Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2025
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Kinesiology and Sport Management
First Advisor
Hyung Suk Yang
Abstract
Mental fatigue has been shown to negatively impact physical performance, including motor skills and neuromuscular function. This study aimed to investigate the effects of mental fatigue on gait performance and variability in healthy young male adults. Eighteen participants walked over-ground at their preferred speed before and after completing a mentally fatiguing Stroop task. Kinematic data were recorded to assess gait variables such as speed, step length, step time, and step width, along with their coefficients of variation (CV). While subjective ratings of mental fatigue significantly increased following the Stroop task, no significant changes were observed in gait performance or CV variables at the group level. However, single-subject analysis revealed that some participants experienced noticeable increases or decreases in gait speed, suggesting individual variability in the response to mental fatigue. These findings indicate that although mental fatigue increases perceptibly, it may not uniformly affect gait performance in simple walking tasks. Factors such as the duration and intensity of the fatigue-inducing task, individual coping strategies, and the nature of the gait task which was the participant’s preferred speed likely influenced these results. Future research should explore more complex gait tasks and varied mental fatigue protocols to better understand this relationship.
Subject Categories
Kinesiology
Keywords
duration and intensity of the fatigue-inducing task, individual coping strategies, and the nature of the gait
Number of Pages
19
Publisher
University of South Dakota
Recommended Citation
Zardosht, Ali, "EFFECTS OF MENTAL FATIGUE ON GAIT PERFORMANCE AND VARIABILITY" (2025). Dissertations and Theses. 336.
https://red.library.usd.edu/diss-thesis/336