Acute Psycho-physiological Responses Research Articles

Acute Responses to Repeated-SprintTraining in Hypoxia Combined With Whole-Body Cryotherapy: A Preliminary Study.

This study aimed to investigate acute psychophysiological responses to repeated-sprint training in hypoxia (RSH) combined with whole-body cryotherapy (WBC). Sixteen trained cyclists performed 3 sessions in randomized order: RSH, WBC-RSH (WBC pre-RSH), and RSH-WBC (WBC post-RSH). RSH consisted of 3 sets of 5 × 10-second sprints with 20-second recovery at a simulated altitude of 3000m. Power output, muscle oxygenation (tissue saturation index), heart-rate variability, and recovery perception were analyzed. Sleep quality was assessed on the nights following test sessions and compared with a control night using nocturnal ActiGraphy and heart-rate variability. Power output did not differ between the conditions (P = .27), while the decrease in tissue saturation index was reduced for WBC-RSH compared to RSH-WBC in the last set. In both conditions with WBC, the recovery perception was higher compared to RSH (WBC-RSH: +15.4%, and RSH-WBC: +21.9%, P < .05). The number of movements during the RSH-WBC night was significantly lower than for the control night (-18.7%, P < .01) and WBC-RSH (-14.9%, P < .05). RSH led to a higher root mean square of the successive differences of R-R intervals and high-frequency band during the first hour of sleep compared to the control night (P < .05) and RSH-WBC (P < .01). Inclusion of WBC in an RSH session did not modify the power output but could improve prolonged performance in hypoxia by maintaining muscle oxygenation. A single RSH session did not deteriorate sleep quality. WBC, particularly when performed after RSH, positively influenced recovery perception and sleep.

Impact Of Menstrual Cycle Phase On Acute Psychophysiological Responses During High-Intensity Interval Training Exercise

Impact Of Menstrual Cycle Phase On Acute Psychophysiological Responses During High-Intensity Interval Training Exercise

Psychophysiological Responses to a Preseason Training Camp in High-Level Youth Soccer Players.

This study aimed to examine the responsiveness of commonly used measurement instruments to a short training camp by examining the time course of psychophysiological responses in high-level youth soccer players. Monitoring was carried out in 14 U15 male soccer players of 1 professional youth academy. Players provided data 3days prior to (D - 3), during (D2-D4), and 1 (D + 1) and 4days (D + 4) after the camp: 4 items for the Short Recovery and Stress Scale(SRSS), a countermovement jump (CMJ), and a submaximal run to assess exercise heart rate and heart-rate recovery. Training load during the camp followed an alternating low-high pattern, with lower training loads on D1 and D3 and higher training loads on D2 and D4. Changes in SRSS physical performance capability, emotional balance, overall recovery, muscular stress, and overall stress were small to moderate on D3 and moderate to large on D + 1, while changes were trivial on D + 4. Some CMJ parameters related to the eccentric phase were slightly improved on D3, and these parameters were slightly impaired on D4. Changes in CMJ parameters were trivial on D + 1 and D + 4. After a moderate decrease in exercise heart rate on D3, there was a small decrease on D + 4 and a moderate increase in heart-rate recovery. Measurement instruments such as the SRSS and submaximal runs can be used to monitor acute psychophysiological responses to load, while the CMJ may provide little insight during periods of intensified training load.

Are Measurement Instruments Responsive to Assess Acute Responses to Load in High-Level Youth Soccer Players?

PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess the short-term responsiveness of measurement instruments aiming at quantifying the acute psycho-physiological response to load in high-level adolescent soccer players.MethodsData were collected from 16 high-level male youth soccer players from the Under 15 age group. Players were assessed on two occasions during the week: after 2 days of load accumulation (“high load”) and after at least 48 h of rest. Measurements consisted of the Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS), a countermovement jump (CMJ) and a sub-maximal run to assess exercise heart-rate (HRex) and heart-rate recovery (HRR60s). Training load was quantified using total distance and high-speed running distance to express external and sRPE training load to express internal load. It was expected that good instruments can distinguish reliably between high load and rest.ResultsOdd ratios (0.74–1.73) of rating one unit higher or lower were very low for athlete-reported ratings of stress and recovery of the SRSS. Standardized mean high load vs. rest differences for CMJ parameters were trivial to small (−0.31 to 0.34). The degree of evidence against the null hypothesis that changes are interchangeable ranged from p = 0.04 to p = 0.83. Moderate changes were observed for HRex (−0.62; 90% Cl −0.78 to −0.47; p = 3.24 × 10−9), while small changes were evident for HRR60s (0.45; 90% Cl 0.08–0.80; p = 0.04). Only small to moderate repeated-measures correlations were found between the accumulation of load and acute responses across all measurement instruments. The strongest relationships were observed between HRex and total distance (rm-r = −0.48; 90% Cl −0.76 to −0.25).ConclusionResults suggest that most of the investigated measurement instruments to assess acute psycho-physiological responses in adolescent soccer players have limited short-term responsiveness. This questions their potential usefulness to detect meaningful changes and manage subsequent training load and program adequate recovery.

