Mental Fatigue
Conditions
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to examine the protentional that the antioxidant Astaxanthin has on mitigating cognitive decline following mental fatigue.
Detailed description
Dietary supplements are used in all levels of sports to impact various areas of athletic performance. Prolonged physical activity or cognitive engagement, which is a part of the competition, can increase mental fatigue (MF) such that the athlete begins to experience impaired decision-making skills and slower reaction times, resulting in a less-than-optimal athlete by the end of the competition. Thus, identifying interventions that may preserve an individual's ability to perform following a state of MF would interest individuals often engaged in competition or training. Astaxanthin (AX) is a naturally occurring antioxidant typically found in marine species such as algae, salmon, trout, and shellfish. AX's unique structure may mitigate inflammation. Cognitively, AX can cross the blood-brain barrier to help support the mitochondria when metabolic or cognitive demands are increased. While there have been promising results in elderly individuals of AX's ability to mitigate reductions in cognitive performance when fatigued. However, investigations in younger, more active individuals are warranted. Therefore, the purpose of this study to examine the impact of four weeks of AX supplementation at 12 mg/day on various markers of cognitive performance following a mental fatiguing protocol in recreationally active females. The cognitive methods are adapted from another previous study titled, "No Benefit of Ingesting a Low-Dose Ketone Monoester Supplement on Markers of Cognitive Performance in Females" (IRB#: 2023-009). This study is a double-blind between design. Supplementation will last four weeks with each subject will consume either 12 mg/day of AX or a matched placebo. The participants will report to the lab for four separate trials. There will be two cognitive trials before and after supplementation. A 4 week supplementation period will occur after trials 1 & 2, followed by a repeat of these sessions for post-testing. We hypothesize that AX will mitigate cognitive detriments following mental fatigue. The significance of these results may extend to female athletes looking to enhance performance by protecting cognitive ability from declining after fatigue. Cognitive Protocol: Participants will use software called SOMA NPT to complete a series of validated cognitive tasks that test different aspects of cognition. The cognitive battery of test that will be used includes a Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT; 5 min), Task Switching (3 min), and Incongruent Flaker (3 min). The task that will be used to induce mental fatigue is a Time-Loaded-Dual-Back task (TLDB; 15 min). A control video titled World Class Trains (15 min) has been validated to produce no emotional response. Each subject will complete a trial with the mental fatigue protocol and a control before supplementation. Lipid Panel: A lipid panel to asses participants cholesterol and glucose levels will be taken both pre and post supplementation by using a capillary finger prick.
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTAstaxanthin
Manufactured by AstaReal Inc
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTPlacebo
Manufactured by AstaReal Inc
Sponsors
University of North Alabama
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Participants will supplement with either AX or a matched placebo. The dosage of AX (12 mg/day) is FDA approved and will be administered orally by one soft gel capsule. The treatments will be blinded to the participants and the investigator. Treatments will be sorted be an independent party not associated with data collection or analysis.
Intervention model description
Groups will be randomized and parallel. They will not cross-over with each other.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 39 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* The participant population will be healthy, recreationally active females between the ages of 18-39 without any medical conditions. To be deemed recreationally active, they must meet the World Health Organization minimum activity guidelines of completing at least 150 to 300 min moderate-intensity activity or 75-150 min of vigorous-intensity activity a week, plus muscle-strengthening activities 2 or more days a week. * Adult females with a stable body weight (± 5 lbs.) for 2 months * Adult females with a normal menstrual cycle * Adult females not on a low-carb, high-fat diet or intermittent fasting * Adult females who are not pregnant of actively attempting to become pregnant
Exclusion criteria
\-
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Reaction Time | Pre supplementation and 4 weeks supplementation period. | How quickly the participant reacts to a stimulus. Expressed in millaseconds. The lower the number, the faster the participants reacted to the given stimulus. All test were conducted on an iPad using the cognitive software SOMANPT. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Recruitment details
Word of mouth at the University of North Alabama.
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | — |
|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 25 Participants |
| Age, Continuous | 21.2 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 1.7 |
| Race and Ethnicity Not Collected | 0 Participants |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 25 participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 25 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 0 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 13 | 0 / 12 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 13 | 0 / 12 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 13 | 0 / 12 |
Outcome results
None listed