Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28044281›Full record

SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2017

The Effects of Mental Fatigue on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review.

Jeroen Van Cutsem, Samuele Marcora, Kevin De Pauw, Stephen Bailey, Romain Meeusen, Bart Roelands

3 registry-linked trialsAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 337 papers, 21 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
337citing papers in PubMed, 21 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06952283 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Effects of Music Intervention on Golf-Specific Skill Performance of Chinese Golfers Under Mental Fatigue

TypeinterventionalSponsorPan XiaoyangRan2025 to 2025Enrolled60ConditionsMental FatigueArmsInducing mental fatigue, Music intervention
NCT07580131 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

The Restorative Role of Daytime Naps in Mentally Fatigued Endurance Athletes: a Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorL.U.de.S. SaglRan2021 to 2021Enrolled11ConditionsMental Fatigue, Sleep, Endurance Exercise, Daytime NappingArmsMental Fatigue Induction Protocol, Daytime Nap
NCT07644611 not yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Sleep, Mental Fatigue, and Performance: Psychobiological Insights for Optimizing Learning in Physiotherapy and Psychology Students

TypeobservationalSponsorL.U.de.S. SaglRan2026 to 2027Enrolled30ConditionsMental Fatigue, Sleep and Circadian Problems
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

337 citing papers in PubMed, 21 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  18. Occupation-Induced Fatigue and Impacts on Emergency First Responders: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
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277 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Jeroen Van CutsemHuman Physiology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
Samuele MarcoraEndurance research group, School of Sport and Exercise SciencesUniversity of Kent at Medway, Chatham Maritime, Kent, ME4 4Ag, UK.
Kevin De PauwHuman Physiology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
Stephen BaileyDepartment of Physical Therapy Education, Elon University, Elon, NC, 27244, USA.
Romain MeeusenHuman Physiology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
Bart RoelandsHuman Physiology Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium. bart.roelands@vub.ac.be.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2808-044X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMental fatigue is a psychobiological state caused by prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activity. It has recently been suggested that mental fatigue can affect physical performance.

objectiveOur objective was to evaluate the literature on impairment of physical performance due to mental fatigue and to create an overview of the potential factors underlying this effect.

methodsTwo electronic databases, PubMed and Web of Science (until 28 April 2016), were searched for studies designed to test whether mental fatigue influenced performance of a physical task or influenced physiological and/or perceptual responses during the physical task. Studies using short (<30 min) self-regulatory depletion tasks were excluded from the review.

resultsA total of 11 articles were included, of which six were of strong and five of moderate quality. The general finding was a decline in endurance performance (decreased time to exhaustion and self-selected power output/velocity or increased completion time) associated with a higher than normal perceived exertion. Physiological variables traditionally associated with endurance performance (heart rate, blood lactate, oxygen uptake, cardiac output, maximal aerobic capacity) were unaffected by mental fatigue. Maximal strength, power, and anaerobic work were not affected by mental fatigue.

conclusionThe duration and intensity of the physical task appear to be important factors in the decrease in physical performance due to mental fatigue. The most important factor responsible for the negative impact of mental fatigue on endurance performance is a higher perceived exertion.

Indexed as

CognitionAthletic PerformanceExerciseExercise ToleranceHumansMental FatiguePerceptionPhysical EndurancePhysical Exertion

Identifiers

PMID28044281

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.