Exploring the Relationship Between Mental Toughness and Self-Compassion in the Context of Sport Injury.

Helping athletes cope effectively with injury is likely of great interest to many sport stakeholders. Mental toughness is one psychological factor positively associated with resilience and sport performance, though stubborn persistence through injury might not always be conducive to adaptive athlete outcomes. Self-compassion-a balanced, nonjudgmental approach in relating to oneself when experiencing suffering-might help circumvent these pitfalls and complement injury recovery. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between mental toughness and self-compassion in a sport injury context. This study consisted of 2 phases-phase I quantitatively assessed the relationships between mental toughness, self-compassion, and other psychological constructs, while phase II used qualitative interviews to corroborate and inform these findings. In phase I, competitive athletes who were injured at the time of data collection (n = 81) completed mental toughness, self-compassion, coping resources, self-esteem, and self-criticism questionnaires. Self-compassion was positively correlated with mental toughness (r = .48, P < .01), coping resources (r = .54, P < .05), and self-esteem (r = .60, P < .01). Self-compassion and self-criticism were negatively correlated with each other (r = -.52, P < .01). Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that self-compassion was a significant predictor of mental toughness (ΔR2 = .07, P < .01), coping resources (ΔR2 = .10, P < .01), and self-criticism (ΔR2 = .06, P < .01), beyond the effects of self-esteem. Four injured athletes who scored above the median on mental toughness and self-compassion measures were interviewed in phase II. Thematic analysis generated 2 themes: (1) self-compassion grants access to wise mental toughness and (2) mental toughness helps activate self-compassionate actions during injury. These findings are consistent with recent research and suggest that both mental toughness and self-compassion can work together to help athletes cope with sport injury.

Mental performance and mental health services in sport: a call for interprofessional competence and collaboration.

The provision of holistic care for athletes often involves interprofessional teams with specialists to support athletic performance and overall wellness. Yet, regarding psychological support, some have advocated for a single professional to attain both a certified mental performance consultant (CMPC) credential and any type of mental health license (e.g., Licensed Psychologist [LP], Licensed Social Worker [LSW], or Licensed Professional Counselor [LPC]) to address the mental performance and mental health needs of athletes. Unfortunately, this approach may hinder interprofessional collaboration and ignore distinctions between CMPCS and other types of mental health professionals. Alternatively, CMPCs and various types of mental health professionals may work together on interprofessional psychological support teams. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the distinct historical and theoretical foundations of mental performance consulting, clinical psychology, social work, and professional counseling in sport contexts to serve as a resource for enhancing interprofessional competence within such teams. The distinct training pathways of CMPCs, LPs, LSWs, and LPCs are outlined with attention to how each can serve a valuable role on an interprofessional support team for athletes. Applications of the World Health Organization's framework for interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) to psychological support teams in sport contexts is discussed.

Environmental perceptions, mental performance, and physiological responses of people with respiratory allergies exposed to reduced Indoor Air Quality.

To investigate the need of allergic population for indoor environment quality, exposure effects of poor air quality on subjects with respiratory allergies were compared with those on healthy people, including perceptual responses, health symptoms, mental performance, and physiological responses. The experimental intervention was with and without ventilation at thermally neutral rooms, creating two exposure conditions indicated by CO2 concentration ranges of 502 to 3297 ppm (2438 ± 1527 ppm) and 517 to 5687 ppm (3615 ± 1527 ppm). 63 subjects (32 allergic subjects and 31 non-allergic subjects) were exposed to both conditions for 3 hours. The main results suggested that, compared with healthy people, people with respiratory allergy seem to be more sensitive or less acceptable to reduced air quality polluted by occupants during instantaneous exposure. Besides, the allergic group performed worse in cognitive tests than non-allergic group. After 3 hours of continuous exposure, people with respiratory allergy reported stronger intensity of respiratory irritations and seemed to suffer more inflammation indicated by a higher level of interleukin 1L-1ß.

Application of Eye Tracking Technology in Aviation, Maritime, and Construction Industries: A Systematic Review.

Most accidents in the aviation, maritime, and construction industries are caused by human error, which can be traced back to impaired mental performance and attention failure. In 1596, Du Laurens, a French anatomist and medical scientist, said that the eyes are the windows of the mind. Eye tracking research dates back almost 150 years and it has been widely used in different fields for several purposes. Overall, eye tracking technologies provide the means to capture in real time a variety of eye movements that reflect different human cognitive, emotional, and physiological states, which can be used to gain a wider understanding of the human mind in different scenarios. This systematic literature review explored the different applications of eye tracking research in three high-risk industries, namely aviation, maritime, and construction. The results of this research uncovered the demographic distribution and applications of eye tracking research, as well as the different technologies that have been integrated to study the visual, cognitive, and attentional aspects of human mental performance. Moreover, different research gaps and potential future research directions were highlighted in relation to the usage of additional technologies to support, validate, and enhance eye tracking research to better understand human mental performance.

Efficacy of a Brief Biofeedback Intervention on Mood, Arousal, Mental Workload, Movement Time, and Biofeedback Device Preference.

Biofeedback (BF) training has been utilized with performers for years. Previous literature highlights the effectiveness of multi-week intervention protocols, but there is a lack of evidence for abbreviated interventions using portable devices and the performer's preference of these devices. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a brief BF intervention on mental workload, mood, arousal, and movement time and BF device preference. Participants (N = 40) were randomly assigned to one of two heart rate variability (HRV) BF interventions or a control group. Although the brief intervention did not have a significant effect on mood, movement time, or mental workload, it did significantly and positively impact perceived arousal. Overall, 12 participants (48%) preferred the EmWave™ desktop device, eight (32%) preferred the Inner Balance™ device, and five (20%) preferred the EmWave2™ portable device. Results support limited effectiveness of a brief HRV BF protocol, although the dose-response effectiveness should continue to be explored.

Indoor CO2 concentrations and cognitive function: A critical review.

Poor indoor air quality indicated by elevated indoor CO2 concentrations has been linked with impaired cognitive function, yet current findings of the cognitive impact of CO2 are inconsistent. This review summarizes the results from 37 experimental studies that conducted objective cognitive tests with manipulated CO2 concentrations, either through adding pure CO2 or adjusting ventilation rates (the latter also affects other indoor pollutants). Studies with varied designs suggested that both approaches can affect multiple cognitive functions. In a subset of studies that meet objective criteria for strength and consistency, pure CO2 at a concentration common in indoor environments was only found to affect high-level decision-making measured by the Strategic Management Simulation battery in non-specialized populations, while lower ventilation and accumulation of indoor pollutants, including CO2 , could reduce the speed of various functions but leave accuracy unaffected. Major confounding factors include variations in cognitive assessment methods, study designs, individual and populational differences in subjects, and uncertainties in exposure doses. Accordingly, future research is suggested to adopt direct air delivery for precise control of CO2 inhalation, include brain imaging techniques to better understand the underlying mechanisms that link CO2 and cognitive function, and explore the potential interaction between CO2 and other environmental stimuli.

[The increase level of somatic health in students by multi directional means of fitness].

The purpose of the study is to substantiate methodology of using multidirectional fitness tools to improve level of somatic health, and as a result, physical and mental efficiency of students. The study sampling included 186 students (106 girls, 80 boys). Two groups were formed: control group (n=85: 47 girls, 38 boys) and experimental group (n=101: 59 girls, 42 boys) in the content of educational program were included experimental method. The study demonstrated that Pilates stabilizes and topes up muscles of entire body, improves coordination abilities, improves physique, favors reducing back pain, improves cardio-respiratory system and reduces psycho-emotional tension. The step aerobics positively effect on cardio-respiratory system and entire musculoskeletal system, as well as has a on physical performance. The somatic health of students in experimental group after experiment improved from "below average" to "average". In control group, before and after the experiment, level of somatic health made to "below average". After experiment, physical performance indicators in experimental group improved. The indices of students of control group remained at the same level. In experimental group, all indices of mental performance increased and began to have regular character.

Mental performance in 8-year-old children fed reduced protein content formula during the 1st year of life: safety analysis of a randomised clinical trial.

