ArticlePloS one2020
Mental fatigue impairs physical activity, technical and decision-making performance during small-sided games.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
59 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of mental fatigue on sport-related reaction-time, technical, and decision-making performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of mental fatigue on lower-limb explosive power and anaerobic capacity: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of mental and physiological fatigue on attentional focus in basketball players: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of mental fatigue on technical performance in soccer players: A systematic review with a meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Can Self-Regulatory Strength Training Counter Prior Mental Exertion? A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Mental Fatigue and Sport-Specific Psychomotor Performance: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Mental Fatigue in Total Running Distance and Tactical Behavior During Small-Sided Games: A Systematic Review With a Meta-Analysis in Youth and Young Adult's Soccer Players.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Trial
- Effects ofNutrients · 2026Trial
- Effects of small-sided games and dribbling circuit training on physical and technical skills in youth soccer players.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- The Restorative Effects of Nature Exposure on The Self-Regulation Resources in Mentally Fatigued Soccer Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2024Trial
- Effects of brief mindfulness intervention on mental fatigue and recovery in basketball tactical performance.PloS one · 2024Trial
- The Effects of Elastic Band Exercises with PNF on Shooting Speed and Accuracy in Ball Hockey Players during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Exploring a Mental Fatigue Signal Hidden in GPS Data: Acute Pre-to-Post-Match Psychomotor Performance and Exploratory Associations with External Load in Professional Soccer.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Impact of Mental Fatigue on Decision-Making Abilities, Visual Search Strategies, and Simple Reaction Time in Handball Players: A Randomized Crossover Study.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Acute psychological responses to official match outcomes in male youth volleyball: an observational repeated-measures study within a single national-level team.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Fatigue protocols and athletic performance: a systematic review with a focus on ecological relevance.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- Effects of mental fatigue on agility and coordination in female soccer players under high ambient temperature.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on physical activity, technical and decision-making performance during small-sided games. Nine sub-elite soccer players were enrolled in the study. The players performed two small-sided games on two occasions within a crossover experimental design. Before each game, they underwent a mental fatiguing task (Stroop task) and a control task (documentary watching) in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Players' physical activity, technical, and decision-making performance were obtained during small-sided games by GPS and video scouting. Results showed that distance in acceleration covered per min, negative passes, passing accuracy, and shot accuracy were likely impaired than control task after a mental fatiguing protocol. Decision-making performance of negative passes, passes accuracy, and dribbling accuracy resulted also likely decreased compared with control task. These findings demonstrated that mental fatigue impacted on technical, GPS-derived, and soccer-specific decision-making performance during SSG. In conclusion, avoiding cognitively demanding tasks before playing soccer-specific activities may be advisable to preserve players' physical activity, technical, and decision-making skills.
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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.