Panacea Index Logo

Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

Counteracting mental fatigue for athletes: a systematic review of the interventions.

BMC psychology
January 1, 1970
He Sun et al. (8 authors)
Systematic ReviewJournal ArticleHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to review interventions, including mindfulness, to counteract mental fatigue (MF) and improve sport-specific performance in athletes.

Results Summary

Mindfulness was among the interventions found to counteract MF and enhance sport-specific performance, including strength, speed, skill, stamina, and perceptual-cognitive skills. The study highlighted self-regulation and attention resources as potential mechanisms behind these effects.

Population

Athletes in various sports (e.g., soccer, badminton, swimming).

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (12)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
manipulations of autonomous self-control exertion
decrease
mental fatigue
athletes
-
counteract
#1
manipulations of autonomous self-control exertion
increase
sport-specific performance
athletes
-
improve
#2
person-fit
decrease
mental fatigue
athletes
-
counteract
#3
person-fit
increase
sport-specific performance
athletes
-
improve
#4
nature exposure
decrease
mental fatigue
athletes
-
counteract
#5
nature exposure
increase
sport-specific performance
athletes
-
improve
#6
mindfulness
decrease
mental fatigue
athletes
-
counteract
#7
mindfulness
increase
sport-specific performance
athletes
-
improve
#8
transactional direct current stimulation
decrease
mental fatigue
athletes
-
counteract
#9
transactional direct current stimulation
increase
sport-specific performance
athletes
-
improve
#10
selected interventions
decrease
mental fatigue
athletes
-
significantly counteract
#11
selected interventions
increase
subsequent sport-specific performance
athletes
-
improve
#12
Abstract

The deleterious effects of mental fatigue (MF) on athletes have been carefully studied in various sports, such as soccer, badminton, and swimming. Even though many researchers have sought ways to ameliorate the negative impact of MF, there is still a lack of studies that review the interventions used to counteract MF among athletes. This review aims to report the current evidence exploring the effects of interventions on MF and sport-specific performance, including sport-specific motor performance and perceptual-cognitive skills. Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and SPORTDicus (EBSCOhost) were combed through to find relevant publications. Additionally, the references and Google Scholar were searched for any grey literature. For the current review, we included only randomized controlled trials that involved athletes, a primary task to induce MF, interventions to counter MF with comparable protocols, and the outcomes of sport-specific motor performance and perceptual-cognitive skill. The selection criteria resulted in the inclusion of 10 articles. The manipulations of autonomous self-control exertion, person-fit, nature exposure, mindfulness, and transactional direct current stimulation showed that positive interventions counteract MF and improve sport-specific performance in different domains, including strength, speed, skill, stamina, and perceptual-cognitive skills. The selected interventions could significantly counteract MF and improve subsequent sport-specific performance. Moreover, self-regulation and attention resources showed the importance of the potential mechanisms behind the relevant interventions.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
HumansMental FatigueAthletic PerformanceAthletesMindfulness
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality85/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations4
Citations/Year4.0
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score1.61
Normalized Score0.67
Related Supplements
Counteracting mental fatigue for athletes: a systematic revi... | Panacea Index