In humans, maximum brain development occurs between the third trimester of gestation and 2 years of life. Nutrition during these critical windows of rapid brain development might be essential for later cognitive functioning and behaviour. In the last few years, trends on protein recommendations during infancy and childhood have tended to be lower than that in the past. It remains to be demonstrated that lower protein intakes among healthy infants, a part of being able to reduce obesity risk, is safe in terms of mental performance achievement. Secondary analyses of the EU CHOP, a clinical trial in which infants from five European countries were randomised to be fed a higher or a lower protein content formula during the 1st year of life. Children were assessed at the age of 8 years with a neuropsychological battery of tests that included assessments of memory (visual and verbal), attention (visual, selective, focused and sustained), visual-perceptual integration, processing speed, visual-motor coordination, verbal fluency and comprehension, impulsivity/inhibition, flexibility/shifting, working memory, reasoning, visual-spatial skills and decision making. Internalising, externalising and total behaviour problems were assessed using the Child Behaviour Checklist 4-18. Adjusted analyses considering factors that could influence neurodevelopment, such as parental education level, maternal smoking, child's gestational age at birth and head circumference, showed no differences between feeding groups in any of the assessed neuropsychological domains and behaviour. In summary, herewith we report on the safety of lower protein content in infant formulae (closer to the content of human milk) according to long-term mental performance.

Cultural effects on neurodevelopmental testing in children from six European countries: an analysis of NUTRIMENTHE Global Database.

Cultural background is an important variable influencing neuropsychological performance. Multinational projects usually involve gathering data from participants from different countries and/or different cultures. Little is known about the influence of culture on neuropsychological testing results in children and especially in European children. The objectives of this study were to compare neuropsychological performance of children from six European countries (Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Spain) using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and to apply a statistical procedure to reduce the influence of country/cultural differences in neuropsychological performance. As expected, the results demonstrated differences in neuropsychological performance among children of the six countries involved. Cultural differences remained after adjusting for other confounders related to neuropsychological execution, such as sex, type of delivery, maternal age, gestational age and maternal educational level. Differences between countries disappeared and influence of culture was considerably reduced when standardised scores by country and sex were used. These results highlight the need for developing specific procedures to compare neuropsychological performance among children from different cultures to be used in multicentre studies.

Fetal DHA inadequacy and the impact on child neurodevelopment: a follow-up of a randomised trial of maternal DHA supplementation in pregnancy.

DHA is an important component of neural lipids accumulating in neural tissue during development. Inadequate DHA in gestation may compromise infant development, but it is unknown whether there are lasting effects. We sought to determine whether the observed effects of fetal DHA inadequacy on infant development persist into early childhood. This follow-up study assessed children (5-6 years) whose mothers received 400 mg/d DHA or a placebo during pregnancy. Child neurodevelopment was assessed with several age-appropriate tests including the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children. A risk-reduction model was used whereby the odds that a child from the maternal placebo group would fail to achieve a test score in the top quartile was calculated. The association of maternal DHA intake and status in gestation with child test scores, as well as with child DHA intake and status, was also determined. No differences were detected in children (n 98) from the maternal placebo and DHA groups achieving a high neurodevelopment test score (P>0·05). However, maternal DHA status was positively related to child performance on some tests including language and short-term memory. Furthermore, child DHA intake and status were related to the mother's intake and status in gestation. The neurodevelopment effects of fetal DHA inadequacy may have been lost or masked by other variables in the children. Although we provide evidence that maternal DHA status is related to child cognitive performance, the association of maternal and child DHA intake and status limits the interpretation of whether DHA before or after birth is important.

Physiological responses during exposure to carbon dioxide and bioeffluents at levels typically occurring indoors.

Twenty-five subjects were exposed to different levels of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and bioeffluents. The ventilation rate was set high enough to create a reference condition of 500 ppm CO2 with subjects present; additional CO2 was then added to supply air to reach levels of 1000 or 3000 ppm, or the ventilation rate was reduced to allow metabolically generated CO2 to reach the same two levels (bioeffluents increased as well). Heart rate, blood pressure, end-tidal CO2 (ETCO2 ), oxygen saturation of blood (SPO2 ), respiration rate, nasal peak flow, and forced expiration were monitored, and the levels of salivary α-amylase and cortisol were analyzed. The subjects performed a number of mental tasks during exposures and assessed their levels of comfort and the intensity of their acute health symptoms. During exposure to CO2 at 3000 ppm, when CO2 was added or ventilation was restricted, ETCO2 increased more and heart rate decreased less than the changes that occurred in the reference condition. Exposure to bioeffluents, when metabolically generated CO2 was at 3000 ppm, significantly increased diastolic blood pressure and salivary α-amylase level compared with pre-exposure levels, and reduced the performance of a cue-utilization test: These effects may suggest higher arousal/stress. A model is proposed describing how mental performance is affected by exposure to bioeffluents.

