title: Effect of acute mild dehydration on cognitive-motor performance in golf.
abstract: Whether mild dehydration (-1 to 3% body mass change [ΔBM]) impairs neurophysiological function during sport-specific cognitive-motor performance has yet to be fully elucidated. To investigate this within a golfing context, 7 low-handicap players (age: 21 ± 1.1 years; mass: 76.1 ± 11.8 kg; stature: 1.77 ± 0.07 m; handicap: 3.0 ± 1.2) completed a golf-specific motor and cognitive performance task in a euhydrated condition (EC) and dehydrated condition (DC) (randomized counterbalanced design; 7-day interval). Dehydration was controlled using a previously effective 12-hour fluid restriction, monitored through ΔBM and urine color assessment (UCOL). Mild dehydration reduced the mean BM by 1.5 ± 0.5% (p = 0.01), with UCOL increasing from 2 (EC) to 4 (DC) (p = 0.02). Mild dehydration significantly impaired motor performance, expressed as shot distance (114.6 vs. 128.6 m; p < 0.001) and off-target accuracy (7.9 vs. 4.1 m; p = 0.001). Cognitive performance, expressed as the mean error in distance judgment to target increased from 4.1 ± 3.0 m (EC) to 8.8 ± 4.7 m (DC) (p < 0.001). The findings support those of previous research that indicates mild dehydration (-1 to 2% ΔBM) significantly impairs cognitive-motor task performance. This study is the first to show that mild dehydration can impair distance, accuracy, and distance judgment during golf performance.
authors.affiliation: School of Sport, Coaching, and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, United Kingdom. mfsmith@lincoln.ac.uk
authors.forename: Mark F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Alex J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Newell
authors.forename: Mistrelle R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Baker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight; D003116:Color; D003681:Dehydration / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D006055:Golf / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014556:Urine; D055815:Young Adult