V.A. Vishnevsky, professor, Ph.D.
S.G. Sagadeeva
Surgut state university, Surgut
O.V. Vishnevsky, Ph.D.
Institute of genetics of SD RAS, Novosibirsk

Key words: female students, working online, forms and organization of work, physiological and psychophysiological indices of female students.

Relevance. Internet is rapidly embracing all the spheres of human life. As any global phenomenon, it has both positive and negative consequences. Among the negative effects three are brought into the forefront, such as formation of virtual addiction, influence on health and fundamental changes in the way of life. Wishing to make up for the negative consequences, attempts are being taken to combine the achievements of the modern information technologies and motor activity. Interactive games based on the EyeStep interactive platform (interactive floor), Xbox 360, PlayStation etc. serve an example of such approaches. However, the effect of these technologies on the state of the ones involved is understudied [1, 2, 3]. Hence, the idea has arisen of motor activity to be realized while working online, that served the subject of the research.

Materials and methods.  20 female 3-4-year students of the basic medical group from Surgut state university KhMAR-Ugra were the subjects of the experiment. 50% of them lead a healthy way of life, 35% - sports, 15% - moderate. They did physical exercises in different forms 6.1±1.5 times a week on the average lasting 204.5±158.3 minutes. The subjects went online 4.4±1.8 times a week on the average with the mean duration of the session - 98.3±47.1 minutes. 55% of them marked that they do not feel tired at all after working online, 35% - feel continuous pronounced fatigue while 10% - had it only sometimes. Visual analyzer (65%), back muscles (45%), neck muscles (20%), hand muscles (10%), lower limb muscles (5%) were noted as the most fatigable organs, while 10% had headache.

After registering the initial indices first female students were to work online on a laptop by the table for 30 minutes. The work was followed by the repeated registration of the indices under study. Then the subjects were to work online for 30 minutes more, but combined with pedaling a bicycle ergometer. The laptop was placed on a special platform fixed on the handlebars of the bicycle ergometer. The subjects were free to choose what to do while online and a comfortable intensity and pedaling rate on a bicycle ergometer. The work was finished with the final examination.

The external respiratory indices were estimated using the “Micro Medical” spirometer in the flow-volume loop test. Adaptive responses at the vegetative level were estimated based on the study of heart rate variability using the ORTO Expert diagnostic complex and the “Science” program package. Arterial pressure was measured by the N.S. Korotkov’s method. Psychophysiological characteristics were examined using the "Multi-Purpose Activatiometer AC-9K" device for human system diagnostics. The Toulouse-Pieron correction test was used to estimate processing speed and accuracy. The additional parameters measured were as follows: optimum viewing zone; hand force (dynamometric); speed force (standing long jump). The data processing was made using the software Microsoft Office Excel 2003 and Statistica.

Results and discussion. Traditional work online does not provoke significant changes in the physiological indices (Table 1). Among the significantly changed parameters one can mark only decrease of the mode amplitude and increase of the indicial coefficient in the orthostatic test and insignificant increase of systolic pressure.

Table 1. Physiological indices before and after working online

The most significant changes occurred in the psychophysiological indices: improve of the data processing rate and accuracy, reduction of the time for switching attention, decrease of the left and right hemispheric activity, total hemispheric activity, maximum number of movements per 5 seconds in the tapping test (Table 2).

Table 2. Physiological indices before and after working online

     30-minute virtual work has not provoked any significant changes in the state of visual analyzer, physical conditions, general state, activity and mood of the subjects of the research (Table 3).

Table 3. The state of the number of indices before and after working online

Hence, the optimal in duration work online is generally good for a human body ensuring: improvement of the data processing rate and accuracy and switching attention, decrease of the level of psychoemotional excitation. Slight (by 6.8%) decrease of the maximum number of movements per 5 seconds in the tapping test and insignificant (by 2.2%) increase of systolic arterial pressure cannot render a significant influence on the overall picture.

The option of bicycle ergometric exercise was preferred in the second part of the experiment due to two reasons. Firstly, it ensured more accurate estimation of power working capacity (PWC), and, secondly, was accompanied by the lack of significant oscillations of the center of mass, that could complicate the work online and provoke additional load on the visual analyzer. First of all, one is to mark that the mean PWC, voluntarily chosen by the subjects as the most optimal, was 50.50±13.37 Watt (Table 4) with heart rate within the limits 115±13 - 119±12 bpm. Hence, the subjects of the experiment automatically chose such a level of background exercise that almost fully matched the initial (threshold) heart rate, suggested by the World Health Organization Office at the European Union for trained persons (220 – age – HR at rest = 220 – 21 – 79 = 120 bpm).

Table 4. Parameters of physical loading while working online

But what an affect did this kind of working online have on the subjects? As for physiological indices, it provoked the increase of heart rate at rest and in the orthostatic test, decrease of mode at rest and in the orthostatic test, increase of the stress index in the orthostatic test (Table 2). Therefore, the typical scene of moderate adaptive tension was observed. The decrease of diastolic arterial pressure and the increase of pulse pressure should be distinguished, which indirectly indicates to the increase of cardiac contractile force.

The suggested option of increase of physical activity when working online has not provoked any bad influence on the subjects’ psychophysiological characteristics, but, on the contrary, contributed to improvement of the data processing accuracy in the Toulouse-Pieron test and more accuracy in the test “Response to a moving object” (Table 2). One can mark among the positive aspects the significant increase of the standing long jump result (Table 4). The decrease of activity in the WAM test can be explained by the given exercise.

Conclusion. The findings testify to the generally favorable impact on the body of the work online combined with physical load. Female participants of the research marked that physical exercises had not interfered their effective work online: 30% claimed that they liked such a type of virtual work; 25% - that the conditions were usual for them; 20% - that it was easy for them to combine these different kinds of activity; and only 25% had some difficulties. As the most loaded muscle groups 75% of the subjects marked gluteus, 35% - lower limb muscles, 10% - abdominal muscles, 5% - neck muscles and 5% - back muscles. Hence, the largest muscle groups were in action, ensuring aerobic abilities and posture maintenance.

References

1. Balovsyak, N.V. Computer and health / N.V. Balovsyak. – St.Petersburg: Piter, 2008. – 208 P. (In Russian)
2. Vishnevsky, V.A. The effect of outdoor breaks using the EyeStep interactive platform on the state of pupils of correctional school / V.A. Vishnevsky, A.I. Glotov, V.A. Tsygankova, A.N. Patrushev, O.V. Khatskova // Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kultury. – 2011. – № 4. – P. 92. (In Russian)
3. Rossokhin, A. Virtual happiness or virtual addiction / A. Rosskhin, V. Izmagurova // Personality in the changed states of consciousness. – Moscow: Smysl, 2004. – P. 516–523. (In Russian)