Glandorf, Hanna Lea (2025) System Overload – The Physical and Mental Health Consequences of Burnout in Athletes. Doctoral thesis, York St John University.

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Abstract

Burnout is an increasingly prevalent mental health-related problem in athletes. It is currently unclear, however, whether burnout has mental and/or physical health consequences for athletes. The present thesis, therefore, sought to explore this idea. To do so, following open science principles (pre-registration, open data, materials, and code), four studies were conducted. The first study systematically reviewed and meta-analysed the existing evidence. This review showed that athlete burnout was associated with increases in negative mental health and decreases in positive mental health outcomes. However, evidence for an association between burnout and physical health was mixed. In addition, the literature has mainly adopted cross-sectional designs. The second study, then, tested whether athlete burnout could predict changes in physical and mental health over time. Using a three-wave longitudinal design over six months, in 267 athletes, burnout predicted increased depressive symptoms, whereas sleep disruptions and life dissatisfaction showed reciprocal effects, predicting increased burnout. To explore the potential links between burnout and biomarkers of physiological systems, the third study adopted an N-of-1 design. Four athletes were recruited, and saliva, hair, and intravenous blood were sampled over six-to-twelve months. Findings indicated a preliminary “physiological fingerprint” with burnout predicting changes and developing simultaneously with biomarkers of the HPA axis, immune, metabolic, and nervous systems. The final study sought to combine findings by examining whether this physiological fingerprint may help explain (i.e., mediate) the link between burnout and health. Using a three-wave longitudinal design over six months, in 67 athletes, while burnout predicted depressive symptoms, sleep disruptions, and biomarkers of the HPA axis and immune system, few indirect effects were found. Thus, burnout likely affects health directly or via other possible pathways. Together, the findings suggest that athlete burnout can increase the risk for some health consequences and that it is related to physiological changes in different systems.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Status:	Published
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV0557 Sports G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV0712-725 Athletic contests. Sports events
School/Department:	School of Science, Technology and Health
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/12077

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