Sport science
Arousal & Diet
Arousal in sport
Anxiety can be caused from:
Self confidence
Strength
Speed
Experience
Intelligence
Coaches should be concerned about how stress affects their athletes:
Many athletes struggle with stress & anxiety
Each athletes responds to it differently
Athletes suffer more due to; the amount they are required to balance, schoolwork,
practice, games, family pressures & everyday life
Relationship between anxiety & sport performance:
Can negatively affect performance
Coordinated movement becomes more difficult when the body is tense
Certain level of physical arousal prepares us for competition
When symptoms are too much, it causes negative thought patterns and expectations
Anxiety affects performance when you do better during practice than competition
The impact of anxiety on sporting performance depends on how you interpret our world
• AROUSAL:
The mental state of readiness of the individual to perform a task, motivating them to
direct their behaviour in a particular manner.
Linked to the state that drives a person to learn to perform.
A generic mixture of of physiological and psychological levels of anxiety that a performer
experiences.
Arousal is not to be seen as good or bad but rather represents a level of energy or effort
that a person applies to sport or learning situations.
When the body is placed under physical or mental stress, it produces levels of arousal
which affect information processing and performance.
Physiological reactions to increased arousal levels:
Heart rate
Blood pressure
Skin responses
Biochemical indicators like adrenaline and epinephrine
An athlete preparing for a big physical race needs to be in a highly alert state / arousal.
This is so that the body can make sure it can meet all the physiological demands - muscles
need blood sugars, oxygen etc.
Positive stress is an important element of an athletes preparation, heightening the senses.
, Performance of athletes under pressure:
Self confidence plays a role in how you respond to symptoms of anxiety during athletic
performance.
People who have high confidence have more positive arousal and anxiety responses and
thrive on the challenge of competition.
Stress can affect performance the way the athlete responds can affect it.
The aroused state is often associated with feelings of:
Fear
Anger
Tension
Worry
Apprehension
Anxiety
Levels of arousal affects levels of:
Perception
Attention
Movement control
Appropriate levels of arousal in order to promote effective levels of:
Concentration
Attention
Decision making
For optimum performance
- If arousal is too high, the athlete can become over anxious.
- If arousal is too low they may become bored and demotivated.
Both can be negative on performance.
The relationship between arousal and performance is linear:
Arousal & Diet
Arousal in sport
Anxiety can be caused from:
Self confidence
Strength
Speed
Experience
Intelligence
Coaches should be concerned about how stress affects their athletes:
Many athletes struggle with stress & anxiety
Each athletes responds to it differently
Athletes suffer more due to; the amount they are required to balance, schoolwork,
practice, games, family pressures & everyday life
Relationship between anxiety & sport performance:
Can negatively affect performance
Coordinated movement becomes more difficult when the body is tense
Certain level of physical arousal prepares us for competition
When symptoms are too much, it causes negative thought patterns and expectations
Anxiety affects performance when you do better during practice than competition
The impact of anxiety on sporting performance depends on how you interpret our world
• AROUSAL:
The mental state of readiness of the individual to perform a task, motivating them to
direct their behaviour in a particular manner.
Linked to the state that drives a person to learn to perform.
A generic mixture of of physiological and psychological levels of anxiety that a performer
experiences.
Arousal is not to be seen as good or bad but rather represents a level of energy or effort
that a person applies to sport or learning situations.
When the body is placed under physical or mental stress, it produces levels of arousal
which affect information processing and performance.
Physiological reactions to increased arousal levels:
Heart rate
Blood pressure
Skin responses
Biochemical indicators like adrenaline and epinephrine
An athlete preparing for a big physical race needs to be in a highly alert state / arousal.
This is so that the body can make sure it can meet all the physiological demands - muscles
need blood sugars, oxygen etc.
Positive stress is an important element of an athletes preparation, heightening the senses.
, Performance of athletes under pressure:
Self confidence plays a role in how you respond to symptoms of anxiety during athletic
performance.
People who have high confidence have more positive arousal and anxiety responses and
thrive on the challenge of competition.
Stress can affect performance the way the athlete responds can affect it.
The aroused state is often associated with feelings of:
Fear
Anger
Tension
Worry
Apprehension
Anxiety
Levels of arousal affects levels of:
Perception
Attention
Movement control
Appropriate levels of arousal in order to promote effective levels of:
Concentration
Attention
Decision making
For optimum performance
- If arousal is too high, the athlete can become over anxious.
- If arousal is too low they may become bored and demotivated.
Both can be negative on performance.
The relationship between arousal and performance is linear:
