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Sound Mind, Sound Body
Key Concepts:
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Sport Psychology is a growing science focusing on the control of thoughts and emotions
during exercise and athletics to improve performance.
Numerous chemicals and neurotransmitters are released during exercise, but can also be
controlled with proper sport psychology techniques.
Techniques used by athletes are also highly effective for use in school and at work to
relieve anxiety and stress.
When you first ask an athlete what aspects of their game they can improve, what kind of
response do you think you receive? More often than not you will hear: “I can get bigger, faster,
and stronger or even practice more.” What most players and coaches do not realize is that they
are completely neglecting a whole other aspect of athletics- psychological readiness. According
to The Online Journal of Sport Psychology, athletic performance has three parts: physical
preparation, technical skill and psychological readiness.
Many athletes spend nearly all of their time perfecting physical preparation and technical
skill, but strongly lack a sound psychological readiness for competition. This alone can chip
away at an athlete’s performance. To prevent this outcome, researchers and psychiatrists have
dedicated hours upon hours to strengthening the mind of an athlete during times of physical
activity and stress. By understanding how the brain operates during competition, and striving to
control it, an athlete has the ability to excel dramatically in their sport.
A Ground-breaking Science:
Psychology in sports is a relatively new and ground-breaking science that is gaining
interest and funding at a rapid rate. For decades, coaches and health professionals stressed the
importance of mental preparation, but it wasn’t until the 1960’s that psychologists finally
understood how to accomplish this. At this time psychologists began implementing strategies
and techniques such as visualization, concentration, and relaxation to help athletes during
physical activity. These techniques showed drastic improvement in performance, as well as,
overall brain function, leading to more and more research behind sport psychology. In fact,
according to the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), universities and other
institutions around the world began adding sport psychology to the curriculum in the 1970’s and
1980’s.
The purpose of athletics is to function as a team, working together for a common goal,
which for most, is to win. One of the techniques that psychologists stress the most is cohesion, or
a sense of shared tasks or unity. This is of the upmost importance for a team and even an
individual to understand; without this shared understanding, a common goal cannot be
accomplished. To improve cohesion psychologists design drills to improve unity such as falling
back into a group of teammates arms and trusting they will catch you, or carrying a boulder up a
steep hill as a group. These methods, although different, work towards promoting unity within a
group and ultimately strengthening the mental understanding of “teamwork.”
Sport psychologists have also stressed the importance of relaxation and visualization.
According to the AASP, stress, anxiety and anger are common emotions that arise during
competition. If these emotions gain control, an athlete’s performance will drastically decrease.
Techniques used to gain control over these emotions include diaphragmatic breathing, rhythmic
breathing, progressive relaxation and meditation. British sport psychologist Graham Jones has
studied these techniques for over 15 years and has found that controlling the internal
environment greatly reduces stress and anxiety. To help improve performance one might
implement visualization training. Dr. John F. Murray has trained tennis players for several years
to visualize an opponent’s every move, while also visualizing their own response to the same
move during a match. This training can be used with video, photos or a mental imagery of the
match. Dr. Murray has concluded that visualization training improves self-confidence, lowers
anxiety, reduces warm-up decrement and prepares an athlete for competition. All of these
techniques implemented by sports psychologists have revolutionized athletic competition, as
well as demonstrating that sports are just as much mental as they are physical.
The Brain during Competition:
The human body is a vastly complex and fascinating machine that requires millions of
processes and connections to function. It becomes even more complex when the body undergoes
exercise or times of stress. During competition, neurons or nerve cells throughout the brain fire
messages to a specific part of the body, informing it of its task. When these neurons connect with
skeletal muscle it is called the neuromuscular junction. At these junctions’ neurotransmitters,
chemical messengers, such as acetylcholine and dopamine are released and bind to receptors on
the skeletal muscle. Acetylcholine is the brain’s primary neurotransmitter for memory and
attention, while dopamine is used for fine motor movement, as well as pleasure and satisfaction.
