PhD, Associate Professor O.V. Mironova¹
PhD, Associate Professor L.V. Yarchikovskaya²
PhD, Professor I.N. Venediktov³
Yu.L. Rysev^4
1Russian Customs Academy, Saint Petersburg Affiliate
²Saint Petersburg State University
³Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg
⁴Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg

Keywords: distance learning, sensory fatigue, visual analyzer, auditory analyzer, kinesthetic tension, adaptation.

Background. Modern studies give a special priority to sensory fatigue viewed as a specific dysfunction developed under growing informational pressure and stressors in the context of the working capacity protection, improvement and rehabilitation issues. The sensory fatigue has been proved detrimental to the individual physical and mental performance, self-rated well-being and objectively tested life quality aspects.

The growing technological intensity of the modern education service with its increased information flows needs to be processed and digested by students using computers or other personal digital gadgets to interact with the relevant training platforms (Blackboard Leam, EIOSMoodle etc.) applied by their universities – urge the education communities looking for the best theoretical and practical sensory fatigue control methods to effectively prevent/ mitigate fatigue and accompanying psychophysical dysfunctions and improve the students’ adaptation to the rapidly changing educational environments and standards.

Objective of the study was to theoretically analyze the factors of influence on the distance-learning-specific sensory fatigue and offer sensory fatigue control methods for the academic Physical Education theory course.

Methods and structure of the study. We collected for the theoretical analysis the relevant legal and regulatory provisions, studies of sensory fatigue issues and sensory fatigue control models; and run a comparative analysis to generalize the relevant theoretical and practical research findings and expert analyses of the issues.

Results and discussion. Based on the theoretical analysis of the distance-learning-related sensory fatigue related study reports, we found the following:

- Fatigue is perceived and interpreted as "the normal individual functionality sag in any activity with the associating feel of draining, changes in the key physiological functions and falls in the working capacity" [4, p. 36];

- A few studies underline that the sensory fatigue as a natural psychophysical response of individual perceptive systems to external stressors – dependent on their degrees and duration – is basically harmless for individual health standards, conditional on the actual physical fitness, health issues and psycho-emotional control qualities [1, 5];

- Sensory fatigue may be classified by the dominant sensory channels (visual, auditory, vestibular, motor, etc.); degrees (weak, moderate, excessive sensory fatigue etc.); numbers of the sensory channels involved (mono-sensory, partial, poly-sensory sensory fatigue); and sensory fatigue action time (short-, mid- and long-term sensory fatigue).

Knowing that the actual daily learning workloads (i.e. the standard academic hours of lectures, workshop and practical trainings, as specified by the relevant legal and regulatory provisions and university regulations in application to the Physical Education service) have not changed in the curricula; and the changes relate only to the education service formats – we have reasons to assume that students’ exposure to sensory fatigue is dominated by fatigues of the visual and auditory analyzers and, to a lesser extent, kinesthetic analyzer. The external and internal stressors on the visual analyzer contributing to the distance-learning-related sensory fatigue include:

- Flashing/ flickering light;

- Too bright/ contrasting colors of the presentations and/or contrasting fonts, images etc.

- High-pressure 3D images, videos and TV programs;

- Psychophysical dysfunctions; and

- Visual analyzer dysfunctions.

The external and internal stressors on the auditory analyzer contributing to the distance-learning-related sensory fatigue include:

- Calls and other signals from digital gadgets;

- Verbal information perception/ understanding challenges in training;

- Psychophysical dysfunctions; and

- Auditory analyzer dysfunctions.

And the external and internal stressors on the kinesthetic analyzer contributing to the distance-learning-related sensory fatigue include:

- Postural control issues due to the habitual static postures when using personal computers/ gadgets; and

- Kinesthetic stress related issues.

Having summarized the above, we should mention that most effective for the distance-learning-related sensory fatigue test and analysis are the psychophysical functions and visual/ auditory analyzer functionality tests. Such test data will make it possible to effectively customize the visual/ auditory information flows in the academic Physical Education theory studies, i.e. facilitate the learning process by the income data being redistributed so as to avoid excessive stresses on the sensory channels in training. The tests will also help single out the risk groups in need of a special sensory fatigue control service geared to help them process the information flow without overloads on the visual, auditory and kinesthetic analyzers in the distance learning formats.

Special psychological and educational services (trainings, special exercises, art therapy etc.) are recommended for the above risk groups to effectively control/ mitigate the sensory fatigue and improve the group adaptation, with complexes of physical exercises to improve vision, relax the visual system muscles, improve the physical fitness and postural control, relax etc.; with such trainings geared to build up the group tolerance to the sensory-fatigue-related external stressors. Of special benefits for the risk group trainings may be special mental conditioning methods complemented by eye exercises, visual analyzer stress-relieving self-massages of the cervical-collar zone [2, 5, 6] etc.

Conclusion. Theoretical analyses of the modern sensory fatigue types, forms, mechanisms and growth patterns will make it possible to offer the sensory fatigue control strategies, methods and toolkits so as to prevent potential sensory-fatigue-related health issues and keep up good working capacity in the academic Physical Education theory distance learning process.

References

1. Galimova A.G., Fedoseenko V.E. Fatigue during physical and mental work. NovaUm.ru. 2019. No. 19. pp. 239-243.
2. Kolmykov A.V., Kolmykova M.A. Physical education in prevention of fatigue. National development. Proc. scient. conf. GNII. St Petersburg., 2019. pp. 193-195.
3. On organization of educational activities in organizations implementing higher education programs and corresponding additional professional programs, in the context of preventing the spread of a new coronavirus infection in the Russian Federation." Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation of March 14, 2020 No. 397. website: https://www.minobrnauki.gov.ru/ru/documents/card/?id_4=1064, date of access: 3.10.2020.
4. Redko A.V., Bacherikov E.L., Kamskova Yu.G. Research on student fatigue in learning process. Vestnik YuUrGU. 2008. No. 19. pp. 36-37.
5. Khalfina R.R. Psychophysiological features of increased visual performance in visual fatigue in PC users. Vestnik psikhofiziologii. 2018. No. 1. pp. 123-125.
6. Shuvalova I.N. Educational experiment to reduce fatigue of visual analyzer in students in the course of training. Gumanitarnye nauki. 2019. no 1 (45). pp. 90-95.

Corresponding author: mironova.olga2014@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective of the study was to conduct a theoretical analysis to identify the peculiarities of development of sensory fatigue in university students and ways to overcome it during distance learning in academic physical education.

Methods and structure of the study. The theoretical approaches to the problem were based on the legislative and regulatory documents and materials in the field of sensory fatigue research and prevention. The research problem was addressed through a comparative analysis and synthesis of scientific and methodological literature and attitudes of different scientists to the problem.

Results and conclusions. The theoretical analysis of the works devoted to sensory fatigue revealed the following:

– a fatigue feeling is "a normal functional state arising during physical activity and characterized by the onset of fatigue, changes in the physiological functions, moderate decrease of working capacity";

– a number of works indicate that sensory fatigue, being a psychophysical response of human perceptual systems to external stimuli, the degree and duration of its exposure does not affect man’s health, but its onset depends on his physical state, co-morbidity and psychoemotional stability;
– sensory fatigue can be classified by the type of sensory channel, force of the stimulus, amount of overloaded sensory channels, and development time.

The authors note that the development of sensory fatigue in the course of distance learning should be studied using the diagnostic tools characterizing psychophysical disorders, visual and auditory impairments. The data obtained will help adjust the ways of representing information and visual row during the academic physical education classes at universities and ease or redistribute the burden on the sensory channels of students during studies.