Cognitive function in soccer athletes determined by sleep disruption and self-reported health, yet not by decision-reinvestment

Jasmin Pourhassan; Jane Sarginson; Wolfgang Hitzl; Kneginja Richter

doi:10.3389/fneur.2022.872761

Cognitive function in soccer athletes determined by sleep disruption and self-reported health, yet not by decision-reinvestment

Front Neurol. 2023 Feb 6:13:872761. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.872761. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jasmin Pourhassan^{1

2}, Jane Sarginson¹, Wolfgang Hitzl^{3

4

5}, Kneginja Richter^{2

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom.
² University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Klinikum Nuernberg, Paracelsus Medical University, Nuremberg, Germany.
³ Department Research and Innovation Management (RIM), Biostatistics and Publication of Clinical Trial Studies, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
⁴ Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
⁵ Research Program Experimental Ophthalmology and Glaucoma Research, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
⁶ Faculty for Social Work, Technical University for Applied Sciences, Nuremberg, Germany.
⁷ Faculty for Medical Sciences, Goce Delcev University, Stip, North Macedonia.

Abstract

Background: Sleep disruption (SD) increases sympathetic activity and cortisol secretion, and delays cognitive functions such as reaction-time (RT). Sympathetic activity of disturbed sleepers, is similar to those of so-called decision-reinvesters. Decision-reinvestment refers to traits in individuals with greater tendency to ruminate and reinvest in their decisions, with significant decrease in both motor-control and cognitive performance. Decision-making quality is a crucial attribute to athletic performance which relies on RT. Consequently, SD affects pitch-performance negatively, particularly in decision-reinvesters. This observational pilot-study examined the relationship between SD and cognitive function, perceived health, as well as reinvestment strategies. The hypothesis was that athletes with lower SD perceive their health better, report lower stress levels, perform better in cognitive tasks, and show lower tendency for decision-reinvestment.

Methods: Twenty-one football player recorded their sleep with fit-trackers for 7 nights. Participants self-reported their mental and physical health, decision-reinvestment strategy, sleep behaviour, and perceived stress levels. Athletes then performed a set of cognitive tests to examine memory function (Backwards Corsi), selective attention (STROOP), and cognitive flexibility (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST). Normality was tested with a Shapiro-Wilk test, and analysed with a Pearson's or Spearman's correlation test.

Results: Significant correlation appeared between extended sleep-interruptions and Backwards Corsi RT, r = 0.66, p = 0.010, as further in total sleep time and wellbeing r = 0.50, p = 0.029. A negative correlation exist in regard of pain scores and Backwards Corsi scores r = -0.57, p = 0.110. Physical health correlated with error-rates in the WCST, r = 0.69, p ≤ 0.001. Also, reinvestment negatively correlated with physical health, r = -0.80, p ≤ 0.001.

Conclusion: Wellbeing relies on total sleep-time. Athletes with extended sleep-interruptions are slower in recalling memory, and those with greater reported pain have lower memory scores. Participants who rate physical health greater, have more error-rates in the WCST; indicating that cognitive flexibility is enhanced in individuals with inferior perceived health. However, individuals with lower physical health scores also have greater tendency to ruminate and reinvest in decisions, suggesting interrelation between reinvestment and physical health.

Keywords: decision making; mental health; physical health; pitch performance; reaction-time (RT); reinvestment; sleep disruption; soccer athletes.