Mindfulness Training, Mental Fatigue, Endurance Performance and Neurocognitive Functions

Effect of Mindfulness Training on Mental Fatigue-Related Impairments of Endurance Performance and Inhibitory Control in Athletes: An Event-Related Potential Study

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.

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).

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Regular sports training at least 4 hours weekly
2. Normal or corrected-to-normal vision
3. Right-handed

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Physical limitation or injury in lower limbs before and during the study
2. Diagnosed or self-reported neurological disorders (e.g., epilepsy)
3. Diagnosed or self-reported major psychiatric illness (e.g., major depression, schizophrenia)
4. Major previous experience with mindfulness training