Importance of mental performance in parental choice of food for children aged 4-10 years: a study in four European countries.

OBJECTIVE: Typically, attention focuses on how nutrition affects physical health. The present study investigated the importance that parents attach to the impact of diet on mental performance when choosing food for their child. DESIGN: Questionnaire. SETTING: Four European countries. SUBJECTS: Parents of children aged 4-10 years (n 1574): England (n 397), Germany (n 389), Hungary (n 398) and Spain (n 390). RESULTS: Most parents (80-85 %) considered the effect of food on four elements of mental performance (child's ability to learn, attention, behaviour, mood) to be moderately, very, extremely (v. slightly, not at all) important in food choices; over 90 % considered healthiness of food and making food appealing to their child important; 79·8 % cost; 76·8 % convenience. Belief that food affects mental performance was 57·4 % (ability to learn), 60·5 % (attention); less than 40 % of parents agreed they were aware which foods had an effect. Parents with lower general interest in healthy eating were less likely to consider the effect of food on mental performance elements as important. Respondents from Germany were more likely to rate mental performance as important (except behaviour); those in Hungary less likely. The most important influence on parents' decisions about feeding their child was their own experience, except Spain, where family/friends/health professionals were more important. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition affects brain development and cognitive functioning. Low prioritisation of the effect of food on mental performance indicates potential for educating parents.

Neurophysiological and biosignal data for investigating occupational mental fatigue: MEFAR dataset.

The prevalence of mental fatigue is a noteworthy phenomenon that can affect individuals across diverse professions and working routines. This paper provides a comprehensive dataset of physiological signals obtained from 23 participants during their professional work and questionnaires to analyze mental fatigue. The questionnaires included demographic information and Chalder Fatigue Scale scores indicating mental and physical fatigue. Both physiological signal measurements and the Chalder Fatigue Scale were performed in two sessions, morning and evening. The present dataset encompasses diverse physiological signals, including electroencephalogram (EEG), blood volume pulse (BVP), electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate (HR), skin temperature (TEMP), and 3-axis accelerometer (ACC) data. The NeuroSky MindWave EEG device was used for brain signals, and the Empatica E4 smart wristband was used for other signals. Measurements were carried out on individuals from four different occupational groups, such as academicians, technicians, computer engineers, and kitchen workers. The provision of comprehensive metadata supplements the dataset, thereby promoting inquiries about the neurophysiological concomitants of mental fatigue, autonomic activity patterns, and the repercussions of a cognitive burden on human proficiency in actual workplace settings. The accessibility of the aforementioned dataset serves to facilitate progress in the field of mental fatigue research while also laying the groundwork for the creation of customized fatigue evaluation techniques and interventions in diverse professional domains.

Nutrition and mental performance in children - The NUTRIMENTHE project.

The Nutrition And Mental Performance In Children project of the European Union (NUTRIMENTHE) has added to the evidence that maternal diet influences mental performance in childhood. The biological mechanisms have been shown to be complex and to involve genetic variation, as indicated by the work linking genetic variation in the fatty acid desaturase gene cluster to the processing of fatty acids. The role played by a child's diet also needs to be considered and this question is being addressed through the inclusion of post-natal intervention studies in the NUTRIMENTHE project's research plan. This paper summarises progress.

Thinking About Elite Performance: The Experience and Impact of Mental Fatigue in Elite Sport Coaching.

