Psychophysiological Aspects of Self-Regulation in Phygital Athletes

The present study attempts to investigate the psychophysiological aspects of self-regulation in post-exertion recovery among phygital athletes during competitive performances. To assess the participants’ psychophysiological self-regulation under stressful conditions, stress tests were administered using the “BOSLAB-Samoregulyatsiya (БОСЛАБ – Саморегуляция)” hardware-software system (manufactured by COMSIB LLC, Novosibirsk). Electrocardiogram (ECG) and skin conductance response (SCR) were recorded before and after stress tests to calculate RR-interval and skin electrical activity respectively using the same hardware-software system. A total of 73 individuals were examined (including phygital football, phygital basketball and phygital shooter athletes). The control group consisted of 13 people—5 competition administrators and 8 referees. The study sample was divided into 4 self-regulation types, using a classification that was developed in our previous study using Principal Component Analysis and Classification (PCA). The study group showed twice as many participants with elevated heart rate, 1.5 times more participants with excessive emotional reactivity, but virtually no non-reactive individuals showing no response to testing compared to traditional sports athletes. The distribution of self-regulation types revealed in this study may indicate both greater emotional involvement and intensity of experience among athletes, as well as insufficient psychological preparation, limited competitive experience and poor physical fitness. The results obtained in this study offer the key targets for possible recovery programs for athletes who did not show optimal stress reactivity.