Introduction: Brain-body fatigue, a psychological condition stemming from prolonged brain-body activities, was the focus of the current study, which aimed to explore its effect on the speed and accuracy aspects of a badminton-specific task for novice individuals.
Method: In this regard, thirty-six female students aged 20-35 with normal vision from Alzahra University were selected for the study. The participants were randomly assigned to the brain-body fatigue group and the control group. In the pre-test, they watched a badminton-based video showing 20 badminton forehand clear shots occluded at the moment of racket-shuttle contact and then asked to predict the shots' directions (accuracy) as soon as possible (speed). During the fatigue phase, participants first completed a visual analog scale questionnaire to measure brain fatigue, followed by a 30-minute Stroop test and 30-minute physical activity to induce brain fatigue the control group did not engage in this task. They were reevaluated in accuracy and speed of shot direction. Subsequently, the post-test was conducted after 24 hours following the same as the pre-test.
Results: Perceived exertion and visual analog scale questionnaire were higher following the fatigue protocols than the control group and pre-test (p<.05). In the fatigue phase and post-test, the speed and accuracy of anticipation were lower than pre-test and control group (p<.05). Participants in the brain-body fatigue condition committed more missed shot accuracy (39.40 ± 1.30 s vs. 65.60 ± 1.10; P = 0.02) and lower speed (50.63 ± 1.43 ms vs. 23.67 ± 1.50; P = 0.04).
Conclusion: The findings indicated that brain-body acute fatigue diminished the accuracy and speed of shot direction in novices. Despite experiencing brain-body acute fatigue after the Stroop test and physical activities compared to the control group, accuracy and speed were adversely impacted.