College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Term of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Name

Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

Bridget Melton

Committee Member 1

Barry Joyner

Committee Member 2

Richard Cleveland

Committee Member 3

Andrew Flatt

Abstract

Background: Tactical breathing is commonly used in law enforcement training to regulate stress, yet limited evidence exists regarding its acute effectiveness following physical fatigue. Purpose: To examine whether a brief tactical breathing intervention improves shooting performance and heart rate variability (HRV) following anaerobic fatigue in law enforcement officers. Methods: Thirty-eight officers completed baseline HR/HRV and a shoot/no-shoot scenario, followed by a maximal 500-m row and post-fatigue shooting. Participants were assigned to either a control group or a tactical breathing group, which received brief instruction and coaching before post-testing. Results: No significant between-group differences were observed for A-zone accuracy, shot time, Mantis shooting score, decision accuracy, heart rate, RMSSD, or HF-HRV.

Conclusion: A brief (≈45-s) tactical breathing intervention did not improve shooting performance or autonomic recovery following aerobic fatigue. These findings suggest that short, single-bout breathing strategies may be insufficient to alter performance outcomes driven primarily by physical exertion. Tactical breathing may play a more meaningful role during psychological or threat-based stress, in which cognitive arousal and emotion regulation are more prominent contributors to performance. Future research should examine breathing interventions under higher perceptual stress and across repeated training exposures.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

Yes

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