Stress and Sport

Stress and sport tend to go hand in hand. With the pressure on to play at the top of your game and win every time, there are times when stress can be useful and when it can slow you down.

Some people tend to thrive off stress during a sport, using it to fuel their activities and turning it into something positive.

Depending upon the sport, the stress you may experience can be very different from another sport.

For example, football is very physical whereas a sport like golf is more mental, needing close calculation and strong focus. When stress begins to toy with the adrenal glands, certain hormones are released and your body chemistry changes.

Adrenaline and cortisol can both be circulated into your blood stream, giving you either the power to push through or fall apart. Our bodies naturally induce the “flight or fight” response, which is tempered by the event causing the stress and just how much emphasis the person puts on that event.

If you are playing basketball and suddenly winning the whole game is up to you, and you have never been in such a position before, you may begin to worry in excess. What will happen if you miss the basket? You may begin to doubt your abilities.

Naturally, the event has a very negative stressful impact. In this case, stressing too much can adversely affect your ability to function at the peak of your performance. You lose your focus on what you must do and instead begin to focus on other things that should have less priority at that point in time.

On the other hand, a player who enjoys pressure may have completely different thoughts: It’s all up to me – I can do this! Instead of losing the ability to concentrate, the player utilizes the heightened state that stress puts them in and functions extremely well.

You should always remember the true importance of the sport and focus on what you must do rather than what might be; doing so can help reduce the negative impact of stress and sport.