Peak Performance: Lecturers share exciting mental fatigue and brain endurance research

Coleg Llandrillo lecturers will discuss their latest research on mental fatigue in sport in the second of Coleg Llandrillo’s ‘Peak Performance’ seminars.

Sam Downey and Steve Kehoe will share their insight into a fast-developing field of performance science this Thursday, February 13. Book your place here

The seminar, at the Rhos-on-Sea campus university centre, will look at how innovative brain endurance training can be used to combat mental fatigue, enabling sportspeople and others to push beyond their perceived physical limits.

Sam is Performance Coach for the FAW men’s age groups, as well as lecturing in Sport (Performance and Excellence) at the college. He is currently researching the effects of mental fatigue and brain endurance training in football as part of his PhD.

Steve Kehoe is Programme Leader of the BSc Sport Science (Sports Coaching) degree at Coleg Llandrillo. He has been lecturing in higher education for more than a decade, and has wide-ranging research interests.

Both are former professional footballers, highly experienced in coaching, and their research is set to have a profound impact on sport and performance science.

Sam said: “In the seminar we’ll be talking about what mental fatigue is, what the potential day-to-day causes are, and how it affects aerobic, anaerobic and skill performance within a variety of sports and exercise types.

“As part of my PhD, I’ve been looking at the effects of mental fatigue on repeated high-intensity exercise. We’ve got some interesting findings, and we’re now developing our reasoning behind why we think these findings are present.

“Also in the seminar, we’ll be looking at what you can do to combat mental fatigue. We’re working with an app company called Soma who are developing brain endurance training programmes that we’re using as part of the PhD as well.

“We know a lot about how you can train an athlete’s physical capacity. You can get them firing from an aerobic sense, from a speed sense, from a power sense - but ultimately, can you train an athlete’s brain to become more endurable to fatigue itself?

“Can you alter the perception of fatigue, and does that give you an extra advantage in the competitive arena? The answer is yes, you can do that, and we’ll talk about that in the seminar.

“What we’re particularly looking at here in college is the effect on team sports - so we’re looking at football, but that also translates to rugby, netball and other sports.

“So it’s of interest to anyone who plays or coaches team sports - but it’s transformational across all sports. We will cover endurance exercise, isolated high-intensity exercises, skill performance, and repeated high-intensity exercise.

“So it's of interest to those involved in those types of sports, alongside those who have a general interest in sport science and even your local gym-goer. We cover the research on how mental fatigue can affect, for example, training volume in the gym, the amount of reps performed etc.

“I think the main takeaways will be that mental fatigue is a factor, there are day-to-day causes that we might not be aware of, and there are ways to combat it.

“I think 99% of people will resonate with it and understand ‘I’ve experienced that mental fatigue, I’ve experienced the impact that has on sport’.

“It’s not just applicable to sport, either. Mental fatigue may have affected them in work, or doing any form of cognitive task outside of work.”

The Peak Performance series started last month with a talk from world record-breaking endurance athlete Sean Conway. Future guest speakers include referees’ head of coaching and development Neil Cottrill, elite sport and exercise nutritionist Felicity Devey, FAW coach and Coleg Llandrillo lecturer Matthew Williams, and GB wheelchair basketball player Alex Marshall-Wilson.

‘Peak Performance - Mental Fatigue in Sport’ takes place at the Coleg Llandrillo University Centre, Rhos-on-Sea campus, on Thursday, February 13 (6pm). To book your place, visit: gllm.ac.uk/peak-performance