Mindfulness Training, Mental Fatigue, Neurocognitive Functions and Sport Performance
Condition: Mindfulness Training; Neurocognitive Function; Sports Performance; Mental Fatigue
MeSH terms: Fatigue; Mental Fatigue
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Mental fatigue has been suggested that would impair neurocognitive functions and sports
      performance. On the other hand, mindfulness training (MT) seems to as a promising approach to
      attenuate mental fatigue and counteract its detrimental effect on cognitive functions and
      sports performance. The purpose of the present study is to examine the effect of MT on
      behavioral and neuroelectric indices of inhibitory control, and endurance performance in
      mentally fatigued athletes.
    

Detailed description: 
      Accumulating research indicates that mental fatigue induced by prolonged cognitive tasks
      would impair neurocognitive functions and sports performance. Additionally, recent studies
      demonstrate that inhibitory control and endurance performance are significantly susceptible
      to detrimental effects of mental fatigue. On the other hand, mindfulness training (MT) has
      been widely been used to enhance cognitive functions and sports performance in neurocognitive
      and sports research, which has been considered a promising approach for attenuating mental
      fatigue and counteracting the detrimental effect of mental fatigue. However, the effect of MT
      on inhibitory control, endurance performance, and underlying mechanisms in mentally fatigued
      athletes remain unclear.

      Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to examine the effect of MT on behavioral and
      neuroelectric indices of inhibitory control, and endurance performance in mentally fatigued
      athletes.

      Specifically, the targeted primary outcomes are neurocognitive functions (i.e., reaction
      time, accuracy and ERPs in Flanker task) and endurance performance (i.e., VO2max & time to
      exhaustion); The secondary outcomes are changes in dispositional mindfulness, subjective
      (i.e., scores in visual analog scale)/objective (i.e., reaction time, accuracy in Stroop
      task) mental fatigue, motivation in tasks, and changes in mood state (i.e., BRUMS-C).
    

Intervention name(s): Mindfulness intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The mindfulness program called "Mindfulness-based peak performance (MBPP)" will be used in this study. MBPP is a program that consists of eight 60-min training, and a 60-min session weekly for 8-weeks. The MBPP program will include (1) 5 minutes of will start with a brief recap of the preceding session and homework discussion, (2) after which the 5 minutes of a brief story about performance aimed at inducing the learning motivation of the participants; (3) Followed by 20 minutes of a theoretical lecture introducing a new topic and then (4) 25 minutes of mindfulness exercise. (5) Finally, how to apply the mindfulness skills to sports context will be discussed at the end of each session for 5 minutes.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Mindfulness Training; Mental Fatigue; Inhibitory Control; Endurance Performance; ERP