Balance control is impaired by mental fatigue due to the fulfilment of a continuous cognitive task or by the watching of a documentary

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of mental fatigue (MF) induced by a 90-min continuous demanding cognitive task on balance control. Twenty healthy young participants were recruited. They had to perform three postural tasks (on a stable support with eyes open, with eyes closed and on a wobble board) while standing on a force platform before and after watching a documentary in a control condition or carrying out a prolonged continuous demanding cognitive task (AX-continuous performance test-AX-CPT) in a MF condition. Results showed that performing the AX-CPT generated MF since participants felt a higher subjective workload from the NASA Task Load Index after the AX-CPT than after viewing the documentary. Both the AX-CPT and the viewing of the documentary impaired balance control, mainly by affecting postural regulatory mechanisms which evolved towards a less automatic and less complex regulation mode with an increased participation of cognitive resources. MF generated by the AX-CPT affected balance control by compromising the attentional processing, while the deleterious influence of watching a documentary on postural control could stem from an adverse effect of prolonged sitting on balance control during subsequent standing.