The effect of acute mental fatigue on the performance of sports coaches

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Msc in Motor Behavior, Faculty of Humanities, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.

10.22075/jcp.2025.36124.3065

Abstract

Introduction: One of the most important concerns related to sports performance is mental fatigue. Fatigue, in particular, manifests as a lack of effort, reduced alertness and efficiency, and cognitive impairment. This type of fatigue indicates a decrease in performance, motivation to continue working, and an increase in the frequency and severity of errors. The main purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of acute mental fatigue on the performance of sports coaches.
Method: This research is classified as a semi-experimental research according to practical goals and methodological approach. The present study was conducted as a pre-test and post-test. The statistical population included all the male sports coaches of Isfahan province with the age group of 25 to 45 years, and 20 people who had suitable and available conditions were selected. Descriptive and inferential statistics have been used in this research. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data, and the Shapiro-Wilk test was used to check the normality of the data distribution.
Results: The findings of this research showed that mental fatigue had a significant impact on eight subscales of the McLean and Zakrajsek coaches' performance questionnaire, except for the factor of financial affairs in the rest of the subscales.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that a cognitive task training session causes mental fatigue and can have a negative effect on the performance of sports coaches, but its effect on gender and coaches with different levels of expertise remains unclear and requires more investigation in future research.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 02 December 2024
  • Revise Date: 28 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 19 June 2025

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