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. 2020 Sep 9;15(9):e0238461.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238461. eCollection 2020.

Mental fatigue impairs physical activity, technical and decision-making performance during small-sided games

Athos Trecroci  1 , Gabriele Boccolini  1   2 , Marco Duca  1 , Damiano Formenti  3 , Giampietro Alberti  1
Affiliations

Mental fatigue impairs physical activity, technical and decision-making performance during small-sided games

Athos Trecroci et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on physical activity, technical and decision-making performance during small-sided games. Nine sub-elite soccer players were enrolled in the study. The players performed two small-sided games on two occasions within a crossover experimental design. Before each game, they underwent a mental fatiguing task (Stroop task) and a control task (documentary watching) in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Players' physical activity, technical, and decision-making performance were obtained during small-sided games by GPS and video scouting. Results showed that distance in acceleration covered per min, negative passes, passing accuracy, and shot accuracy were likely impaired than control task after a mental fatiguing protocol. Decision-making performance of negative passes, passes accuracy, and dribbling accuracy resulted also likely decreased compared with control task. These findings demonstrated that mental fatigue impacted on technical, GPS-derived, and soccer-specific decision-making performance during SSG. In conclusion, avoiding cognitively demanding tasks before playing soccer-specific activities may be advisable to preserve players' physical activity, technical, and decision-making skills.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. A schematic layout of the experimental design.
MFT = mental fatigue group, CT = control group, RPE = rate of perceived exertion, SSG = small-sided games, GPS = global positioning system.
Fig 2
Fig 2
Perceptual responses of RPE (panel A), mental fatigue (panel B), motivation (panel C) and mental effort (panel D) throughout the experimental period (PRE, START, and POST). RPE = rate of perceived exertion.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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