Stress and Performance

HomeostasisBalance

Fight or Flight• Bodies response to challenge the threat or escape

from it in order to return to homeostasis.• These responses are instantaneous and ocurr over

and over each day as you encounter various stressors.

Types of Stressors• Physical• Psychological• Environmental

• Stressors are always a threat to your homeostasis• It is the perceived level of threat that will

determine the level of your stress response.

What are Your Stressors?

Stress• Vital to all living organisms• Without stress disrupting your homeostasis you

would not continue to live and strive to achieve• The challenge is to respond appropriately to the

stressors in a way that will positively affect you.

Appraisal - Judgment• The more threatening the stressor, the high the

level of physical and psychological response that will be necessary to reestablish homeostasis.

• Meaning of the stressor to you• Your appraisal is driven by processing information

in the situation in which you find yourself• Perception: processing information from your

environment and evaluating it through your experiences and beliefs.• Your perception will be the most important determinant of

your responses.

Activation• Physiological stressors cause an increase in

physical arousal or activation as well as changes in the nervous system and endocrine system.

• Physical signs of activation• Increased heart rate• Increased respiration• Increased perspiration• Dilated pupils• Pooling of blood in large muscle groups

• Prepare the body for fight or flight

Peak Performance Zonesvideo Link

Over Activated – tight or tired• Poor decision making• Skill execution errors• Excessive physical effort• Feelings of fatigue• Inability to breath

Everyone has a different peak performance activation zone

Different Levels of Activation Between and Within Sports

What Factors Determine the Optimal level of Activation?• Fine motor movements• Lower activation, very precise skills

• Gross motor movements• Higher activation, whole body large muscle skills

• Skill level of performance• High level players have automatic skills, without thought

High Activation• Power lifting• Football line play• Figure skating• Sprinting• Wrestling

Moderate Activation• Basketball • Volleyball• Baseball/softball• Distance events – Track• Gymnastics• Soccer

Low Activation• Basketball Free Throw• Golf• Diving• Archery• Field Goal Kicking

The interaction of the physiological stressors with the psychological and environmental stressors that really create the problems.

• Threats of self-esteem• Irrational beliefs and expectations• Expectations of others• Expectations for the performance• Belief about your own abilities

What are Your Athletic Stress Reponses?p. 39

AnxietyPsychological responses represent changing levels of anxiety.

Anxiety• Cognitive Anxiety: the though component (e.g.

worry and apprehension)• Somatic Anxiety: The degree of physical

activation perceived.

Two Types of Anxiety• Trait: a behavioral disposition to perceive as threatening

circumstance that are objectively not dangerous and to then respond with disproportionate state anxiety.

• Highly trait-anxious people usually have more state anxiety in highly competitive, evaluative situations than do people who with lower trait anxiety.• Proneness toward uncertainty or doubt• Excitable• Easily upset• Emotional• Difficult time controlling activation level due to their appraisal of stressors as

more threatening than they may be

• State: a temporary, ever changing emotional state of subjective, consciously perceived feelings of apprehension and tension, associated with activation of the autonomic nervous systems.• Temporary emotional state that fluctuates in intensity over time

Signs of Anxiety• Uncertainty• Doubt• Indecision• Lack of confidence• Poor attention• Expectation of failure

Anxiety• Most researches believe that anxiety is learned

through socialization and in manifested emotionally.

• Anxiety is your response to your perception of the situation.

• You need to be aware of your activation and not allowing that awareness to increase your anxiety.

You can be in control, but ready to “fight”

Awareness• You must know how your performance is being

affected by your responses• A combination of understanding what responses

do not help and which interventions help can be a powerful approach to experiencing the performances that every athlete wants.

Physical Responses• Butterflies• Yawning• Excitability• Anticipation

• Some believe are signs of being ready and some as not being ready

Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning• This concept says that your performance will be

determined by your ability to identify and access the zone where your activation, anxiety, and emotions work together for your performance.

• Your awareness of your thoughts and emotions, responses, and expectations is critical to you finding the zone where you can perform confidently and effectively.

• Internal conditions you cannot find this by comparing to others.

Video Link

Without this knowledge you go into every performance hoping for good results rather than knowing what will happen.