 |
| Research article summary (published 6 Jan 2009): |
Mental fatigue impairs physical performance in humans.
Full Abstract
Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state caused by prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activity. Although the impact of mental fatigue on cognitive and skilled performance is well known, its effect on physical performance has not been thoroughly investigated. In this randomized crossover study, 16 subjects cycled to exhaustion at 80% of their peak power output after 90 min of a demanding cognitive task (mental fatigue) or 90 min of watching emotionally neutral documentaries (control). After experimental treatment, a mood questionnaire revealed a state of mental fatigue (P = 0.005) that significantly reduced time to exhaustion (640 +/- 316 s) compared with the control condition (754 +/- 339 s) (P = 0.003). This negative effect was not mediated by cardiorespiratory and musculoenergetic factors as physiological responses to intense exercise remained largely unaffected. Self-reported success and intrinsic motivation related to the physical task were also unaffected by prior cognitive activity. However, mentally fatigued subjects rated perception of effort during exercise to be significantly higher compared with the control condition (P = 0.007). As ratings of perceived exertion increased similarly over time in both conditions (P < 0.001), mentally fatigued subjects reached their maximal level of perceived exertion and disengaged from the physical task earlier than in the control condition. In conclusion, our study provides experimental evidence that mental fatigue limits exercise tolerance in humans through higher perception of effort rather than cardiorespiratory and musculoenergetic mechanisms. Future research in this area should investigate the common neurocognitive resources shared by physical and mental activity.
Author information
Author/s: Marcora, Samuele M (SM); Staiano, Walter (W); Manning, Victoria (V);
Affiliation: School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom. s.m.marcora(-atsign-)bangor.ac.uk
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article
Journal: Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) (J Appl Physiol), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2009-Mar; vol 106 (issue 3) : pp 857-64
Dates: Created 2009/02/26; Completed 2009/04/15;
PMID: 19131473, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 4/15/2009, IMS Date: 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):
Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.
This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.
MeSH headings (categories)
This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.
Related articles
This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.
See a large map of 100+ related articles.