Effects Of Environmental Session Conditions On Acute Mood Profiles In Freediving Athletes

The aim of this study was to examine the acute effects of different environmental session conditions (control, water, and land) on the mood profiles of freediving athletes. A total of 25 athletes (16 males, 9 females) with a mean age of 20.04 (SD = 2.47), mean height of 169.8 cm (SD = 8.80), and mean body weight of 64.5 kg (SD = 11.35) participated in the study. The Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) was administered to the participants in three different sessions (control, water, and land). In the present study, four mood items were assessed: Energetic, Confused, Anxious, and Worried. Differences among the three session conditions were analysed using the non-parametric Friedman test, followed by Bonferroni-corrected Conover post-hoc comparisons, with Kendall’s W as the effect-size estimate. Environmental session conditions significantly affected all four mood items. Energetic scores were significantly lower in the land condition than in both the control and water conditions [χ²(2) = 10.69; p = 0.005], with the highest level observed in the water condition. The negative mood items were highest in the control condition: confused and anxious scores were significantly lower in the land condition than in the control condition, and worry scores were significantly lower in the water and land conditions than in the control condition. The effect sizes ranged from small to medium (Kendall’s W = 0.16–0.24). Sex comparisons (Mann–Whitney U) revealed two significant differences, both in the control condition: male athletes scored higher on the energetic item and female athletes scored higher on the worry item, with no significant differences in the water or land conditions or in the other items. These findings suggest that different training environments may produce divergent psychological effects on the mood states of freediving athletes. The results are considered to provide important contributions to the field of sport psychology in the areas of mood regulation, the psychological effects of training environments, and performance optimization.