Visual supercompensation following short-term exhaustive exercise

Brandon S Shaw^1,2*Gerrit Breukelman³Lourens Millard³Musa Mathunjwa³Phindile Zifikile Shangase²Takalani Clearance Muluvhu⁴Razieh Khanmohammadi⁵Gregory Brown⁶Ina Shaw^1,2

• ¹School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Science and Health, University of Essex, Colchester, South East England, United Kingdom
• ²Department of Public Health, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
• ³Department of Human Movement Science, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa, South Africa
• ⁴Department of Sport, Rehabilitation and Dental Sciences, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
• ⁵Department of Sports Science, Urmia University, Urmia City, Iran
• ⁶Physical Activity and Wellness Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology and Sports Science, University of Nebraska Kearney, Kearney, United States

Introduction The human visual system plays a critical role in high-performance tasks, including sports and activities requiring visuomotor performance. While supercompensation is well-documented in aerobic exercise, its effects on visual performance following anaerobic exercise remain unclear. This study investigates whether short-term exhaustive exercise enhances post-exercise visual performance, with a focus on accommodation facility, saccadic eye movements, speed of recognition, peripheral awareness, hand-eye coordination, and visual memory. Methods A randomised controlled trial was conducted with 128 participants. Participants completed baseline visual assessments followed by a 30-s Wingate Anaerobic Test (n=68) or no intervention (control group) (n=60). The same visual tests were repeated immediately post-exercise. Statistical analyses included t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and effect size calculations (Cohen’s d). Multiple comparison corrections (Bonferroni and Holm) were applied to control for family-wise error rates. Results The experimental group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in visual performance compared to the control group (P<0.05). Large effect sizes were observed for hand-eye coordination (ES=1.539), accommodation facility (ES=1.138), speed of recognition (ES=1.007), and peripheral awareness (ES=0.823). Moderate effect sizes were noted for saccadic eye movements for both the left and right charts (ES=0.679). Post-hoc multiple comparison corrections confirmed significant improvements in speed of recognition, hand-eye coordination, and peripheral awareness (P<0.000), while accommodation facility showed marginal significance before correction but became non-significant afterward. Visual memory did not significantly differ between groups (P=0.065). Conclusion This study highlights that short-term exhaustive exercise can induce transient enhancements in visual performance, particularly in tasks requiring rapid recognition, coordination, and peripheral awareness. Whether similar effects occur in athletes, who likely start from a higher baseline of performance than physically inactive individuals participants, remains unknown. Such visual supercompensation could be valuable for athletes and professionals in fast-paced environments, offering an opportunity to optimise visual-motor function before performance-critical tasks.