Effects of Mental Fatigue on Reaction Time in Sportsmen

Gian Mario Migliaccio, Gloria Di Filippo, Luca Russo, Tania Orgiana, Luca Paolo Ardigò, Marcela Zimmermann Casal, Leonardo Alexandre Peyré-Tartaruga and Johnny Padulo ()
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Gian Mario Migliaccio: Sport Science Lab, 09131 Cagliari, Italy
Gloria Di Filippo: Department of Psychology, Niccolò Cusano University, 00166 Rome, Italy
Luca Russo: Department of Human Sciences, Università Telematica degli Studi IUL, 50122 Florence, Italy
Tania Orgiana: Sport Science Lab, 09131 Cagliari, Italy
Luca Paolo Ardigò: Department of Teacher Education, NLA University College, Linstows Gate 3, 0166 Oslo, Norway
Marcela Zimmermann Casal: LaBiodin Biodynamics Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90690-200, Brazil
Leonardo Alexandre Peyré-Tartaruga: LaBiodin Biodynamics Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90690-200, Brazil
Johnny Padulo: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20134 Milan, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-9

Abstract: Aim: Mental fatigue (MF) has been defined as a psychobiological state commonly caused by prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activity. However, the differences between women and men in their reaction times (RTs) to visual stimuli due to mental fatigue remain largely unknown. We compare the differences in RT and heart rate after an acute intervention of mental fatigue between male and female athletes. Materials and methods: For this aim, 64 participants (age 31.7 ± 6.2 y) performed a routine of 15 min of the Stroop test (PsyTool), with 600 tasks and five different colors. Their heart rate (HR) was registered before, during, and one, three, and five minutes after the Stroop test. Meanwhile, the RT was evaluated before and after the Stroop test. A general linear mixed model (GLMM) and a Bonferroni post hoc test were used to compare the HR between the conditions and an ANOVA two-way analysis was used to compare the values pre-/post-Stroop test. (α = 0.05). Results: The GLMM for HR showed an effect on the time ( p < 0.001) and the time × group interaction ( p = 0.004). The RT was significantly increased pre- to post-Stroop test ( p < 0.05); however, there was no difference between the pre- and post-HR measurements ( p = 1.000) and the measurements one ( p = 0.559), three ( p = 1.000) and five ( p = 1.000) min after the Stroop test. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that the parasympathetic branch of the autonomous nervous system which functions as a relaxation system tends to be activated under increasing mental fatigue, with a decreased performance (RT) similarly in men and women. Therefore, athletes could use MF induced during training to improve the time delay related to motor tasks.

Keywords: heart rate; mental fatigue; response time; Stroop test (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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