PURPOSE: Mental fatigue causes decreases in aspects of athletes' performance. Elite coaches commonly undertake cognitively demanding tasks and are seemingly at similar risk of subsequent performance impairment. However, elite sport coaches' experiences of mental fatigue, alongside other markers of psychobiological stress, have yet to be quantified. METHODS: Three elite coaching and performance staff (2 women and 1 man) provided 100-mm visual analog scale ratings of mental fatigue, physical fatigue, readiness to perform, and salivary samples for later cortisol (sCort) and alpha-amylase (sAA) analysis. Data were obtained on the same morning each week across a 16-week preseason. Data were subset by individual coach for descriptive and repeated-measures correlational analyses. RESULTS: Fluctuating mental fatigue was observed over the 16 weeks (min-max; coach 1 = 25-86 AU; coach 2 = 0-51 AU; and coach 3 = 15 - 76 AU). Elevated levels of mental fatigue were reported at multiple time points, with individual variability observed. sCort (in nanomoles per liter), sAA (in micromoles per liter), and sAA:sCort indicated that coaches experienced psychophysiological stress (min-max; coach 1 sCort = 8.42-17.31, sAA = 52.40-113.06, sAA:sCort = 3.20-12.80; coach 2 sCort = 4.20-9.70, sAA = 158.80-307.20, sAA:sCort = 21.10-61.70; and coach 3 sCort = 6.81-19.66, sAA = 86.55-495.85, sAA:sCort = 4.90-35.50). A significant inverse relationship between mental fatigue and readiness to perform (r = -.44 [-.64 to -.17], P = .002) was identified. CONCLUSIONS: Elite sport coaches report elevated instances of mental fatigue during a preseason training period. Those involved in elite sports should act to understand the presence and potential subsequent impacts of staff mental fatigue and consider management or mitigation strategies. Optimization of the cognitive performance of coaches and performance staff presents as a potential source of competitive advantage.

The most common European HINT1 neuropathy variant phenotype and its case studies.

HINT1 is an ubiquitous homodimeric purine phosphoramidase belonging to the histidine-triad superfamily. In neurons, HINT1 stabilizes the interaction of different receptors and regulates the effects of their signaling disturbances. Changes in HINT1 gene are associated with autosomal recessive axonal neuropathy with neuromyotonia. Aim of the study was detailed description of patients' phenotype with HINT1 homozygous NM_005340.7: c.110G>C (p.Arg37Pro) variant. Seven homozygous and three compound heterozygous patients were recruited and evaluated using standardized tests for CMT patients, in four patients' nerve ultrasonography was performed. The median age of symptom onset was 10 years (range 1-20), with initial complaints being distal lower limb weakness with gait impairment, combined with muscle stiffness, more pronounced in the hands than in the legs and worsened by cold. Arm muscles became involved later, presenting with distal weakness and hypotrophy. Neuromyotonia was present in all reported patients and is thus a diagnostic hallmark. Electrophysiological studies demonstrated axonal polyneuropathy. Impaired mental performance was observed in six out of ten cases. In all patients with HINT1 neuropathy, ultrasound examination showed significantly reduced muscle volume as well as spontaneous fasciculations and fibrillations. The nerve cross-sectional areas of the median and ulnar nerves were closer to the lower limits of the normal values. None of the investigated nerves had structural changes. Our findings broaden the phenotype of HINT1-neuropathy and have implications for diagnostics and ultrasonographic evaluation of HINT1-neuropathy patients.

Thinking action as a performative and participative mental awareness.

This paper seeks to evaluate experiential facets of thinking action using first-person phenomenological methods. We begin our considerations using a simple mathematical proof as a case study-and also employ phenomenological contrasts between different types of thinking. They reveal that thinking actions produce performative insights rather than dispositional or remembered knowledge. This distinction allows us to introduce a new mode of thinking that is different from most known types of thinking, namely pure thinking action. The performative nature of this pure thinking action is participative and receptive with respect to concepts and has the quality of being persistent and coherent during its episode of action. Moreover, it is the often unattended source of thinking everyday life.

Preventive Effects of a Single Bout of Exercise on Memory and Attention following One Night of Sleep Loss in Sports Students: Results of a Randomized Controlled Study.

