): 235-246.
  5. Brymer E. and Schweitzer R. (2013). The search for freedom in extreme sports: A phenomenological exploration. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14(6): 865-873.
  6. Bühlmayer L., Birrer D., Röthlin P., Faude O. and Donath L. (2017). Effects of mindfulness practice on performance-relevant parameters and performance outcomes in sports: A meta-analytical review. Sports Medicine, 47(11): 2309–2321.
  7. Chiesa A., Calati R. and Serretti A. (2011). Does mindfulness training improve cognitive abilities? A systematic review of neuropsychological findings. Clinical psychology review, 31(3): 449-464.
  8. Chinn P. and Kramer M. (2004). Theory and Nursing: Integrated Knowledge Development, 6th edn. Mosby, St Louis, MO.
  9. Elia A., Wilson O.J., Lees M., Parker P.J., Barlow M.J., Cocks M. and O’Hara J.P. (2019). Skeletal muscle, haematological and splenic volume characteristics of elite breath-hold divers. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 119: 2499-2511.
  10. Engel G.L. (1977). The need for a new medical model: a challenge for biomedicine. Science, 196(4286): 129-136.
  11. Fadda D., Scalas L.F., Meleddu M. and Morin A.J. (2017). A bifactor-ESEM representation of the Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Wellbeing. Personality and Individual Differences, 116: 216-222.
  12. Fitz-Clarke J. (2006). Adverse events in competitive breath-hold diving. Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, 33(1).
  13. Forser G.E. and Sheel A.W. (2005). The human diving response, its function, and its control. Scand Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 15: 3-12.
  14. Godek D. and Freeman A.M. (2019). Physiology, diving reflex. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.
  15. Gratz K.L. and Roemer L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment, 26: 41-54.
  16. Gu J., Strauss C., Bond R. and Cavanagh K. (2015). How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. Clinical psychology review, 37: 1-12.
  17. Hornby O., Roderique-Davies G., Heirene R., Thorkildsen E., Bradbury S., Rowlands I., Goodison E., Gill J. and Shearer D. (2024). What factors explain extreme sport participation? A systematic review. Frontiers in sports and active living, 6: 1403499.
  18. Kurra S., Lahtinen K. and Nissinen A. (2015). Freediving. Tampere (FI): Deep Ideas Oy.
  19. Lao S.A., Kissane D. and Meadows G. (2016). Cognitive effects of MBSR/MBCT: A systematic review of neuropsychological outcomes. Consciousness and cognition, 45: 109-123.
  20. Lauri S. and Kyngäs H. (2005). Developing Nursing Theories (Finnish: Hoitotieteen Teorian Kehittäminen). Werner Söderström, DarkOy, Vantaa.
  21. Leyland A., Rowse G. and Emerson L.M. (2019). Experimental effects of mindfulness inductions on self-regulation: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 19(1): 108-122.
  22. Liu Y., Jiang T.T., Shi T.Y., Liu Y.N., Liu X.M., Xu G.J., Li F.L., Wang Y.L. and Wu X.Y. (2021). The effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation training for improving sleep quality among nursing staff during the COVID-19 outbreak: a before and after study. Sleep medicine, 78: 8-14.
  23. Luecke S. (2023). Freediving neurophenomenology and skilled action: an investigation of brain, body, and behavior through breath. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 22(4): 761-797.
  24. Magnani S., Mulliri G., Sainas G., Ghiani G., Pinna V., Sanna I., Crisafulli A. and Tocco F. (2018). Occurrence of cardiac output decrease (via stroke volume) is more pronounced in women than in men during prolonged dry static apnea. Journal of Applied Physiology 124: 349-355,
  25. Mercadante S. e Portella F. (2017). Manuale Federale di Apnea. Volume 1. [Federal Manual of freediving. Volume 1]. Imola: La Mandragora.
  26. Noetel M., Ciarrochi J., Van Zanden B. and Lonsdale C. (2019). Mindfulness and acceptance approaches to sporting performance enhancement: A systematic review. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12(1): 139–175. DOI: 10.1080/1750984X.2017.138780
  27. Kabat-Zinn J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain and illness. New York: Delacorte.
  28. Ostrowski A., Strzala M., Stanula A., Juszkiewicz M., Pilch W. and Maszczyk A. (2012). The Role of Training in the Development of Adaptive Mechanisms in Freedivers. Journal of Human Kinetics, 32(1).
  29. Raugh I.M., Berglund A.M. and Strauss G.P. (2024). Implementation of Mindfulness-Based Emotion Regulation Strategies: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Affective Science, 1-30.
  30. Röthlin P., Birrer D., Horvath S. and Grosse Holtforth M. (2016). Psychological skills training and a mindfulness-based intervention to enhance functional athletic performance: design of a randomized controlled trial using ambulatory assessment. BMC psychology, 4: 1-11.
  31. Waterman A.S., Schwartz S.J., Zamboanga B.L., Ravert R.D., Williams M.K., Bede Agocha V., Kim SY. and Brent Donnellan M. (2010). The Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being: Psychometric properties, demographic comparisons, and evidence of validity. The journal of positive psychology, 5(1): 41-61. DOI: 10.1080/17439760903435208
  32. Yao W.X., Land W. and Yue G.H. (2023). Neuromechanisms underlying motor imagery training (MIT) and roles of MIT in motor skill acquisition and muscle strength enhancement in both sport and rehabilitation settings. Frontiers in Psychology, 14.
  33. Zeng Q., Li C., Yu T. and Zhang H. (2024). Comparative effects of exercise interventions and mindfulness-based interventions for cognitive impairment and quality of life in breast cancer survivors during or after cancer treatment: A systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 10-1097. DOI: 10.1097/PHM.000000000000253
  34. Zhou L., Chlebosz K., Tower J. and Morris T. (2020). An exploratory study of motives for participation in extreme sports and physical activity. Journal of Leisure Research, 51(1): 56-76. DOI: 10.1080/00222216.2019.162717

Giulia Zucca, Oriana Mosca, Consapevolezza in apnea: un intervento di psico-promozione in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 1/2025, pp 56-72, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2025-001006