Relations Between Heart Rate, Reaction Speed, and Subjective Effort at Different Work Loads on a Bicycle Ergometer

Abstract

The hypothesis concerning an inverted-U relationship between activation and performance was examined by comparing the performance of 25 subjects in a choice-reaction task at five different work loads on a bicycle ergometer. Heart rate was used as an index of activation. The results were in full agreement with the hypothesis, performance being more efficient at a medium activation level than at high and low levels.

Index Terms:

• arousal
• activation
• inverted-U relationship