Unlabelled: Operational performance in military settings involves physical and mental skills that are generally investigated separately in lab settings, leading to reduced ecological validity. Therefore, we investigated the effects of anxiety and exercise-induced fatigue, separately and in combination, on cognitive and shooting performance of 22 soldiers in a real-world setting. Findings indicated that soldiers' shooting accuracy and decision-making and mathematical skills decreased significantly under anxiety. Whether exercise-induced fatigue was beneficial or detrimental to task performance depended on the task at hand. The increased arousal levels through exercise prevented shooting accuracy from deteriorating in the decision task. In contrast, cognitive performance suffered from the increased arousal: participants more often failed to shoot when being fired at by an opponent and also math performance seemed to decrease. We conclude that anxiety can deteriorate soldier performance and that exercise-induced fatigue may improve or deteriorate performance in combination with anxiety depending on the nature of the task.
Practitioner Summary: Soldiers encounter anxiety and exercise-induced fatigue. We investigated to what degree these factors influence soldiers' shooting and cognitive performance. Experimental manipulation of anxiety and exercise during a representative field course indicated decreased performance under anxiety. Exercise prevented shooting accuracy from deteriorating under anxiety, although cognitive performance was negatively affected after exercise.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2014.924572 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Carbohydrate Ingestion Eliminates Hypoglycemia & Improves Endurance Exercise Performance in Triathletes Adapted to Very Low & High Carbohydrate Isocaloric Diets.
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol
January 2025
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
Very-low-carbohydrate diets (LCHF; <50g/day) have been debated for their potential to lower pre-exercise muscle and liver glycogen stores and metabolic efficiency, risking premature fatigue. It is also hypothesized that carbohydrate ingestion during prolonged exercise delays fatigue by increasing carbohydrate oxidation, thereby sparing muscle glycogen. Leveraging a randomized crossover design, we evaluated performance during strenuous time-to-exhaustion (70%⩒O) tests in trained triathletes following 6-week high-carbohydrate (HCLF, 380g/day) or very-low-carbohydrate (LCHF, 40g/day) diets to determine (i) if adoption of the LCHF diet impairs time-to-exhaustion performance, (ii) whether carbohydrate ingestion (10g/hour) 6-12x lower than current CHO fuelling recommendations during low glycogen availability (>15-hour pre-exercise overnight fast and/or LCHF diet) improves time-to-exhaustion by preventing exercise-induced hypoglycemia (EIH; <3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBeta-band oscillations and spike-local field potential synchronization in the motor cortex are correlated with movement deficits in an exercise-induced fatigue mouse model.
Cogn Neurodyn
December 2025
Exercise Physiology and Neurobiology Lab, College of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing Normal University, No. 19, Xinjiekou Street, Beijing, 100875 China.
Fatigue, a complex and multifaceted symptom, profoundly influences quality of life, particularly among individuals suffering from chronic medical conditions or neurological disorders. This symptom not only exacerbates existing conditions but also hinders daily functioning, thereby perpetuating a vicious cycle of worsening symptoms and reduced physical activity. Given the pivotal role of the motor cortex (M1) in coordinating and executing voluntary movements, understanding how the cortex regulates fatigue is crucial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagnosis and treatment recommendations for glucose transporter 1 deficiency syndrome.
World J Pediatr
January 2025
The First Hospital of Peking University, Beijing, China.
Background: Glucose transporter 1 deficiency syndrome (Glut1DS) was initially reported by De Vivo and colleagues in 1991. This disease arises from mutations in the SLC2A1 and presents with a broad clinical spectrum. It is a treatable neuro-metabolic condition, where prompt diagnosis and initiation of ketogenic dietary therapy can markedly enhance the prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirculating Endocannabinoids Are Associated with Mental Alertness During Ultra-Endurance Exercise.
Cannabis Cannabinoid Res
December 2024
Exercise Physiology Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Ultra-endurance exercise events result in central fatigue, impacting on mental alertness and decision making. Endocannabinoids are typically elevated during endurance exercise and have been implicated in central processes such as learning and memory, but their role in central fatigue has never been studied. Twenty-four recreational male ultrarunners participated in a 100-km trail run, and 18 of them completed at least 60 km and were included in the analyses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKey Pathophysiological Role of Skeletal Muscle Disturbance in Post COVID and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS): Accumulated Evidence.
J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle
February 2025
Mitodicure GmbH, Kriftel, Germany.
Background: Recent studies provide strong evidence for a key role of skeletal muscle pathophysiology in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). In a 2021 review article on the pathophysiology of ME/CFS, we postulated that hypoperfusion and ischemia can result in excessive sodium and calcium overload in skeletal muscles of ME/CFS patients to cause mitochondrial damage. Since then, experimental evidence has been provided that supports this concept.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!