Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil -
Department of Physical Education, State University of Midwestern Paraná, Guarapuava, Brazil.
J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2021 May;61(5):673-679. doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.21.11334-9. Epub 2021 Feb 15.
Mental fatigue seems to impair the athletes' performance; however, in sports with high cognitive demand, such as orienteering, this negative effect could be attenuated during the race. Therefore, this study investigated mental fatigue effect on performance, perceptual, and physiological responses in orienteers.
Fifteen male orienteers (30±8 years) participated in the study. Two conditions of cognitive tasks preceded the orienteering performance, performed randomly: 30 minutes of mental exertion (experimental condition [EXP]) by Stroop task, or 30 min without mental exertion (control condition [CON]). Orienteering performance was determined by the time required to perform the Orienteering race. The perceived recovery and motivation were evaluated in each condition, pre-cognitive task, and heart rate during the task. Perceived exertion (RPE) was measured pre- and post-orienteering race. Orienteering performance and perceived performance were measured immediately after the race.
Orienteering performance and remain variables showed no significant differences between conditions (EXP versus CON) (P>0.05). Although a slight increase in performance-time was found in EXP (40.8±11.4 min) versus CON (38.4±13 min) (P=0.4; ES=0.20). RPE increase post-EXP (P<0.05; ES=0.96) but not post-orienteering race (P>0.05).
Thirty minutes of the cognitive task did not significantly affect the perceptual and physiological responses but demonstrates the addition of 2.4 minutes to orienteering performance. Orienteers may cope with mental effort due to the cognitive demands and physical conditions required in orienteering.
精神疲劳似乎会影响运动员的表现；然而，在认知要求较高的运动项目中，如定向运动，这种负面影响在比赛中可能会减轻。因此，本研究调查了精神疲劳对定向运动员表现、知觉和生理反应的影响。
15 名男性定向运动员（30±8 岁）参加了这项研究。定向运动表现前，随机进行两种认知任务条件：30 分钟的斯特鲁普任务（实验条件 [EXP]）脑力消耗，或 30 分钟无脑力消耗（对照条件 [CON]）。定向运动表现由完成定向赛所需的时间决定。在每个条件下，预先进行认知任务，并在任务期间测量心率，评估恢复和动机。在定向赛前和赛后测量感知用力（RPE）。定向运动表现和感知表现在赛后立即进行测量。
定向运动表现和其他变量在条件之间（EXP 与 CON）没有显著差异（P>0.05）。尽管在 EXP（40.8±11.4 分钟）中发现性能时间略有增加，但与 CON（38.4±13 分钟）相比，差异无统计学意义（P=0.4；ES=0.20）。EXP 后 RPE 增加（P<0.05；ES=0.96），但定向赛后无增加（P>0.05）。
30 分钟的认知任务并没有显著影响知觉和生理反应，但定向运动表现增加了 2.4 分钟。定向运动员可能能够应对认知需求和定向运动所需的身体条件所带来的精神压力。
