What is mental training?

Mental training means systematically practising abilities such as focus, emotion regulation and recovery, in much the same way as physical training strengthens the body. Through regular sessions the brain gets better at directing attention, handling pressure and winding down. That lays the ground for both wellbeing and performance, at work as well as in everyday life.

By Mindworkout · Reading time approx. 6 minutes

You have probably come across the term before without quite knowing what it means. Here we go through what mental training actually is, how it works, what the research says and how an organisation can get started.

Why mental training matters at work

Mental health problems are today the most common cause of long-term sick leave in Sweden. Almost half of all ongoing long sickness cases involve a psychiatric diagnosis, and in most of the stress-related cases work is a contributing cause. At the same time, sickness absence costs society over SEK 100 billion a year (Försäkringskassan and Skandia, 2025).

Modern working life offers a great deal of freedom, but it also places more responsibility on the individual to steer their own focus, energy and recovery. Many employers therefore see mental training as a preventive investment rather than a perk. When the organisation creates room for employees to train mentally, it can both reduce the risk of stress-related ill health and strengthen mental fitness across whole teams.

How does mental training work?

Just like a muscle, the brain responds to training. With repeated practice the networks that govern attention and emotion regulation are strengthened, and it becomes easier to focus and to settle down. A study following just over 2,000 people showed that the mind wanders for almost half of our waking hours, and that a wandering mind is linked to lower wellbeing (Killingsworth and Gilbert, Science, 2010). A large part of mental training is about practising the ability to notice when attention slips, and to kindly bring it back.

A training programme usually practises a few fundamental abilities:

• Focus and attention. Directing and holding concentration, and finding your way back faster when it is disturbed.
• Emotion regulation. Noticing your own reactions and meeting pressure without being governed by it.
• Recovery. Actively winding down and recharging, so that your energy lasts over time.
• Self-leadership. Taking responsibility for your own energy, priorities and wellbeing day to day.

The sessions are short and often done together in a group, which means the abilities are built in as a habit in the working week rather than becoming yet another thing to fit in.

What is the difference between mental training, meditation and mindfulness?

The terms are easily confused, but they mean different things. Mental training is the umbrella: a collective name for methods that train the mental abilities above. Meditation is one of those methods, an exercise where you direct attention in a particular way. Mindfulness, or conscious presence, is an approach that involves noticing the present moment without immediately evaluating or judging it.

Mindfulness was popularised in the West by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who in the 1970s developed the stress reduction programme MBSR at the University of Massachusetts. Since then the methods have developed and been combined with other research on the brain and behaviour. In a modern training programme, meditation and conscious presence are therefore used as tools among several, not as goals in themselves.

Does mental training really have an effect?

The effect can be measured, and among Mindworkout's clients it shows clearly in the follow-ups. At AstraZeneca wellbeing increased by 37 per cent after a thirty minute session. In Trollhättans stad participants improved their stress management by 47 per cent and their mental health by 28 per cent. At Loipart the share of employees at risk of unhealthy stress was more than halved, from 14 to 5 per cent, measured by an external party.

What keeps coming back is that regularity matters more than length. Short, recurring sessions give better results than occasional long efforts, and the effect builds over time when the training becomes part of the working week.

How do you get started with mental training at work?

For an organisation it usually starts with giving one team the chance to try. A lecture sparks interest and gives a first experience, and from there many move on to a structured training programme where the team trains regularly and the effect is followed up over time. With access to a mental gym employees can also train on their own, in live sessions and recorded ones.

If you want to see what it looks like in practice, you can read more about the work with AstraZeneca, Trollhättans stad and Loipart, or about why mental training pays off for employers.

Common questions about mental training