Laborde Sylvain, Lentes Theresa, Hosang Thomas J, Borges Uirassu, Mosley Emma, Dosseville Fabrice
Department of Performance Psychology, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Normandie Université, UFR STAPS, EA 4260, Cesams, Caen, France.
Front Psychol. 2019 Aug 22;10:1923. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01923. eCollection 2019.
This research aims to investigate whether slow-paced breathing (SPB) improves adaptation to psychological stress, and specifically inhibition, when it is performed before or after physical exertion (PE). According to the resonance model, SPB is expected to increase cardiac vagal activity (CVA). Further, according to the neurovisceral integration model, CVA is positively linked to executive cognitive performance, and would thus play a role in the adaptation to psychological stress. We hypothesized that SPB, in comparison to a control condition, will induce a better adaptation to psychological stress, measured via better inhibitory performance. Two within-subject experiments were conducted with athletes: in the first experiment ( = 60) SPB (or control - neutral TV documentary) was realized before PE ("relax before PE"), and in the second experiment ( = 60) SPB (or the watching TV control) was realized after PE ("relax after PE"). PE consisted of 5 min Burpees, a physical exercise involving the whole body. In both experiments the adaptation to psychological stress was investigated with a Stroop task, a measure of inhibition, which followed PE. Perceived stress increased during PE (partial η = 0.63) and during the Stroop task (partial η = 0.08), and decreased during relaxation (partial η = 0.15), however, no effect of condition was found. At the physiological level PE significantly increased HR, RF, and decreased CVA [operationalized in this research via the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD)] in both experiments. Further, the number of errors in the incongruent category (Stroop interference accuracy) was found to be lower in the SPB condition in comparison to the control condition, however, these results were not mediated by RMSSD. Additionally, the Stroop interference [reaction times (RTs)] was found to be lower overall in "relax before PE," however, no effect was found regarding SPB and Stroop interference (RTs). Overall, our results suggest that SPB realized before or after PE has a positive effect regarding adaptation to psychological stress and specifically inhibition, however, the underlying mechanisms require further investigation.
本研究旨在调查慢节奏呼吸（SPB）在体力消耗（PE）之前或之后进行时，是否能改善对心理压力的适应，特别是抑制能力。根据共振模型，预计SPB会增加心脏迷走神经活动（CVA）。此外，根据神经内脏整合模型，CVA与执行认知表现呈正相关，因此会在对心理压力的适应中发挥作用。我们假设，与对照条件相比，SPB将通过更好的抑制表现，诱导对心理压力的更好适应。对运动员进行了两个受试者内实验：在第一个实验（n = 60）中，在PE之前进行SPB（或对照——中性电视纪录片）（“PE前放松”），在第二个实验（n = 60）中，在PE之后进行SPB（或看电视对照）（“PE后放松”）。PE包括5分钟的波比跳，这是一种涉及全身的体育锻炼。在两个实验中，均通过Stroop任务（一种抑制测量方法），在PE之后调查对心理压力的适应情况。在PE期间（偏η² = 0.63）和Stroop任务期间（偏η² = 0.08），感知压力增加，而在放松期间（偏η² = 0.15）压力降低，然而，未发现条件效应。在生理水平上，两个实验中PE均显著增加心率（HR）、心率变异性（RF），并降低CVA（本研究中通过逐次差值的均方根（RMSSD）来衡量）。此外，发现与对照条件相比，SPB条件下不一致类别中的错误数量（Stroop干扰准确性）更低，然而，这些结果并未由RMSSD介导。此外，发现“PE前放松”中总体Stroop干扰[反应时间（RTs）]更低，然而，未发现SPB与Stroop干扰（RTs）之间的效应。总体而言，我们的结果表明，在PE之前或之后进行的SPB对心理压力的适应，特别是抑制能力，具有积极影响，然而，其潜在机制需要进一步研究。