Acute psycho-physiological responses to perceptually regulated hypoxic and normoxic interval walks in overweight-to-obese adults

ObjectivesWe investigated psycho-physiological responses to perceptually regulated interval walks in hypoxia versus normoxia in obese individuals. DesignWithin-participants repeated measures. MethodsTen obese adults (BMI=32±3kg/m−2) completed a 60-min interval session (15×2min walking at a rating of perceived exertion of 14 on the 6–20 Borg scale with 2min of rest) either in hypoxia (FiO2=13.0%, HYP) or normoxia (NOR). A third trial replicating the HYP speed pattern was carried out in normoxia as a control (CON). Exercise responses were analysed comparing the average of 1st to 3rd exercise bouts to those of the 4th–6th, 7th–9th, 10th–12th and 13th–15th exercise bouts (block 1 versus 2, 3, 4 and 5). ResultsTreadmill speed was slower during block 4 (6.14±0.67 versus 6.24±0.73km/h−1) and block 5 (6.12±0.64 versus 6.25±0.75km/h−1) in HYP compared to NOR or CON (p=0.009). Compared to NOR and CON, heart rate was +6–10% higher (p=0.001), whilst arterial oxygen saturation (−12–13%) was lower (p<0.001) in HYP. Perceived limb discomfort was lower in HYP and CON versus NOR (−21±4% and −34±6%; p=0.004). ConclusionsIn overweight-to-obese adults, perceptually regulated interval walks in hypoxia versus normoxia leads to progressively slower speeds along with lower limb discomfort and larger physiological stress than normoxia. Walking at the speed adopted in hypoxia produces similar psycho-physiological responses at the same absolute intensity in normoxia.

Acute Psychophysiological Responses to Cyclic Variation of Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure in Adults with Obesity.

Background: We compared acute psychophysiological responses with a single intermittent hypoxic exposure (IHE)/normoxic exposure trial with varying cycle lengths in adults with obesity. Materials and Methods: Eight obese adults (body mass index = 33.0 ± 2.2 kg/m2) completed three 60-minute IHE trials (passive seating), separated by 7 days. Trials comprised 30-minute hypoxia/30-minute normoxia (inspired oxygen fraction = 12.0%/20.9%) over Short (15 × 2/2 minutes), Medium (10 × 3/3 minutes), and Long (5 × 6/6 minutes) hypoxic/normoxic cycles and a control trial (60-minute normoxia). Results: Arterial oxygen saturation was lower during hypoxic periods of Long versus Medium and Short trials (90.1% vs. 93.0% and 94.2%; p = 0.02 and p = 0.05), with no differences between Short and Medium. Prefrontal cortex oxygenation was lower (-5.1%) during all IHE interventions versus control (p < 0.02), independent of cycle length. Perceived breathlessness was unaffected during IHE but increased 15 minutes after exposure versus baseline (+34%; p = 0.04). Breathlessness was lowest after Short versus control from 15 to 60 minutes (-7%; p = 0.01). Conclusions: When implementing IHE, greater desaturation is observed during longer compared with shorter hypoxic/normoxic cycles in adults with obesity. However, IHE tends to be better tolerated perceptually with shorter rather than longer cycles.

Cookie or clementine? Psychophysiological stress reactivity and recovery after eating healthy and unhealthy comfort foods

Many people eat unhealthy foods that are high in calories, fat, or sugar when feeling stressed, yet little is known about whether this unhealthy comfort eating actually comforts. Additionally, prior research has not tested whether healthy comfort eating of fruits and vegetables might also alleviate stress, or whether comfort eating during the stress anticipation phase versus immediately after a stressful event is more beneficial for stress relief. The present experiment tested whether unhealthy and healthy comfort eating reduce acute psychophysiological responses to a socially evaluative stressor. Participants (N = 150 healthy women) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test in the lab and were randomly assigned to one of five conditions according to a 2 (food type: unhealthy vs. healthy) x 2 (eating timing: during stress anticipation vs. after the stressor) + 1 (no food control) between-subjects design. Stress outcomes included mood, cognitive appraisals, rumination, salivary cortisol, heart rate variability, and pre-ejection period. Unhealthy and healthy comfort eating did not dampen reactivity or enhance recovery of psychophysiological stress compared to control, and no differences in reactivity or recovery were found by comfort food type. Findings suggest that by replacing unhealthy comfort foods with fruits and vegetables, women will not be sacrificing any stress-reducing benefits and can inherently improve the quality of their diet while avoiding potential drawbacks of unhealthy comfort eating (e.g., links with abdominal obesity).

Parental history of hypertension and myocardial infarction predicts cardiovascular responses to behavioral stressors in middle-aged men and women.

ABSTRACTThe present study had two objectives: to examine the influence of parental history of hypertension on cardiovascular responses during behavioral stress in middle‐aged men and women; and to study the impact of parental history of myocardial infarction on stress responses. Participants were separated into four groups: no parental history of cardiovascular disease; parental history of hypertension only; parental history of myocardial infarction only; or parental history of both hypertension and myocardial infarction. Heart rate and blood pressure were monitored at rest and during serial subtraction, mirror image tracing, and isometric handgrip. Analyses of residualized difference scores showed that like younger, male offspring of hypertensives, middle‐aged men and women with a parental history of hypertension exhibited exaggerated diastolic blood pressure responses during all stressors. Men with a parental history of myocardial infarction, with or without a parental history of hypertension, exhibited exaggerated systolic blood pressure responses during all stressors. These data are the first to show that family history of hypertension influences middle‐aged men's and women's stress responses, and that family history of myocardial infarction influences men's stress responses. Results suggest the importance of parental history of cardiovascular diseases in understanding acute psychophysiological responses of middle‐aged adults.