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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES STRESS TOLERANCE AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESS IN NOVICE AND EXPERIENCED ATHLETES
Views:329Introduction: Cognitive skills are essential in team sports. Perception, decision-making (tactical thinking, learning, attention, thinking, emotions), stress tolerance, and even the level of motor and technical-tactical skills all affect performance.
Objective: We found a significant difference in stress tolerance of novice / young and experienced team sport players (BALOGH, DONKA 2020). Our results showed that experienced athletes have higher level of stress tolerance. However, as this was a descriptive study, we intended to support our statement involving more number of subjects, and an analysis of cognitive abilities.
Method: A cross-sectional experimental study was performed on 41 male and 13 female team sport (handball, volleyball and football) players. We used the VTS DT software package for cognitive abilities and the MDE Heidelberg StressHolter (gastro, HR, TH, GSR) for stress measurement. During the 35-minute measurement process, a state of rest was measured in the first stage, a response to a 10-minute stress situation (VTS-DT for the cognitive test) in the second stage, and a state of rest and latency in the third stage.
Results: We found a significant relationship between stress tolerance and the cognitive ability of female and male participants. Our results demonstrated that football players had a lower level of stress tolerance than other team sport players. They also tent to make more mistakes in the VTS-DT test.
Conclusions: The classification into novice and experienced categories need to be done more uniformly in the future. We are aware of it, that the unequal number of participants by sports, is one of the limitations of our study. However, it is encouraging that significant results demonstrate a strong relationship between stress tolerance and the number of appropriate decisions. These results reveal other areas of research for us.
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PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS MONITORING USING INVASIVE AND NON-INVASIVE METHODS IN ATHLETES
Views:359Introduction: The quality of performance is essential both in everyday life and in competition. In sports science (also), we have to think of the man in a complex way as a bio-psycho-social unit. In addition to changes in ECG HR and blood cortisol levels, gastrointestinal tract movements are also associated with stress management (FUKUNAGA et al., 2000) (VIANNA - TRANEL, 2006), which plays a crucial role in determining the quality of performance. Several preclinical trials have formed the basis of our research (SZŰCS et al., 2018).
Objective: Based on our earlier research and literature reviews, we would like to test and participate in validating a new method that can monitor the effects of stress on humans in real-time, in a non-invasive way, with quantitative results. In addition to GI monitoring, cortisol levels are measured invasively in the subjects, so we hope to obtain complex results.
Methods: n = 13, athletes, male = 11, female = 2, mean age 22 +/- 1,031 years. Our protocol was 115 minutes, in which we distinguished four stages (rest, stress, latency 1, latency 2). We use two methods to measure stress. One is the blood cortisol level (ELISA), and the other is the MDE Heidelberg Stress Holter (EGG), which is an innovative measurement tool capable of simultaneously examining several parameters (Small Intestine, Colon, Stomach, ECG HR). The VTS DT package was used as a stressor.
Result: Based on the complex results of the EGG, we can conclude that the Small Intestine, Colon, and Stomach motility, as assessed by the Power Spectrum (PS) Fold Change (FC) calculation, increased together under stress, and then latency decreased together over time. However, the rate of change in cortisol levels showed that most participants adapted the stressor as eustress so that its value decreased linearly.
Conclusions: Innovative measurement and evaluation methods are well utilized, as they can communicate many measurement data in a valid, real-time, non-invasive way, with a parallel display. These data and results will be used in athlete selection, mental training, elite sports, neuro-biofeedback, and health preservation.
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EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND EXERCISE ON IMMUNE FUNCTIONS
Views:694Physical activity and exercise are especially important in maintaining health and reducing risk of many diseases. Exercise leads to a pronounced immunomodulation by affecting the elements of innate immune system, as well as the ratio and functions of neutrophils, macrophages, natural killer cells, which are involved in the development, maintenance and elimination of inflammation. In the adaptive immune system, Th1 / Th2 balance shift toward Th2, and high-intensity training causes an increase in the proportion of regulatory T cells, as opposed to the effect of non-strenuous exercise on the Treg cell ratio. In response to exercise, there is a lack of data on B cells, but some studies have reported a decrease in immunoglobulin secretion. In our own research we observed changes in naive and memory B cell ratios. Upon exercise, IL-6, as proinflammatory cytokine, promotes T cell proliferation, activation, and differentiation of B cells into antibody-producing plasma cells. Hormonal factors play an important role in the background of immunological changes. Exercise stimulates the secretion of both adrenaline and noradrenalin, and their concentration in the blood is directly proportional to the duration of exercise. Endurance exercise is associated with increased cortisol levels, while low intensity exercise does not significantly affect cortisol levels. Exercise and physical stress can increase the concentration of endorphins by 3 to 10 times; β-endorphin inhibits T and B cell activity, thus reduces antibody production. Testosterone causes a reduction in antibodies to IL-4, IL-5, IFN-γ, Ig-M and Ig-G. Based on the above, mild to moderate physical activity contributes to the enhancement of immune reactivity and the immune response. On the other hand, strenuous exercise with increased intensity leads to a deterioration of immune function and impaired immunological defense.
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THE ROLE OF DANCE AND MOVEMENT THERAPIES IN STRESS MANAGEMENT
Views:424A popular research topic these days is the relationship between health and physical activity. Countless health maintenance programs help an individual to achieve the benefits provided by physical activity. Numerous articles describe the benefits the physical activity. Still, the effect of dance and movement therapies on stress management for children, young adults, middle-aged, and elderly are less likely investigated.
We used English and Hungarian studies to analyze the relationship between stress, dance, and movement therapies for the systematic review. We used PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, and Research Gate databases.
One of the major problems today is the stress of everyday life. Untreated pressure may be destructive to health. Thus, it is reported that incorporating dance as physical activity may trigger positive changes in the field of regaining the state of equilibrium (homeostasis). Related studies demonstrated that dance programs (either alone, in pairs, or groups) might help manage stress and the processing of stress responses.
Conclusions: Physical activity may effectively help in the management and processing of stress. While dancing, the individual may step out of one’s comfort zone, activating many coordination abilities and cognitive functions. Taking advantage of the positive effects of movement and music. Dancing may positively affect anxiety, depression, and isolation disorders. After all, dance may bring about many positive changes in the body and the brain. The individual may feel happier and balanced. The overall quality of life significantly improves.