Understanding the impact of mental fatigue through a sport season, with Aaron Patterson, M.S.

Understanding the impact of mental fatigue through a sport season, with Aaron Patterson, M.S.

From The Human Kinetics Podcast by Human Kinetics

March 6, 2026 · 15 min · Episode 90

About this episode

This episode explores the impact of mental fatigue on athletes throughout a sports season with insights from Aaron Patterson.

We monitor how athletes are doing physically. We can assess if they need more recovery time, or if they are ready to push through. But we don't give much attention to how mental fatigue can impact play throughout the season. In this episode, NSCA certified trainer and Mental Performance Consultant Aaron Patterson takes a look into the impacts of mental fatigue and how it can impact an athlete. This perspective is viewed through the scope of a recent research article published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. It can also be found in the Human Kinetics Journals Understanding Mental Fatigue Across the Men's Basketball Season: A Mixed-Method Study Sansone, P., Ciaccioni, S., Polverari, D., Carcia-Calvo, T., and Russell, S. (2026). Understanding mental fatigue across the men's basketball season: A mixed-methods study. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 12: 274-282. https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijspp/21/2/article-p274.xml Aaron Patterson, M.S., NSCA-CPT, CWPC, CSAC, CTPS Aaron Patterson provides informative and educational content for Human Kinetics in the areas of health, fitness, strength and conditioning…

People in this episode

Guest: Aaron Patterson

Topics covered

  • mental fatigue
  • athlete performance
  • sports psychology
  • recovery
  • basketball season

Keywords

  • mental fatigue
  • athlete recovery
  • sports performance
  • NSCA
  • basketball

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Human Kinetics, International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance

Books & works: Understanding Mental Fatigue Across the Men's Basketball Season: A Mixed-Method Study

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