This study aimed to analyze how active versus passive rest periods after a warm-up influence performance in psychomotor vigilance tasks (PVT). Twenty amateur karate athletes participated in a randomized cross-over study consisting of two sessions with either a 20 min active rest involving kata techniques or passive rest. PVT was administered before and after these conditions to assess the changes in reaction time. The results revealed that the active rest condition significantly improved reaction times compared to both the passive rest condition (F(1,31) = 5.34, p = 0.03, η2 partial = 0.14) and control condition (F(1,31) = 5.49, p = 0.02, η2 partial = 0.15). No significant time-on-task effects were observed, F(4,120) = 2.31, p = 0.06, and there were no significant interactions between effort condition and time-on-task, F(4,120) = 1.89, p = 0.11). Participating in an active rest period post-warm-up improves cognitive performance in karate athletes, as evidenced by quicker reaction times in the PVT. This finding supports the use of active rest strategies (involving kata techniques) to maintain and improve cognitive readiness in young karate athletes.
Keywords: cognitive performance; combat sports; reaction time; sports training; youth.