A Multidisciplinary Comparison of Different Techniques Among Skilled Water Treaders

In an immersion incident, a person may be required to tread water for extended periods of time in order to survive. Treading water, or maintaining a stable head position above the water surface, can be achieved in several different ways. Determining which treading water techniques are economic (energetically and cognitively) is an important first step in approaching evidence-based water safety instruction. The present study investigated the cognitive and metabolic demands associated with four main techniques for treading water in experienced water treaders. Skilled water treaders (n=21) performed four common treading techniques for 3min each: “running” in the water, “flutter kick” with hands sculling, “upright breaststroke,” and “egg-beater.” Self-reported rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and task load index (TLX) score, as well as objective measures of probe reaction time (PRT; i.e., response to auditory cues while treading), oxygen consumption and heart rate were assessed. The “egg-beater” technique and the “upright breaststroke” technique were linked to significantly lower cognitive and energetic demands compared to the other techniques (VO2: p<0.001 – “Running” M=29.02, SD=7.40/“Flutter kick” M=29.37, SD=8.56, “Breaststroke” M=23.47, SD=7.28, and “Eggbeater” M=23.18, SD=6.31). This study lays the groundwork for future research that may establish the ideal movement behavior in drowning situations and investigate movement instruction to less experienced treaders.

Priming to Promote Fluent Motor Skill Execution: Exploring Attentional Demands

The effect of priming on the speed and accuracy of skilled performance and on a probe-reaction time task designed to measure residual attentional capacity, was assessed. Twenty-four skilled soccer players completed a dribbling task under three prime conditions (fluency, skill-focus, and neutral) and a control condition. Results revealed changes in trial completion time and secondary task performance in line with successfully priming autonomous and skill-focused attention. Retention test data for task completion time and probe-reaction time indicated a linear decrease in the priming effect such that the effect was nonsignificant after 30 min. Results provide further support for the efficacy of priming and provide the first evidence of concurrent changes in attentional demands, consistent with promoting or disrupting automatic skill execution.