【Paper Published】Research Paper Published in Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
Utsunomiya University, Faculty of Education and Culture
Utsunomiya University, Faculty of Education and Culture
Assistant Professor Yuki Matsuura
Lecturer Genta Ochi
The research group of Assistant Professor Yuki Matsuura from Utsunomiya University's Faculty of Education and Culture and Lecturer Genta Ochi from our laboratory published the research results of 'The Potential of Heart Rate Variability Monitoring for Mental Health Assessment in Top Wheel Gymnastics Athletes: A Single Case Design' in the international journal 'Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback' on applied psychophysiology and biofeedback. In this study, one Japanese representative wheel gymnastics athlete with world championship winning experience was monitored for mental health and waking heart rate information for 20 months, revealing that heart rate variability measured in standing position upon waking is related to intra-individual mental health fluctuations. This result is one of the few single-case studies demonstrating that waking heart rate variability is useful as a biomarker for predicting mental health decline in athletes.
This research was conducted as a 'Joint Research/Joint Use Research Project of Niigata University of Health and Welfare for 2022.'
Research Highlights
- Heart rate variability has been suggested to be a conditioning indicator because it is affected by stress, but its usefulness has remained questionable due to large individual differences in values.
- This study revealed through a 20-month single-case study that heart rate variability measured upon waking in elite wheel gymnastics athletes is related to intra-individual mental health changes.
- In particular, it was newly demonstrated that heart rate variability in standing position after waking may be useful as a biomarker for predicting mental health decline.
Published Paper
【Title】
The Potential of Heart Rate Variability Monitoring for Mental Health Assessment in Top Wheel Gymnastics Athletes: A Single Case Design
【Authors】
Yuki Matsuura, Genta Ochi
【Journal】Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback