Nicotine supplementation enhances simulated game performance of archery athletes.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether nicotine supplementation improves cognitive function, heart rate variability, and archery performance in professional archers.
Results Summary
Nicotine supplementation improved cognitive performance (faster correct rejection time and grooved pegboard test completion), reduced saliva α-amylase activity, decreased HRV, and increased archery scores compared to placebo.
Population
Eleven college archers.
Effective Dosage
2 mg nicotine gum (single dose).
Duration
Acute intervention (effects measured at 30 minutes post-intake).
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nicotine supplementation | decrease | "correct rejection" time | professional archers | 7.29 ± 0.87 vs. 8.23 ± 0.98 msec | significantly lower | #1 |
nicotine supplementation | decrease | grooved pegboard test | professional archers | 48.76 ± 3.18 vs. 53.41 ± 4.05 s | completed in a shorter time | #2 |
nicotine supplementation | no change | motor reaction times | professional archers | - | not different | #3 |
nicotine supplementation | decrease | Saliva α-amylase activity | professional archers | - | significantly lower | #4 |
nicotine supplementation | increase | Saliva α-amylase activity | professional archers | - | increased | #5 |
nicotine supplementation | decrease | HRV | professional archers | - | significantly decreased | #6 |
nicotine supplementation | increase | archery score | professional archers | 290.58 ± 10.09 vs. 298.05 ± 8.56 | increased | #7 |
nicotine supplementation | increase | performance | archery athletes | - | enhances | #8 |
nicotine supplementation | increase | cognitive function | archery athletes | - | increasing | #9 |
nicotine supplementation | increase | sympathetic adrenergic system | archery athletes | - | stimulating | #10 |
BACKGROUND: Nicotine is beneficial to mood, arousal and cognition in humans. Due to the importance of cognitive functioning for archery athletes, we investigated the effects of nicotine supplementation on the cognitive abilities, heart rate variability (HRV), and sport performance of professional archers. METHODS: Eleven college archers were recruited and given 2 mg of nicotine supplementation (NIC group) and placebo (PLA group) in a crossover design. RESULTS: The results showed that at 30 min after the intake of nicotine gum, the "correct rejection" time in the NIC group was significantly lower than that of the PLA group (7.29 ± 0.87 vs. 8.23 ± 0.98 msec, p < 0.05). In addition, the NIC group completed the grooved pegboard test in a shorter time than the PLA group (48.76 ± 3.18 vs. 53.41 ± 4.05 s, p < 0.05), whereas motor reaction times were not different between the two groups. Saliva α-amylase activity was significantly lower after nicotine supplementation (p < 0.01) but increased immediately after the archery test in the NIC group (p < 0.05). In addition, nicotine supplementation significantly decreased HRV and increased the archery score (290.58 ± 10.09 vs. 298.05 ± 8.56, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Nicotine enhances the performance of archery athletes by increasing cognitive function and stimulating the sympathetic adrenergic system.