Fatigue is a phenomenon that is experienced when mental or physical alertness is required for extended periods of time resulting in feelings of tiredness, exhaustion, or lack of energy or desire to continue a task (Hornsby et al., 2016). Fatigue regularly includes difficulties in concentration, feelings of anxiety, and increased distractibility (Boksem & Tops, 2008). Current definitions of fatigue differentiate the types of exertion utilized: physical, cognitive, (Bess et al., 2014) and more recently conceptualized, social-emotional.
Types of fatigue
Cognitive Fatigue: Cognitive fatigue arises from thoughts, attention, and actions contributing to mental exhaustion, resulting in a decline in concentration or attention (Bourland Hicks et al., 2002), clear thinking, and memory (Chalder et al., 1993; Stein et al., 2004) and decrement in performance related to fatigue during mental tasks (Ackerman, 2011). For example, localizing a teacher’s voice in a noisy classroom, trying to simultaneously watch the teacher and ASL interpreter to comprehend instruction, or understanding an ASL message and translating it to create academic notes in written English.
Social-Emotional Fatigue: Social-emotional fatigue occurs when social-emotional effort results in feeling emotionally worn out and feeling drained (Michielsen et al., 2004). For example, feeling a lack of motivation, frustration, or sadness, and a need to push oneself to complete schoolwork or socialize (Curt, 2000).
Physical Fatigue: Physical fatigue stems from physical effort creating muscle strain or injury (Bourland Hicks et al., 2002). For example, eye strain from hours of watching an ASL interpreter or attempting to speechread/lip read and decipher a teacher’s facial expressions.