The Effect of Different Doses of Acute Normobaric Hypoxia on Sprint Interval Training and Cognitive Performance

Abstract

Purpose To determine the effects of different doses of acute normobaric hypoxia on sprint interval training (SIT) and cognitive performance (CP) in male and female athletes. Methods: In this double-blind, randomized, counterbalanced, crossover study, participants (13 men, 13 women) performed 6 x 15-sec maximum effort SIT training with two minutes active recovery between sprints on a cycle ergometer in normoxia (NOR, 0 m), moderate hypoxia (MH, 2,500 m), and high hypoxia (HH, 3,500 m) while wearing face masks and without using the face mask as a control condition (CON). The peak and mean power, CP, blood lactate (BL), heart rate (HR), and the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured pre- and post-SIT and at various time points during the experimental protocol. Results: We did not observe any change in the peak and mean power, CP, HR, and RPE between trials and genders (p>0.05). However, in the HH, the post-test BL was significantly higher for both genders than the CON condition (p=0.034, p=0.025) and NOR (p=0.11, p=0.034). Conclusions: This study showed that different hypoxia doses did not affect SIT and cognitive performance and did not differ between genders.