Does using a mobile phone interfere with training? Reveal!

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; Learn more at the end.

We have a companion who is with us almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: our mobile phone. Smart phones. As technology advances, they gain more time by being connected to people.

We wake up, barely open our eyes, and before we know it, we’re already immersed in social media. While having lunch and dinner, we barely enjoy the food because our attention is focused on the screen. When we gather socially, the device distracts us from talking to other people. A syndrome called FOMO (Fear of missing the opportunity) characterizes the fear of becoming outdated on social media and creates anxiety.

Recent research on social media use and risky health behaviors in adolescents has found that social media use is associated with unhealthy eating behaviors, alcohol consumption, and antisocial behavior.

If we’re going to exercise, We use whatever time we can to consume everything on the screen, including rest time between sets at the gym.. In this regard, does using a mobile phone hinder education? Find out what science tells us.

What do research say about mobile phone use and education?

A study conducted by Brazilian researchers investigated the effects of mobile phones in the context of physical exercise. Scientists from Universities in the Northeast tested the effect of social networks on 16 people, specifically on mental fatigue.

Participants were divided into two groups: One spent 30 minutes before the training on social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and the other simultaneously watched a documentary called National Geographic’s NASA Secrets.

Study participants performed three series of squats at 80% of their maximum strength capacity to failure, with 3 minutes of rest between series, but unlike most squatters, they were not on social media during this time. Bodybuilding is currently done in gyms.

Exposure to social networks on smartphones for 30 minutes led participants to perceive greater mental fatigue and lower exercise volume during weight training. 29% reduction in repetitions.

Mental fatigue due to prolonged cell phone use can affect the quality of a strength training session.

This result has an important practical application because it can influence practitioners’ results, as it is known that the number of repetitions refers to training volume, which is an important variable for hypertrophy.

One of the study’s authors said, when I asked if it was based on studies currently testing its relationship with cell phone use (social networks) and exercise. We can confirm that it affects training performanceProfessor Leonardo Fortes, Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), responded: “Yes, there is a significant number of scientific findings that suggest this.

“Continuous prolonged (more than 15 minutes) use of social networks (Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp) appears to cause brain changes (what we currently call mental fatigue) that impair/compromise subsequent physical performance.”

According to the professor, “Research to date has pointed to a decrease in the number of repetitions (volume) in strength exercises (bodybuilding), a weakening of the distance covered in strength exercises. durability (running, swimming and cycling) and increased perception of exertion (psychophysiological response during physical exercise) in mentally fatigued subjects after long-term use of social networks on smartphones.

Fortes adds: “The mobile phone screen emits wave frequencies white and blue ledIt appears to alter the electrophysiological rhythm of the brain. These changes can reduce the amount of cognitive resources devoted to the task at hand, compromising attentional focus and ultimately worsening task performance. When we do physical exercise, our brain is used/recruited and needs to be “ready” to execute/perform the training session expertly.”

The researcher concludes: “Previous and prolonged use of the mobile phone appears to impair physical exercise performance.”

See your training session as an opportunity to step away from your device during the day, enjoy the moment and perform better.

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Fábio Dominski He holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from Santa Catarina State University (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/UDESC). he is doing scientific dissemination on social media there podcast available on Spotify. Author of Physical Exercise and Science – Facts and Myths.