Human Physiology and Sports Physiotherapy Research Group, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
BruBotics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
Sports Med. 2022 Sep;52(9):2129-2158. doi: 10.1007/s40279-022-01678-z. Epub 2022 May 11.
Mental fatigue (MF) is a psychobiological state that impairs cognitive as well as physical performance in different settings. Recently, numerous studies have sought ways to counteract these negative effects of MF. An overview of the explored countermeasures for MF is, however, lacking.
The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the different MF countermeasures currently explored in literature. Countermeasures were classified by the timing of application (before, during or after the moment of MF) and type of intervention (behavioural, physiological and psychological).
The databases of PubMed (MEDLINE), Web of Science and PsycINFO were searched until March 7, 2022. Studies were eligible when MF was induced using a task with a duration of at least 30 min, when they assessed MF markers in at least two out of the three areas wherein MF markers have been defined (i.e., behavioural, subjective and/or [neuro]physiological) and used a placebo or control group for the countermeasure.
A total of 33 studies investigated one or more countermeasures against MF. Of these, eight studies assessed a behavioural countermeasure, 22 a physiological one, one a psychological countermeasure and two a combination of a behavioural and psychological countermeasure. The general finding was that a vast majority of the countermeasures induced a positive effect on behavioural (e.g., task or sport performance) and/or subjective MF markers (e.g., visual analogue scale for MF or alertness). No definitive conclusion could be drawn regarding the effect of the employed countermeasures on (neuro)physiological markers of MF as only 19 of the included studies investigated these measures, and within these a large heterogeneity in the evaluated (neuro)physiological markers was present.
Within the physiological countermeasures it seems that the use of odours during a MF task or caffeine before the MF task are the most promising interventions in combating MF. Promising behavioural (e.g., listening to music) and psychological (e.g., extrinsic motivation) countermeasures of MF have also been reported. The most assumed mechanism through which these countermeasures operate is the dopaminergic system. However, this mechanism remains speculative as (neuro)physiological markers of MF have been scarcely evaluated to date.
The present systematic review reveals that a wide range of countermeasures have been found to successfully counteract MF on a subjective, (neuro)physiological and/or behavioural level. Of these, caffeine, odours, music and extrinsic motivation are the most evidenced for countering MF. To provide in-detail practical guidelines for the real-life application of MF countermeasures, more research must be performed into the underlying mechanisms and into the optimal dosage and time of application/intake.
精神疲劳（MF）是一种心理生物学状态，会影响不同环境下的认知和身体表现。最近，许多研究都在寻找对抗 MF 负面影响的方法。然而，目前缺乏对探索 MF 对策的综述。
本综述的目的是提供当前文献中 MF 对策的概述。对策按应用时间（MF 前、MF 期间或 MF 后）和干预类型（行为、生理和心理）进行分类。
检索了 PubMed（医学文献在线数据库）、Web of Science 和 PsycINFO 数据库，截至 2022 年 3 月 7 日。只有在使用持续至少 30 分钟的任务诱导 MF 时，以及在行为、主观和/或（神经）生理这三个 MF 标志物定义的领域中至少评估了两个标志物时，并且使用 MF 对策的安慰剂或对照组的研究才符合入选标准。
共有 33 项研究调查了一种或多种对抗 MF 的对策。其中，8 项研究评估了行为对策，22 项研究评估了生理对策，1 项研究评估了心理对策，2 项研究评估了行为和心理对策的组合。总体发现是，绝大多数对策对行为（例如任务或运动表现）和/或主观 MF 标志物（例如 MF 或警觉性的视觉模拟量表）产生了积极影响。由于只有 19 项纳入的研究调查了这些措施，而且在这些研究中，评估的（神经）生理标志物存在很大的异质性，因此无法得出关于所采用对策对 MF 的（神经）生理标志物影响的明确结论。
在生理对策中，似乎在 MF 任务期间使用气味或在 MF 任务前使用咖啡因是对抗 MF 最有希望的干预措施。也有报道称，有希望的行为（例如听音乐）和心理（例如外在动机）MF 对策。这些对策运作的最假设机制是多巴胺能系统。然而，由于到目前为止很少评估 MF 的（神经）生理标志物，因此该机制仍具有推测性。
本系统综述表明，已经发现了广泛的对策，可以成功地在主观、（神经）生理和/或行为层面上对抗 MF。其中，咖啡因、气味、音乐和外在动机是对抗 MF 的最有证据的对策。为了为 MF 对策的实际应用提供详细的实用指南，必须对潜在机制以及最佳剂量和应用/摄入时间进行更多研究。
