Clinical trial NCT04296708: ExerCube Training on Executive Functions in Young Athletes
Official title: The Influence of a Ten-week ExerCube Training on Executive Functions as Well as on Training Motivation, Enjoyment and Mental Well-being in Young Athletes
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Effects of Exergaming on Cognitive Functions in Young Athleten
Keywords: Exergaming
Cognitive Functions
Young athletes
Training
Lead sponsor: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2020-03-05
Enrollment: 32
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 15
Maximum age (years): 20
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Competitive game sports require the existence of several sport-specific skills. In particular, game sport athletes need a good set of skills in order to perform well on the field. Therefore, it is important for athletes, especially young athletes, not only perform their sport, but also perform variable trainings, which differently train/trigger sport-specific skills. One skill set that is important in competitive game sports are so-called executive functions. Executive functions are needed for action planning and adaptation to the individual environmental situation, e.g. inhibition, flexibility and divided attention. A form of training that is very promising in this respect is exergaming as nowadays coaches are using virtual reality simulations to create realistic training environments. An exergame that combines this cognitive stimulation with whole-body movements in a motivating training environment is the ExerCube. Until now, however, evidence is lacking how an additional holistic exergame training can influence executive functioning in young athletes. Therefore, this study aims to get preliminary insight into the effects of the ExerCube performance on the executive function in young athletes (primary objective). The participants will be allocated into either the intervention group (ExerCube training) or the control group (no additional ExerCube training). The intervention group will train 2 times per week for about 30 minutes over a time frame of 10 weeks. Additionally, to consider the effects of the training environment, the secondary objectives include training motivation, enjoyment and flow as well as mental well-being.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Female and male
* Age between 15 to 20 years
* Young athletes (game sports)
* Healthy (self-reported)
* Able to provide written informed consent and understand instructions

Exclusion Criteria:

* History of cardiovascular issue that would prevent training participation
* Asthma (not controllable)
* Musculosceletal injuries that would prevent training participation
* Pain that would be reinforced by sportive activities
* Pregnancy

Primary outcomes:
measure: FitLight
timeFrame: Before and after the intervention, within two weeks
measure: Test for Attentional Performance
timeFrame: Before and after the intervention, within two weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Situation Motivation Scale
timeFrame: Before and after the intervention, within two weeks
measure: Flow Short Scale
timeFrame: Before and after the intervention, within two weeks
measure: Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale
timeFrame: Before and after the intervention, within two weeks
measure: Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale
timeFrame: Before and after the intervention, within two weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Zürich
country: Switzerland
facility: Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zurich
Study officials:
References: