Análise do estresse fisiológico e psicológico de árbitros do voleibol de praia durante uma etapa do circuito nacional

Abstract

Introduction: The literature suggests that physiological and psychological mechanisms have been used to investigate and provide evidence for stress analysis in sports. From this perspective, such evidence suggests that psychological and physiological mechanisms can compromise sports performance in referees. Therefore, this study can provide relevant information for the CBV and FIVB to develop strategies that can minimize the harm caused by physiological and psychological stress, thereby improving referee performance during matches. Objectives: To analyze the physiological and psychological stress of referees before and after beach volleyball matches in the Brazilian national circuit. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted through descriptive-observational and quantitative research. The sample consisted of 14 referees (38.2 ± 10.6 years; 14.1 ± 10.3 years of experience) who officiated in the national beach volleyball circuit in João Pessoa, Paraíba. Data collection took place at two distinct times. On the first day, the volunteers received a cordial invitation, then the objectives and risks/benefits of the research were explicitly explained, and the procedures for each test that the volunteers had to perform during the experimental protocols were outlined visually and verbally. On the second day of the research, assessments of attention, mental fatigue, mood states, heart rate variability, and cortisol levels were conducted before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after the game sessions. A visual analog scale (VAS) was used to assess the referees' mental fatigue. To assess the referees' mood, the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) was used. The Stroop test was used to assess referees' attention, using a smartphone app (Encephalapp Stroop). Salivary collection for cortisol analysis involved 5ml cryogenic tubes with cotton swabs to facilitate saliva collection. Volunteers were given cotton swabs and instructed to place them in their mouths for 3 minutes to stimulate salivation. Resting heart rate variability (HRV) was recorded by calculating R-R intervals using a portable heart rate monitor (Polar H10®, Oy, Finland). Referees were instructed to rest for 10 minutes in a seated position, with the final 5 minutes used as the criterion for analyzing resting HRV. Results: It was found that there were significant interactions in the FM of referees after beach volleyball matches [F(1.31, 17.14) = 13.622; p ≤ 0,001]. The multiple comparisons test showed that there was a significant difference in the fatigue domain in the mood state of the pre-game moments vs. immediately vs. 30 min. post differ from each other [x²(2) = 6.837; p ≤ 0,033]. There were significant changes in the response time of the referees for both the congruent Stroop condition between the immediately post moment vs. 30 minutes post [F(2, 26) = 4.326; p ≤ 0,032] and incongruent between the pre-game moments vs. 30 minutes post and immediately post vs. 30 minutes post [F(2, 26) = 10.843; p ≤ 0,001]. One-way anova with repeated measures showed that there are no significant changes in HRV in beach volleyball referees for the RMSSD [F(1.19, 15.50) = 0.616; p > 0.05], SDNN [F(2, 26) = 0.999; p > 0.05] and LNRMSSD [F(2, 26) = 0.301; p > 0.05] domains. After post-hoc analysis, a significant reduction in cortisol was observed between pre-game vs. 30 min. post (p = 0.044; Δ% = - 43.3; TE = - 0.7, moderate effect) and immediately post vs. 30 min. post (p = 0.022; Δ% = - 24.6; TE = - 0.4, small effect). Conclusion: it was concluded that there were changes in the perception of fatigue, response time, mental fatigue and cortisol, however after 30 minutes there was a recovery of physiological and psychological markers.