Abbott et al. mental fatigue.pdf (302.09 kB)
Changes in perceptions of mental fatigue during a season in professional under-23 English Premier League soccer players
journal contribution
posted on 2020-07-01, 08:51 authored by William Abbott, Thomas E Brownlee, Robert J Naughton, Tom CliffordTom Clifford, Richard Page, Liam D HarperThe present study assessed changes in academy soccer players’ perception of mental fatigue (MF) across a competitive season, investigating the relationship between MF and other subjective measures of wellness. Ten players completed a modified Brief Assessment of Mood (BAM+) questionnaire that included the question: “How mentally fatigued do you feel”? on match-day (MD) and one (MD+1), two (MD+2) and three (MD+3) days post-match (35 matches). Players reported their MF, along with other subjective measures (sleep, muscle soreness, fatigue and motivation). Results found MF was elevated on MD+1 (43±1 mm) compared to all other days (all P≤0.001). Players reported lower MF on MD+1 in the late-season phase (34±2 mm) compared to both early- (50±2 mm, P≤0.001) and mid-season (46±2 mm, P≤0.001). This coincided with an 80%-win rate in the late-season phase versus the early- (33%) and mid-season (50%). There were very strong repeated-measures correlations between changes in MF and sleep (r=−0.77), muscle soreness (r=0.94), fatigue (r=0.92) and motivation (r=−0.89; all P ≤ 0.0005). In conclusion, MF was closely aligned to match success and other wellness variables. This data suggests a potential lack of sensitivity for identifying MF using a subjective questionnaire. Therefore, researchers and practitioners could work together to identify other ways of practically assessing MF.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Published in
Research in Sports MedicineVolume
28Issue
4Pages
529 - 539Publisher
Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupPublisher statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Research in Sports Medicine on 30 June 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15438627.2020.1784176.Acceptance date
2020-06-14Publication date
2020-06-30Copyright date
2020ISSN
1543-8627eISSN
1543-8635Publisher version
Language
- en