Sleep loss is a severe problem in night-shift workers. It causes fatigue and a decrease in awareness that may be counter-acted by exercise. This randomized controlled study of 22 university students investigated the effects of exercise to prevent loss of cognitive and physical performance following sleep deprivation. We compared a single bout of 20 min circuit training to control in an experimental setting of overnight sleep loss. Outcomes included memory, cognitive tasks, and physical parameters. The occurrence of false memories was considered the main outcome. Exercise did not exert significant effects on false memories (p = 0.456). We could detect a trend to significance (p < 0.01) assessing cognitive dimensions, i.e., selective and sustained attention, and visual scanning speed. This revealed strong effects of exercise on attention (p = 0.091; Cohen's d = 0.76; ∆14%), cognitive performance, performance speed, and perceived sleepiness (p = 0.008; d = 0.60; ∆2.4 cm VAS). This study failed to show the effects of exercise on memory function. Still, the observed effects on attention and consciousness could be considered clinically relevant, as these results encourage further research to determine its practicability and meaningfulness among night-shift workers.

Mental fatigue increases across a 16-week pre-season in elite female athletes.

OBJECTIVES: To examine potential changes in mental and physical fatigue across an elite netball pre-season training phase and relationships between mental fatigue, physical fatigue, salivary cortisol (sCort) and alpha-amylase (sAA). DESIGN: Observational with repeated measures. METHODS: Across a 16-week pre-season, 10 elite female netballers (25.3 ±â€¯3.7y) rated their physical fatigue, mental fatigue and readiness to perform on 100-mm visual analogue scales, and provided salivary samples for sCort and sAA analyses. RESULTS: Linear mixed model analyses revealed elevated (p < 0.05) ratings of mental fatigue for weeks 12, 14 and 15 v 1; 12, 14 and 15 v 4 and 14 v 7. Higher (p < 0.05) ratings of physical fatigue were reported on weeks 6, 10, 11 and 12-16 compared to week 4; and 10 and 13 compared to week 7. Moderate and large ES differences were found between multiple weeks. Mental and physical fatigue demonstrated a shared variance of 14.3% (r = 0.38, p < 0.001) and an inverse relationship was observed between mental fatigue and readiness to perform (r = -0.50; p < 0.001). Changes in sCort nor sAA were not related to changes in mental or physical fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Mental fatigue fluctuated across the 16-week pre-season phase with elevated ratings observed in the later weeks. Whilst value remains in identifying subjective tools to assess mental fatigue; salivary biomarkers do not appear to be a suitable objective indicator of mental fatigue in the applied sporting environment. Practitioners should work to identify and manage mental fatigue with the same level of importance given to the periodisation of physical fatigue.

Leg Fidgeting Improves Executive Function following Prolonged Sitting with a Typical Western Meal: A Randomized, Controlled Cross-Over Trial.

Prolonged uninterrupted sitting and a typical Western meal, high in fat and refined sugar, can additively impair cognitive and cerebrovascular functions. However, it is unknown whether interrupting these behaviours, with a simple desk-based activity, can attenuate the impairment. The aim of this study was to determine whether regular leg fidgeting can off-set the detrimental effects of prolonged sitting following the consumption of a typical Western meal, on executive and cerebrovascular function. Using a randomized cross-over design, 13 healthy males consumed a Western meal and completed 180-min of prolonged sitting with leg fidgeting of 1 min on/4 min off (intervention [INT]) and without (control [CON]). Cognitive function was assessed pre and post sitting using the Trail Maker Test (TMT) parts A and B. Common carotid artery (CCA) blood flow, as an index of brain flow, was measured pre and post, and cerebral (FP1) perfusion was measured continuously. For TMT B the CON trial significantly increased (worsened) completion time (mean difference [MD] = 5.2 s, d = 0.38), the number of errors (MD = 3.33, d = 0.68) and cognitive fatigue (MD = 0.73, d = 0.92). Compared to CON, the INT trial significantly improved completion time (MD = 2.3 s, d = 0.97), and prevented declines in cognitive fatigue and a reduction in the number of errors. No significant changes in cerebral perfusion or CCA blood flow were found. Leg fidgeting for 1-min on/4-min off following a meal high in fats and refined sugars attenuated the impairment in executive function. This attenuation in executive function may not be caused by alterations in CCA blood flow or cerebral perfusion.