Heart rate variability in a collegiate dance environment: insights on overtraining for dance educators

ABSTRACT

Ten female dancers ages 18–22 participated in a study measuring heart rate variability (HRV) over the course of one term in a collegiate dance department. HRV was measured at the same time in the morning once per week over 14 weeks. Additionally, dancer participants completed a weekly Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport) survey to assess variables of wellbeing including self-reported fatigue, well-being and perceived risk of injury alongside a separate weekly survey of self-reported dance exposure and sleep habits. Magnitude-based inferences (MBI) were utilized to determine the practical significance of changes in data using standardized differences in means, or effect size (ES). Results from the study reveal a distinct downward trend in cardiac vagal modulation over the course of a dance term, paired with an increased perception of fatigue and decreased perception of general well-being. These findings suggest that students may be experiencing not only a perceived state of fatigue during the high-stress environment at the end of an academic term, but early stages of physiological overtraining. These data point toward the importance of rest and recovery in collegiate dancers and the need for thoughtful, planned training from dance educators in higher education.

KEYWORDS:

• Heart rate variability
• dance
• overtraining
• periodization

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Skidmore Student Opportunity Funds.

Notes on contributors

Sarah DiPasquale

Sarah DiPasquale is an Assistant Professor and Associate Chair of Dance at Skidmore College. Her research interests include the effects of dance training on individuals with disabilities and at-risk youth alongside the investigation of injury prevention and management in collegiate dancers. Dr. DiPasquale was named a Periclean Faculty Leader in 2019 for her work bringing civic-engagement into the classroom and has served as a committee member for the New York State Content Specialty Exam in Dance from 2019-2021. Dr. DiPasquale’s work has been published in numerous journals including Journal of Dance Education, Medical Problems of the Performing Artist, and the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science.

Meaghan Cecilia Wood

Meaghan Wood is a ballet dancer and scholar who merged her interests by completing a double major in Dance and Exercise Science at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY in 2017. Currently she is in her final year of podiatric medical school at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, IL and will complete a medical and surgical residency following graduation. As a dancer herself, Wood hopes to utilize her career as a podiatric physician to continue researching, treating, and educating dancers.

Rohan Edmonds

Rohan Edmonds graduated with a doctorate in Sport and Exercise Science from the University of the Sunshine Coast, in Australia. He is currently an assistant professor at Creighton University, teaching in the field of exercise science.  His research primarily focuses on documenting the various physiological responses to athletic competition, including the impact of training, travel.  Dr. Edmonds also has a research interest in understanding how collegiate athletes manage the stressors associated with the life of student-athletes. His research is dance stemmed from the notion that, in their own way, dancers are athletes.