Definition of athletic stress and five steps to prevent it during play on the field or in team sports.
Defining Stress for Athletes
Mental stress related to sports performance is a common but often overlooked hazard for both professional and amateur athletes. Like all stressors, performance anxiety can create additional tension in your body, leading to increased respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure. Your senses become sharper in the beginning stages of stress too, responding to the biological, fight-or-flight hormones that enable you to pinpoint what is needed for survival.
The good news for athletes is that this initial stress is an asset when kept within reasonable bounds. It is much like turning on a switch that allows the adrenaline to flow, so that you can play with passion, force and skill. Unfortunately, few amateur players learn to pay attention to this process in order to intervene before stress becomes extreme.
What happens when stress reaches a high level on the athletic field? The adrenaline switch becomes stuck open, and in a nutshell, you lose your cool. Dangerous mistakes and foolish moves occur when your mind becomes filled with worries instead of focusing on the play. Your body may exhibit overdrive symptoms that can threaten health if allowed to persist before and after field play. Following is a checklist that anyone can use to prevent stress on the athletic field.
Step 1. Physical preparation.
Physical impairment does far more than upset your playing ability. It also contributes to mental anxiety and physical stress from pain. It is therefore crucial to prepare your body for any physical exercise with warm-up and stretching exercises. If your muscles and tendons are stiff, they cannot perform properly and you will be more vulnerable to accidents and mistakes. Be sure to always wear protective devices that are indicated for the sport involved, or for any personal liabilities, such as weak ankles or knees.
Younger athletes, weekend warriors, and those who have never been injured are the most likely to disregard physical safety preparations like these. If you fall into that group, be extra cautious, because you don't have a scar or pain to remind you to be careful.
2. Mental preparation.
Studies show that visualizing oneself going through the motions of a sport can help to prepare both the body and mind for the activity, making success more likely. All you need to do is take five minutes a day during the week before you play to sit down and relax. Close your eyes and imagine yourself going through the motions of your activity. Visualize doing everything just as you would like to do it. Then imagine how you will feel when you have done your best. Summon the emotions, the posture, and the spirit of a winner.
It is also important to check your mental attitude. Are you too concerned with winning? Do you feel pressured to win at all costs, or to impress your coach or someone else? Real winners know that staying healthy and true to one's morals is more important than any game. Never allow your health or your self-esteem to be sacrificed for points. If you feel too much pressure to be perfect, then you are automatically setting yourself up for stress on the playing field.
Step 3. Focus during playtime.
During the game itself, stay focused on the field activity. Ignore distractions from the audience that may take your attention away and cause you to make mistakes. The more you tune in to the field activities, the less potential exists for worry. Keeping focused, calm, and clear is the best way to prevent performance anxiety and excessive stress.
Periodically take note of your mental and physical condition. Some signs that stress is too high include tight, shallow breathing stemming from anxiety or tense chest muscles, an inability to focus due to excessive fear, racing heart, or sweating palms. If you do notice signs of excessive stress, use the tools from the step below to address it.
Step 4. First-aid for mind and body.
Learn first-aid tricks to deal with acute stress. No one thing works for everyone, so you need to experiment beforehand, and include activities that are effective for you. One activity that works for many people is to make up a mantra or chant that helps tune into the feeling of success. This can be any phrase that is meaningful to you and that causes you to feel good. It might be the line from one of your favorite songs, or a cheer or chant that you make up for yourself.
Another helpful technique is to learn relaxation breathing. While you cannot do this during active play on the field, you can do it when you sit on the sidelines, and practicing will help you become more aware of your breathing, even on the field. It is easy to do, though you should practice it at home before you try it in public.
To summon a relaxing breath cycle, first check your breathing and pay attention to it for a moment. That simple action alone often calms the body down. Next, let yourself breathe out and, when you think you are through, see if you can breathe out some more. Gently expel as much air as you can without straining. Then hold for about three seconds before you breathe in again. When you release and breath in again, you will notice that your in-breath is more full and ample than it was before.
Breathe normally for a minute, and then take another relaxing breath cycle, followed by a minute of normal breathing. Typically, about three relaxation breath cycles will create a powerful calming effect.
Finally, just checking your posture can help reduce stress. When your body is in proper alignment, everything works better, including respiration, heartbeat and mental clarity. If you find that you are tense during this body check, take a moment to stretch your limbs, and inwardly smile at yourself.
Step 5. Positive mental resolution.
This last step is also a first step, because creating a positive mental resolution when you finish your activity sets you up for future success. Positive mental resolution simply means that you find a way to think well of yourself and your performance. This is easy, of course, if you win the game. In that case, all you need to do is take note of what you did well and try to replicate it in future games.
How can you have positive mental resolution if you have lost the game or played poorly? Review any mistakes that you made and consider what you have learned. Make a plan to address these problems before and during the next game. Then follow this by looking for something positive or admirable about your performance or the experience. If you can find a way to look at your sport as a learning adventure, rather than an ego-blasting trial, you will perform much better in the future.
