When individuals experience mental or physical stress, activation of the sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant, leading to various physiological changes. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in heart rate variability (HRV) among athletes exposed to mental and physical stressors, and assess the impact of these changes on performance. A total of 41 athlete-students participated in the study and were randomly assigned to two groups: the Mental Arithmetic Task Group (MATG) and the Neutral Text Group (NTG). HRV measurements were obtained during four phases: Rest, Mental Stressor, Dart Throwing, and Recovery. Initially, resting recordings were collected from both groups for the first 4 minutes. Subsequently, the MATG performed a mental arithmetic task, while the NTG read a neutral text for 4 minutes. In the third phase, both groups engaged in dart throwing for 4 minutes, after which the recovery HRV measurements were taken from both groups for another 4 minutes, concluding the experiment. No significant difference in dart throwing performance was observed before and after the intervention, indicating that the mental arithmetic task and neutral text had no effect on dart performance. During the mental arithmetic task phase, a decrease in the parameters of pNN50, SDNN, RMSSD, and HF, accompanied by an increase in LF/HF, was observed. These changes, presumed to be caused by stress, manifested as a decrease in HF and an increase in LF/HF during the mental arithmetic task phase. Although the study successfully identified the impact of mental and physical stress on HRV, no significant effect on performance was detected. This finding may be attributed to the unique cognitive and perceptual nature of dart throwing, setting it apart from other physical activities such as running, cycling, and resistance training. It is thought that if this study is applied in other branches (football, volleyball, wrestling, etc.) that do not have a cognitive and perceptual structure, different results will be obtained.

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