Mental Fatigue
Conditions
Keywords
lack of energy, feelings of tiredness, decreased attention, impaired cognitive, impaired behavioral performance
Brief summary
This study aims to evaluate the effects of music intervention on golf-specific skill performance under mental fatigue. It is a randomised, controlled, double-blind design. The study consists of three main phases: familiarisation with the experimental procedure, baseline testing, and the formal experiment. During the formal experiment, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the following three groups: (MF-Mu Group) Participants undergo a mental fatigue induction task followed by a music intervention; (MF-nMu Group) Participants undergo a mental fatigue induction task but do not receive a music intervention; (CON Group) Participants neither undergo a mental fatigue induction task nor receive a music intervention. The total intervention duration is 45 minutes, consisting of 30 minutes of mental fatigue induction and 15 minutes of music intervention. In conditions where mental fatigue induction or music intervention is not conducted, participants will remain in the same experimental environment and rest quietly for the same duration to control for external confounding factors and ensure experimental consistency. Immediately after the intervention, participants will complete golf skill testing, with the testing site located within a 2 minutes walking distance from the intervention area. Performance outcomes include driving performance, iron shot performance, chipping performance, and putting performance.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALInducing mental fatigue
During the mental fatigue induction phase, a 30-minute Stroop task will artificially induce mental fatigue, simulating the mental fatigue state that athletes experience during competitions or training sessions. The Stroop task is a classic cognitive control task widely used for inducing mental fatigue. Research in sports science has shown that a 30-minute Stroop task significantly increases subjective fatigue and reduces physical performance. This study will use a smartphone-based version of the Stroop task (with brightness and touch sensitivity standardised), where colour words (such as red and blue) are displayed continuously, but the font colour does not match the word's meaning. Participants must ignore the word's meaning and respond only based on the font colour. The Stroop task requires sustained attention, conflict resolution, and cognitive inhibition, leading to cognitive resource depletion and mental fatigue accumulation.
BEHAVIORALMusic intervention
During the music intervention phase, participants will listen to 15 minutes of classical music to facilitate mental fatigue recovery. This study selects Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik as the intervention music, a piece that has been applied in previous mental fatigue recovery studies and has been validated as an effective intervention. The intervention duration is set at 15 minutes, as multiple studies have confirmed this duration to be sufficient to produce recovery effects without causing additional cognitive load or auditory fatigue. The music will be played through a smartphone, with the intervention volume controlled at 50-60 dBA. Considering that the maximum volume of a smartphone is approximately 105-113 dBA, the standardised intervention volume is set at 50% (52.5-56.5 dBA) of the smartphone's maximum volume to ensure consistency among all participants.
Sponsors
Pan Xiaoyang
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Randomization of group allocation and participant order will be conducted using a random number table generator (www.randomizer.org), ensuring that no one can predict the group assignments before randomization. Participants will not be informed of the true purpose of the study; instead, they will be told that the study is part of a quarterly training program and that they should perform their best during the skill testing phase. During the intervention, dedicated assistants will be responsible for inducing mental fatigue and administering the music intervention, but they will not be informed of the specific research objectives. During the golf skill testing and performance recording phase, testing assistants will be responsible only for recording test results and will not be aware of the participants' group assignments. Data analysis will be conducted by researchers who only have access to anonymized data, further reinforcing blinding control. Group assignment information will only be
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 24 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Athletes must be between 18 and 24 years old. * Be registered golfers in the National Colleges and Universities Golf Championship. * Have at least three years of specialised golf training. * Engage in at least five weekly training sessions.
Exclusion criteria
* Colour blindness. * Hearing loss. * Insomnia. * Physical injuries. * Ongoing mental health issues. * The use of any medication that might influence cognitive. * The use of any medication that might influence physical performance.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mental fatigue | Baseline, before mental fatigue induction, immediately after mental fatigue induction, and immediately after the music intervention (about 30 seconds per test). | The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) assesses participants' subjective perception of mental fatigue. The scoring is based on a 100 mm linear scale, where participants mark a point between 0 (none at all) and 100 (extremely intense) to describe their current level of mental fatigue. |
| The change in chipping accuracy after music intervention compared to performance under mental fatigue. | Baseline and immediately after the music intervention (after the iron test) (No more than 40 seconds per shot, with a total duration of about 5 minutes). | The 30 yards chipping performance test follows the Golf Skill Level Standards and Testing Methods issued by the China Golf Association, assessing accuracy. The distance to the target is 30 yards. The Target Zone is a circular area with a 3-yard radius around the hole. Accuracy is determined by the number of balls landing in the designated target area. A total of 10 shots are performed, with 1 point awarded per successful shot, resulting in a score range of 1 to 10 points. |
| The change in chipping shot quality after music intervention compared to performance under mental fatigue. | Baseline and immediately after the music intervention (after the iron test) (No more than 40 seconds per shot, with a total duration of about 5 minutes). | The chipping shot quality is evaluated based on the golfer's subjective feedback after each shot, responding to the question: Do you think this shot was solid? Responses are recorded as Yes (solid contact) or No (poor contact). A total of 10 shots are performed, with 1 point awarded per successful shot, resulting in a score range of 1 to 10 points. |
| The change in putting accuracy after music intervention compared to performance under mental fatigue. | Baseline and immediately after the music intervention (after the chipping test) (No more than 40 seconds per shot, with a total duration of about 5 minutes). | The putting performance test follows the Golf Skill Level Standards and Testing Methods issued by the China Golf Association, assessing accuracy . Participants perform putts of two different distances from the Ball-striking Zone. A successful putt is defined as either holing the ball (for the 1.5-yard putt) or stopping the ball within the 1-yard radius Target Zone (for the 7-yard putt). A total of 10 shots (5 1.5-yard putt and 5 7-yard putt) are performed, with 1 point awarded per successful shot, resulting in a score range of 1 to 10 points. |
| The change in putting shot quality after music intervention compared to performance under mental fatigue. | Baseline and immediately after the music intervention (after the chipping test) (No more than 40 seconds per shot, with a total duration of about 5 minutes). | The putting shot quality is evaluated based on the golfer's subjective feedback after each shot, responding to the question: Do you think this shot was solid? Responses are recorded as Yes (solid contact) or No (poor contact). A total of 10 shots are performed, with 1 point awarded per successful shot, resulting in a score range of 1 to 10 points. |
| The change in golf driving accuracy after music intervention compared to performance under mental fatigue. | Baseline and immediately after the music intervention (No more than 40 seconds per shot, with a total duration of about 5 minutes). | The golf driving performance test follows the Golf Skill Level Standards and Testing Methods issued by the China Golf Association, assessing accuracy. The target is located 210 yards from the hitting area, and expands outward at an angle, widening to approximately 20 yards additional space on either side. Accuracy is determined by the number of balls landing in the designated target area. A total of 10 shots are performed, with 1 point awarded per successful shot, resulting in a score range of 1 to 10 points. |
| The change in golf driving shot quality after music intervention compared to performance under mental fatigue. | Baseline and immediately after the music intervention (No more than 40 seconds per shot, with a total duration of about 5 minutes). | The driving shot quality is evaluated based on the golfer's subjective feedback after each shot, responding to the question: Do you think this shot was solid? Responses are recorded as Yes (solid contact) or No (poor contact). A total of 10 shots are performed, with 1 point awarded per successful shot, resulting in a score range of 1 to 10 points. |
| The change in iron shot accuracy after music intervention compared to performance under mental fatigue. | Baseline and immediately after the music intervention (after the driving test) (No more than 40 seconds per shot, with a total duration of about 5 minutes). | The 150 yards iron shot performance test follows the Golf Skill Level Standards and Testing Methods issued by the China Golf Association, assessing accuracy. The distance to the target is 150 yards. The Target Zone is a rectangle positioned 150 yards away, measuring 20 yards wide and 30 yards deep (15 yards before and 15 yards after the 150-yard line). Accuracy is determined by the number of balls landing in the designated target area. A total of 10 shots are performed, with 1 point awarded per successful shot, resulting in a score range of 1 to 10 points. |
| The change in iron shot shot quality after music intervention compared to performance under mental fatigue. | Baseline and immediately after the music intervention (after the driving test) (No more than 40 seconds per shot, with a total duration of about 5 minutes). | The iron shot quality is evaluated based on the golfer's subjective feedback after each shot, responding to the question: Do you think this shot was solid? Responses are recorded as Yes (solid contact) or No (poor contact). A total of 10 shots are performed, with 1 point awarded per successful shot, resulting in a score range of 1 to 10 points. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Motivation | Baseline, before mental fatigue induction, immediately after mental fatigue induction, and immediately after the music intervention (about 30 seconds per test). | The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) assesses participants' subjective perception of motivation levels. The scoring is based on a 100 mm linear scale, where participants mark a point between 0 (none at all) and 100 (extremely intense) to describe their current level of motivation. |
| Sport Anxiety | Baseline, before mental fatigue induction, immediately after mental fatigue induction, and immediately after the music intervention (about 1 minute per test). | The Sport Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2) assesses participants' trait sport anxiety levels. This scale consists of 15 items categorised into three factors: somatic anxiety, worry, and concentration disruption. Each item is rated on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much so). |
| Rating Perception of Effort | Baseline, before mental fatigue induction, immediately after mental fatigue induction, and immediately after the music intervention (about 30 seconds per test). | The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (Borg RPE) assesses individuals' subjective effort levels. This scale employs a 15-level scoring system, ranging from 6 (extremely easy) to 20 (extremely strenuous), to reflect athletes' subjective perception of workload intensity during testing or competition. |
| Immersive Tendency | Baseline (about 1 minute). | The Immersive Tendency Questionnaire (ITQ) assesses participants' degree of immersion in the virtual environment (music). This questionnaire consists of 18 items categorised into four factors: immersive tendency, individual alertness, physical state, and attention-shifting ability. Each item is rated on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). |
Countries
Malaysia
Contacts
Primary ContactXiaoyang Pan, PhD Candidate
Outcome results
None listed