Stress and Anxiety Pre-competition anxiety is an issue for every swimmer which can be seen behind the blocks before every competition. Pre-competition anxiety is presented in a variety of forms: excessive stretching, goggle modifications, swim suit tightening or hyperventilating. Stress occurs when a perceived situation and abilities to handle the perceived situation are not equal. Anxiety is associated with a state of apprehension or fear. Stress and anxiety are interlinked, when an athlete feels stressed the situation is too much to handle they begin to question their abilities and are apprehensive causing anxiety. Performers in every venue (music, dance, or sport) undergo “state anxiety” which is a subjective experience of apprehension and uncertainty accompanied by elevated autonomic and voluntary neural outflow and increased endocrine activity. I know that sounds like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, but at the end of this article, you will understand why an athlete undergoes these psychological effects and if they provide a positive, negative or indifferent effect. Last, the top techniques to decrease negative stress will be addressed. Physiological Adaptation to Anxiety The most common adaptation to stress in seen in a performers heart rate. Behind the block, when a swimmer becomes nervous, the feeling is described as their heart “racing” or “fluttering”. These descriptions are not far from the truth. During stressful circumstances the heart rate is controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS has three subsystems: sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric nervous systems. Two of these three subsets are important in pre-competition anxiety, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system is described as the fight or flight system which corresponds with arousal and energy generation. This system elevates the heart rate and diverts blood flow from the digestive system to the muscles during times of stress. The parasympathetic is the yang of the sympathetic nervous system. This system is described as the rest and digests system, when activated the parasympathetic nervous system increases blood flow to the digestive system and promotes calming by decreasing heart rate. During stressful situations (pre-competition states) heart rate can double compared to practice conditions which was noticed in a study of musicians prior to a performance2. Good Stress vs. Bad Stress Most athletes and coaches view stress as a negative consequence. During times of negative stress a lack of physical and psychological efficiency is typically initiated. At least three important factors are usually present: A high degree of ego involvement, in which the athlete may perceive a threat to self esteem A perceived discrepancy between ones ability and the demands for athletic success A fear of consequences of failure (such as loss of approval from teammates, coach, family, or peers). These three factors, and possibly more, put an unnecessary stress on the body putting the sympathetic nervous system into overdrive causing the skeletal muscles to tense, the heart to race and negative thoughts in intrude. On the other side of the coin, stress can be used to ones advantage. Eustress is defined as a state of positive stress. Eustress is essential and all great athletes who “step” up at the right moment are able to channel their stress into positive effects. The main positive effect from stress is elevated arousal alertness which prepares the body for an intense situation. Mechanisms to Reduce Anxiety There are multiple techniques utilized by sports psychologist and coaches. The most common techniques are diaphragm breathing, visualization, muscle relaxation meditation and or mouth guards. Diaphragm breathing (aka Dan Jeon breathing) is performed by breathing and expanding oxygen intake into the diaphragm (stomach) instead of breathing through the chest. Diaphragm breathing is simple and is easy to learn by following these steps from wikipedia: 1. Sit or lie comfortably, with loose garments. 2. Put one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. 3. Slowly inhale through your nose or through pursed lips (to slow down the intake of breath). 4. As you inhale, feel your stomach expand with your hand. 5. Slowly exhale through pursed lips to regulate the release of air. 6. Rest and repeat. This technique is believed to decrease the drive from the sympathetic nervous system subsequently decreasing heart rate, blood pressure, and induce slower and deeper breathing. Visualization is a technique used by coaches during various points during the season. I remember visualizing my races during taper time and thinking to myself what the hell I was doing! However, research suggests a moderate improvement in performance associated with mental imagery and is used by many top athletes. One study found mental imagery had improved results when the athlete used internal imagery which is imagining the performance as if the view is in the athlete’s eyes, opposed to external imagery. External imagery is viewing the race as if you were being video recorded. It is essential to remember mental imaging of positive effects enhances performance, as negative visualization has been shown to decrease performance4. One study found diaphragm breathing and visualization resulted in more accurate shooting in air pistol shooting5. Muscle relaxation meditation is another common technique used to decrease anxiety. A common technique to optimize muscle relaxation is performing the relaxation prior to bed and then implement using the same body relaxation techniques prior to performance. An example of a muscle relaxation meditation can be seen below: The last mechanism I will discuss is a new device that is suggested to reduce stress. This device is used in contact sports (football, rugby, rock ‘em sock ‘em humans), but is publicized to help in swimming. The device I’m referring to are flexible mouth guards. These are not typical mouth guards, but custom fit guards to reduce clenching of teeth. A New York Times article looked at the new sports equipment, here is an interesting quote from the article: “There is research to support improved breathing mechanics and reduced jaw fatigue,” said Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. “Depending on how you look at it, there is some truth to the claims6.” UnderArmour is largest company in this market and sells the devices around $500 plus additional fees for fitting. My friend Eric Teske the blogger for Kast-a-way did a great piece about the mouth piece (kastawayswimwear/Blog/index.php/looking-into-performance-enhancing-mouthpieces-for-swimmers/), The claim behind these pieces of equipment is prevention of teeth clenching and approximation of the tempromandibular joint (TMJ) which causes stress and the release of stress hormones. Eric reported “UnderArmour literature reports that their mouthwear endured independent testing conducted at some of the nation’s top universities. The results? An astounding 17% increase in strength, 25% less lactic acid build-up after intense exercise, improved reaction time and decreased stress.” I have not seen this research (and cannot find the research), but the amount of improvements seems high. If they are true, their effects are much greater than high-technology suits taboo. These are the main techniques used to reduce anxiety, but they are by far not the only techniques7.” Conclusion This is a lot of information, but the psychology of swimming is poorly understood and avoided by many coaches. These resources are proven (most of them) to improve performance and reduce anxiety which is essential for every swimmer. Ross from sportsscientists/ has reported the difference between many athletes is less than 1% and this 1% does not associated with work ethic, “wanting” it more or ability, but other factors that can cause an athlete to perform to their maximal capacity and in swimming where tenths make the difference between 10 places, coaches should take every allow their swimmers to achieve greatness.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 21:41:28 +0000
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