Benefits of Athletic Brain Endurance Training

We’ve all experienced mental fatigue—that feeling when you’re too tired to pay attention or make decisions. Mental fatigue can lead to increased accident risks and poor choices. Elite athletes practiced brain endurance training (BET), a form of training that combines cognitive and physical training to improve endurance sports performance. BET differs from typical endurance training. For example, athletes train thought inhibition or impulse control (noticing but not acting on impulses to do something other than the exercise activity; thought switching (focus on a high-intensity exercise interval, then focus on a puzzle during the recovery interval) to train the brain to handle more stress; and other combinations of cognitiveand physical training. BET training can improve attention and cognition, as well as physical endurance and resistance exercise performance.

Since BET benefits athletes, researchers from Spain and the United Kingdom, investigated the effects of BET in older adults. In a study of 24 sedentary women from 65 to 78 years of age, researchers found that six weeks of combined cognitive and exercise tasks were more effective than standard exercise training to improve both cognitive and physical performance in older adults. BET developed resilience to mental fatigue and affected perceived effort ratings. BET group members achieved a 29.9% improvement in physical performance compared to 22.4% for those who did standard exercise only.

More research is recommended with men and women and larger sample sizes.

“Previously I always thought it was just tactical and technique, but every match has become almost mental and physical – I try to push myself to move well. I try to push myself not to get upset and stay positive, and that’s what my biggest improvement is over all those years. Under pressure I can see things very clear.”

• Roger Federer (1981- present), Swiss former professional tennis player, ranked world No. 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 310 weeks (second-most of all time), including a record 237 consecutive weeks and finished as the year-end Number one, five times.

The study is available in Psychology of Sport and Exercise.