Monitoring Heart Rate Variability and Its Association with High-Intensity Running, Psychometric Status, and Training Load in Elite Female Soccer Players during Match Weeks

Daniel Juárez Santos-García, David Recuenco Serrano, José Carlos Ponce-Bordón and Hadi Nobari ()
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Daniel Juárez Santos-García: Sport Training Laboratory, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45071 Toledo, Spain
David Recuenco Serrano: School of Life and Nature Sciences, Nebrija University, 28015 Madrid, Spain
José Carlos Ponce-Bordón: Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
Hadi Nobari: Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-11

Abstract: In order to maximize adaptations to reach high performance, sports coaches must regularly monitor the healing process following competitions or important training sessions and maintain psychometric status. As a result, the objective of this study was to track heart rate variability (HRV) in elite Spanish female soccer players during match weeks and examine its connection to high-intensity running, psychometric status, and training load. Changes in the nocturnal HRV measured along the square root of differences between adjacent RR intervals of 4 h (rMSSD 4 h) during the first phase of slow wave sleep (rMSSD 5 min), resting heart rate (RHR 4 h and RHR 5 min) were recorded with Firstbeat Bodyguard 2 (Firstbeat Technologies, Jyvaskyla, Finland). Training and match loads were recorded with rating perceived exertion and high-intensity running data by using a global positioning system (GPS) device (SPI-Pro X, GPSports). Ultimately, the psychometric test was recorded by a 5-item questionnaire, and all data were analyzed across three weeks of a competitive season. The day of the match found the lowest HRV, while the day following the match found a substantial ( p < 0.01) rise in rMSSD 4 h and rMSSD 5 min. Similarly, these variables showed significant differences two days after the match. Similarly, these variables showed significant differences two days after the match. Furthermore, significant differences were found between the RHR 4 h and RHR 5 min ( p < 0.01) and rMSSD 4 h and rMSSD 5 min ( p < 0.05) and variables after two days with a higher training load. The results gathered from the psychometric tests, and the various HR markers showed significant associations. As a result, HRV, RHR, and psychometric assessments are probably sensitive to changes in load within a microcycle, providing a straightforward and non-invasive technique to assess changes in the recovery/fatigue status of top-level female soccer players.

Keywords: GPS; heart rate; high-speed running; physical stressors; parasympathetic nervous system; recovery; sleep (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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