Abstract
Both daily demands as well as training and competition characteristics in sports can result in a psychobiological state of mental fatigue leading to feelings of tiredness, lack of energy, an increased perception of effort, and performance decrements. Moreover, optimal performance will only be achievable if the balance between recovery and stress states is re-established. Consequently, recovery strategies are needed aiming at mental aspects of recovery. The aim of the study was to examine acute effects of potential mental recovery strategies (MR) on subjective-psychological and on cognitive performance outcomes after a mentally fatiguing task. A laboratory-based randomized cross-over study with twenty-four students (22.8 ± 3.6 years) was applied. Participants were run through a powernap intervention (PN), a systematic breathing intervention (SB), a systematic breathing plus mental imagery intervention (SB+), and a control condition (CC) with one trial a week over four consecutive weeks. Mental fatigue was induced by completion of the 60-min version of the AX-continuous performance test (AX-CPT). The Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS) and Visual Analog Scales (VAS) were assessed to measure effects on perceptual outcomes. Cognitive performance was measured with a reaction time test of the Vienna Test System (VTS). During all three recovery interventions and CC portable polysomnography was applied. Results showed a significant increase from pre-AX-CPT to pre-MR on fatigue states and recovery-stress states indicating that the induction of mental fatigue was effective. Moreover, results underlined that analysis yielded no significant differences between recovery interventions and the control condition but they revealed significant time effects for VAS, SRSS items, and cognitive performance. However, it could be derived that the application of a rest break with 20 min of mental recovery strategies appears to enhance recovery on a mainly mental and emotional level and to reduce perceived mental fatigue.
Highlights
It is well-established that the impact of a high workload as well as extensive cognitive and emotional demands over a prolonged period of time can lead to mental fatigue and increased emotional exhaustion (Sonnentag and Fritz, 2015)
We hypothesized (1) that the induction of mental fatigue leads to an increase in the perception of mental fatigue and stress states as well as to a decrease in the recovery states and (2) that the use of mental recovery strategies leads to a counteractive development of the perception of fatigue state, recovery-stress states as well as to an improvement in cognitive performance compared to the control condition
No significant difference in ratings of Visual Analog Scales (VAS) Physical Fatigue (PF) were revealed from pre-AX-continuous performance test (AX-CPT) to preMR and values were considerably lower than values of VAS Mental Fatigue (MF) illustrating that participants may differentiate between the separate facets of fatigue on a primarily mental level compared to a physical level
Summary
It is well-established that the impact of a high workload as well as extensive cognitive and emotional demands over a prolonged period of time can lead to mental fatigue and increased emotional exhaustion (Sonnentag and Fritz, 2015). Rest breaks, as a countermeasure, can be applied to recover on a regular basis from daily demands and enable to replenish mental and physical resources (De Bloom et al, 2017). Research on effects of rest breaks in occupational psychology illustrates that rest breaks can curb the increase of fatigue (i.e., mental and physical fatigue) associated with high work demands with the aim to maintain the necessary levels of focus and engagement over time (Sonnentag and Fritz, 2007; Bakker, 2011). Research in the field of occupational health has demonstrated that strategies like breathing techniques, mental imagery, and powernaps appear to have positive effects on mental states such as concentration, attention, vigilance as well as on performance (Sonnentag and Fritz, 2007; De Bloom et al, 2017)
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