Effects of mental fatigue on agility and coordination in female soccer players under high ambient temperature
Yuankang Wang, Yimei Duan, Guotian Lu, Mengda Wu · Frontiers in Physiology · 2026
Objective: To explore the effects of mental fatigue (MF) induced under high ambient temperature on agility and coordination in female soccer players.
Methods: A randomized crossover
Design: was adopted. Twenty-four female soccer players were recruited, and 19 participants completed all experimental sessions in a randomized balanced crossover
design under high temperature (≥32 °C) or normal temperature (23 ± 1 °C), including either a 45-min Stroop task or a neutral video-watching control task followed by the Illinois agility test and the Harre circuit test, with a one-week washout period. All 19 participants were included in the final statistical analyses.Two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine the main and interactive effects of ambient temperature and MF.
Results: The 45-min Stroop task successfully induced a mental fatigue state. High ambient temperature was associated with an overall elevation in subjective mental fatigue levels, with a large main effect size ( p < 0.001, η²p=0.713). For agility, both MF and high temperature exerted independent detrimental main effects: MF significantly prolonged agility performance time ( p < 0.001, η²p=0.603), and high temperature also significantly impaired agility ( p = 0.002, η²p=0.414), with no significant interaction ( p = 0.102). For coordination, a significant interaction was found between temperature and MF ( p < 0.001). Simple effects analysis showed that MF had no significant effect on coordination under normal temperature (p = 0.751), and high temperature alone did not impair coordination (p = 0.757). However, the combination of high temperature and MF significantly deteriorated coordination ( p < 0.001, d z = 1.247, 95% CI = 0.604~1.889). In addition, both MF and high temperature independently increased ratings of perceived exertion (RPE, p ≤ 0.001), while the decline in motivation was mainly attributed to high temperature ( p = 0.003, η²p=0.397).
Conclusion: No significant interaction was detected between ambient temperature and mental fatigue for agility performance, and the
results were compatible with an independent additive pattern. For coordination, a significant Temperature × MF interaction effect was observed, whereby coordination performance was only significantly impaired when high ambient temperature and mental fatigue co-occurred. It is recommended to strictly manage athletes’ cognitive load before matches in hot environments to reduce the risk of MF and maintain stable performance of specific physical qualities.