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The effectiveness of heat preparation and alleviation strategies for cognitive performance: A systematic review

Donnan, Kate J.; Williams, Emily L.; Bargh, Melissa J.

Authors

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Dr Kate Donnan K.J.Donnan@hull.ac.uk
Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology

Emily L. Williams

Melissa J. Bargh



Abstract

A range of occupational and performance contexts (e.g. military personnel operations, emergency services, sport) require the critical maintenance of cognitive performance in environmentally challenging environments. Several reviews exist which evaluate the effectiveness of heat preparation strategies to facilitate physical performance. To date, no review has explored the usefulness of heat preparation strategies for cognitive performance. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to evaluate a range of interventions for the maintenance of cognitive performance, during or following active or passive heat exposure. Studies to be included were assessed by two authors reviewing title, abstract, and full-text. Forty articles were identified which met the inclusion criteria. Interventions were categorised into chronic (i.e. acclimation/acclimatisation) and acute strategies (i.e. hydration, cooling, supplementation, psychological). The results indicate that medium-term consecutive heat acclimation may mitigate some cognitive deficits under heat stress, although heat acclimation effectiveness could be influenced by age. Further, pre-cooling appears the most effective cooling method for maintaining cognitive performance under heat stress, although results were somewhat ambiguous. The hydration literature showed that the most effective hydration strategies were those which individualised electrolyte fortified fluid volumes to match for sweat loss. Limited research exploring psychological interventions indicates that motivational self-talk could be facilitative for maintaining cognitive skills following exercise in hot conditions. These findings can be used to help inform strategies for maintaining critical cognitive and decision-making skills in hot environments.

Citation

Donnan, K. J., Williams, E. L., & Bargh, M. J. (2023). The effectiveness of heat preparation and alleviation strategies for cognitive performance: A systematic review. Temperature, https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2022.2157645

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 1, 2022
Online Publication Date Dec 14, 2023
Publication Date 2023
Deposit Date Jan 11, 2023
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Temperature
Electronic ISSN 2332-8959
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2022.2157645
Keywords Acclimation; Cooling; Heat stress; Hydration; Hyperthermia; Self-talk; Supplementation
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4175143

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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-ncnd/
4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built
upon in any way.




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