This is what stress is to elite the bodies of athletes, tell experts

And how can practice help athletes to react better under pressure.


It's not easy to be a professional athlete. Not only are physical requirements that most people could manage, athletes are also faced with intense psychological pressure during competition.

It's something 18-year-old British tennis player Emma Raduranuwrote on social media After itWimbledon's retreat. Although the young player went well in the tournament, she started having trouble adjusting his breathing and his heart rate during a match, which she then has Chalais until "the accumulation of the excitement and buzz ".

She is not the first athlete to experience the physical effects of stress, withEnglish Football Player Marcus Rashford revealing that he had also had a similar experience in the past.

There are many reasons why stress can cause such powerful body reactions. But with training, this answer can be modified so that a person responds positively under pressure.

Stress assessment

Performance stress is almost inevitable. But there are many different factors that dictate just how ourThe spirits and the bodies answer Stressful events.

Typically, stress is the result of an exchange between two factors: requirements and resources. A person could feel stressed about an event if they feel that they are larger than they can manage. So for an athlete, requests include the high level of physical and mental efforts to succeed, their levels of uncertainty about the event or their chances of succeeding, as well as potential health hazards (such as The injury) or their self-esteem.

The resources, on the other hand, are the ability of a person to cope with these requests. These include factors such as confidence levels, the amount of control they believe they have on the result of the situation and impatiently expect the event or not.

Each new application or change of circumstances affects whether a person reacts positively or negatively to stress. Typically, the more resources have a person who feels in the management of the situation, the more their response to stress is positive. This positive stress response is known ascontestation.

But should the person hope there are too many requests that are placed, the more likely they are to undergo a negative response from stress - called the state of threat. Research shows that the challenge states lead togood performance, while the states of the threat lead to poorer performances.

So, in the case of Raudanu, a much larger audience, higher expectations and more skilful admission, can all have suggested that there were more applications that have been placed - but it did not have the resources to address them. It led himExperiment with a response from the threat.

Consequences of stress

Our challenge and our replies of the threat essentially influence how our body responds to stressful situations, such as the two affectorsProduction of adrenaline and cortisol (also called "stress hormones").

During a challenge, adrenaline increases the amount of blood pumped and expanded blood vessels. It's good for the body, because adrenaline allows more energy to be delivered to muscles and brain. This increase in blood and a decrease in pressure in the blood vessels has always been linked to the superior.Athletic performance in all ofBatting cricket,golf footballpenalty.

But during a state of threat, cortisol inhibits the positive effect ofadrenaline, resulting in stronger blood vessels, an increase in blood pressure, slower psychological responses (such aspoorer decision making), and onehigher heartbeat. In short, a state of the threat makes people more anxious - they aggravate decisions and occur worse.

In tennis players, higher levels of cortisol have been associated with more unsuccessful issues.tightand higher levels ofanxiety.

That said, anxiety is also a common experience for athletes when under pressure. Anxiety can increase heart rate and perspiration, cause cardiac palpitations, muscle tremors andshortness of breath, as well as headaches, nausea, stomach pain, a weakness and a desire to escape moresevere cases. Anxiety can also reduce the concentration andself control (as being able to stay calm) and cause an impulse of exceeding.

What is the way a person undergoes anxiety depends on the demands and resources they have. Anxiety can also manifest in the form of an excitation or nervousness depending on the response to stress.

Adaptation mechanisms

Negative stress responses can be harmful for bothPhysical and mental health - and repeated answers can increase the risk ofcardiopathy anddepression.

But there are many ways that athletes can make sure they respond positively under pressure. Positive stress responses can be promoted by encouraging feelings ofTrust and control Through language, we and others (such as coaches or parents). Psychologists can also help athletes to change their way of seeing theirPhysiological responses - As helping them see a higher heart rate like excitement, rather than nerves.

Psychological skills - likevisualization - Can also help reduce our physiological responses to the threat. This can involveCreate a mental image From a moment when the athlete performed well, or surprise themselves well in the future. This can help create feelings of trust and control over the stressful event.

Recreate competitive pressure during training can also help athletes learning to learn tostress. An example of this could record athletes against their peers to create a sense of competition. This would increase the demands of players' experience with a normal training session, while allowing them to meet stress.

It is therefore possible to learn to have a better reaction tostressful situations. Learning this skill can be one of the many reasons why athletes are able to make many exploits they do.The Conversation

This article is republished byThe conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read itoriginal article.


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