Does Attentional Focus Influence Psychophysiological Responses to an Acute Bout of Exercise? Evidence From an Experimental Study Using a Repeated-Measures Design.

Friedrich Meixner,Cornelia Herbert

doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.680149

Abstract

Attentional focus during aerobic exercise has been studied in the context of sports performance, injury prevention and affective experience. Previous research suggests that an additional mental task parallel to the physical activity might influence exercise experience and performance. It has been tested if attentional focus influences cardiovascular activity, positive/negative affect, and subjective exertion during a cycling exercise. Data from N = 30 female participants has been collected using a repeated measures design, with the following experimental manipulations: (A) an internal attention focus (i.e., paying attention to force production of the quadriceps muscles), (B) an external attention focus (i.e., paying attention to changes in brightness in the cycling track simulation), and as control conditions, (C) exercise without attention focus (i.e., no specific instruction was given) and (D) no exercise, no attention focus. Subjective affect and subjective exertion were assessed, and changes in cardiovascular activity were recorded via mobile impedance cardiography (ICG) at rest, during and after the exercise, including HR, HRV (RMSSD, HF), PEP, CO, SV, LVET, and RSA. Exercise was associated with adaptations in cardiovascular activity, positive/negative affect, and subjective exertion. However, this did not interact with attentional focus. The original hypothesis could not be supported: instructed attentional focus does not influence affect, exertion, or cardiovascular activity during a cycling exercise. Therefore, attentional focusing during exercise does not appear to put notable additional mental demands on the physically active participant. Nonetheless, impedance cardiography delivered reliable measurements even during the cycling exercise.

Highlights

Acute exercise can lead to an increase in positive affect and relief of negative symptoms, e.g., depressive symptomatology (Frühauf et al, 2016), fear or anxiety (Bibeau et al, 2010)
Attentional focus has been suggested as a potential influence on affect and subjective exertion during aerobic exercise (Lind et al, 2009; Brick et al, 2014)
We examined the impact of attentional focus on subjective exertion, affect and on physiological changes due to acute aerobic exercise in female non-professional exercisers, i.e., healthy, active adults not engaged in regular performance training or athletic competitions

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Acute exercise can lead to an increase in positive affect and relief of negative symptoms, e.g., depressive symptomatology (Frühauf et al, 2016), fear or anxiety (Bibeau et al, 2010). Combining physical activity with a specific attentional focus might place additional cognitive demands on the active person, possibly eliciting a greater sympathetic reaction to supply necessary resources, compared to exercise without an instructed attentional focus (e.g., Roth et al, 1990; Taelman et al, 2011). Since previous research has mainly employed mental arithmetic as an additional mental task, and results were discordant, the following hypothesis is explorative: Instructing an attentional focus should lead to additional mental demands, compared to aerobic exercise without attentional focus instructions This should be visible in an increased sympathetic activity during exercise, and slower parasympathetic reactivation during recovery due to combined demands, compared to the exercise control condition. A decreased PEP and a blunted SV/CO response would be indicative of additional mental stress during the exercise

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Participants

RESULTS

DISCUSSION

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

ETHICS STATEMENT