The effects of wearing face masks on the perception and mood of male healthy male adults during treadmill running: A pilot study

Abstract

In the past few years, the face mask has been recommended for the prevention of exposing others to COVID‐19. Wearing a face mask may have the potential to increase dyspnea and discomfort during exercise; however, controversy exists on whether wearing face masks during exercise affects exercise performance, perception, and mood in runners. We investigated the physiological and perceptual responses of healthy male adults who had experienced long‐distance running while exercising at different intensities. Nine healthy young adults who were long‐distance runners wearing surgical face mask conducted an incremental treadmill protocol. The protocol was three 6‐min stages (20%, 40%, and 60% of maximal heart rate, respectively). The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and the feeling scale (FS) were measured. RPE was higher in mask condition than in unmask condition (No mask vs. Face mask, light; 8.22 vs. 8.78, p = 0.615, middle; 10.00 vs. 10.78, p = 0.345, high; 12.33 vs. 13.67, p = 0.044.), while FS was not different between conditions. The present study shows that wearing a mask may increase rating of perceived exertion and discomfort when the exercise intensity exceeds a certain threshold in healthy male adults who have experienced long‐distance running.