Enhancing Cognitive Fitness Through Psychophysiological Training: Multimodal Training Intervention Outcomes in High-Stakes Occupations

<p dir="ltr">Chronic stress and burnout pose significant challenges to the psychological health, cognitive function, and occupational performance of individuals working in high-stakes environments. These risks are especially pronounced in military and corporate contexts, where prolonged exposure to stress can lead to reduced executive functioning, impaired decision-making, exhaustion syndrome and burnout. Despite the widespread implementation of resilience training programs, systematic reviews have revealed limitations in their design, delivery, and effectiveness, highlighting the need for more integrated and scientifically grounded interventions.</p><p dir="ltr">This thesis presents a series of studies exploring the development, implementation, and evaluation of a multimodal psychophysiological training intervention designed to enhance cognitive fitness, psychological resilience/hardiness, and overall well-being in high stakes professional populations. Drawing on the Cognitive Fitness Framework (CF2) (Aidman, 2020), this research conceptualises cognitive fitness as a multidimensional construct encompassing executive control, attentional regulation, working memory, and arousal regulation, amongst others.</p><p dir="ltr">The thesis incorporates four core publications. The first is the transdisciplinary Cognitive Fitness Delphi study, which established an expert consensus on the dimensions of cognitive fitness that underpin performance under pressure (Albertella et al., 2023). The second outlines the development of a digital ‘cognitive gym’ app and training protocol informed by the CF2 model and rooted in principles of deliberate practice, gamification, and real-time feedback (Aidman et al., 2022). The third presents the first empirical evaluation of the multimodal training program in a study conducted with military aviators, demonstrating that a brief multimodal intervention improved mood, resilience, and markers of burnout (Taylor et al., 2023). The final study extends this work to a randomised controlled trial in corporate professionals, revealing statistically significant improvements in psychological hardiness, inhibitory control, mood, resilience, and stress (Taylor et al, 2025 in press). Interestingly, while inhibitory control improved, working memory did not - supporting the hypothesis that these are related but distinct components of cognitive fitness and may respond differently to targeted training.</p><p dir="ltr">Together, the studies provide empirical support for a multimodal approach to cognitive fitness training that integrates physical activity, breathwork, nutrition, recovery, and digital technology to promote adaptability, stress resilience, and performance sustainability. The use of app-enhanced training protocols demonstrates the feasibility of delivering scalable, evidence-based interventions to diverse occupational populations.</p><p dir="ltr">This thesis makes several key contributions. First, it empirically validates cognitive fitness as a trainable, multifactorial construct with distinct subdomains. Second, it demonstrates the value of combining physical and psychological modalities to improve cognitive and emotional functioning and resilience. Third, it provides a blueprint for designing and delivering high-impact interventions in real-world settings, including military and corporate contexts. Finally, the research underscores the importance of domain-specific measurement and training approaches tailored to the needs of time-compressed, stress exposed professionals.</p>