When these neurotransmitters bind to muscle the muscle either relaxes or contracts. According to
Dr. Jeff W. Lichtman, from the Washington University School of Medicine, exercise and athletic
competition has been found to increase the amount of neurotransmitters released, thus improving
the sensory effect on the brain. Dr. Lichtman has also found that individuals who participate in
athletics or exercise have greater pleasure and memory function. This is largely due to the release
of acetylcholine which regulates memory and attention, and dopamine which regulates pleasure
and motor movement.
Figure 1: Neuromuscular junction and the release of neurotransmitters on skeletal muscle
Due to the importance of these neurotransmitters in overall brain function, as well as
athletic competition, sport psychologists and researchers understand the need to connect the two.
Relaxation and visualization techniques are the two most effective ways to connect the mind and
body as one. Active meditation and visualization triggers acetylcholine to be released thus
strengthening attention and memory to detail, which is essential for an athlete during preparation
before competition.
Relaxation is extremely powerful in its release of dopamine to calm an athlete down and
bringing a sense of relaxation and enjoyment before competition. This is also essential because
an athlete who is relaxed has far less anxiety and is prone to compete at a higher level. Even
more fascinating are athletes who visualize a certain muscle being trained or contracting during
competition have the ability to actually make that muscle stronger. In a study by the Cleveland
Clinic Foundation, individuals who imagined using their elbow flexor, or bicep muscle, showed
a 13.4% increase in strength compared to those who did not visualize using their elbow flexor.
Similar studies have yielded a similar result, which allows psychologists to train athletes on
visualization of situations and even muscles during training and competition. The mind is an
extremely powerful tool and when used effectively has the ability to not only strengthen athletes’
bodies, but their performance as well.
Not Just for Athletes:
The connection of your muscles to your mind is not only beneficial for improving
performance in athletes, but it is also highly effective in the overall function of the human body.
Stress is one of the greatest enemies to society. It is created in athletic competition, exercise,
work, school and even at home. An inability to manage stress can have dire consequences such
as a decrease in performance and attention, a decrease in immune function, and can even lead to
high blood pressure or hypertension. By actively meditating or telling oneself to breathe and
relax, similar to an athlete before competition, can drastically reduce stress and lower blood
pressure. According to Dr. Brian Butki, a sports psychologist at Colorado State University,
“everything we do in life passes through the mind and then is eventually displayed by our bodies.
By controlling our thoughts and emotions, we can improve every aspect of our lives, mentally
and physically.” For example, practicing cohesion, or unity, in the work place or school can lead
to an increase in production and an improvement in overall well-being. Visualization training can
also be effective outside of athletics. Visualizing a task that needs to be accomplished, and what
is required for that task, helps one prepare in advance and can ultimately reduce anxiety.
All of these methods used to enhance the connection of the mind to the muscles have
been demonstrated to be highly effective in increasing athletic performance. However, this is not
only a powerful tool for athletes, but for anyone else who is passionate about improving their
health or the health of the human body. The body is a very fascinating and efficient machine and
the brain is the most powerful organ within it. By connecting the two, or forming the musclemind connection, there is no limit for what the human body is capable of.
Steps for Improving Your Life (and performance):
1. Relax! Nothing gets accomplished when you’re tense.
2. Practice meditation in the morning and at night. Clearing your mind before and after a long
day is positively uplifting and can reduce anxiety.
3. Make lists. Having a list of goals or chores can increase focus and make certain tasks simple.
4. Visualize anything you want. It doesn’t matter if it is improvement in sports or an A on your
next midterm. If you want it you can have it.
5. Unity is essential. Being part of a group improves overall well-being in an individual.
References
1. Butki, Brian. Personal Interview. April 22, 2010.
2. Griffith S, Long L, Hawley J. Athletic Insight: The Online Journal of Sport Psychology. 19992010. Available at: http://www.athleticinsight.com/. Accessed April 17, 2010.
3. Improve Your Brain. The Franklin Institute. 2009. Available at:
http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html. Accessed April 18, 2010.
4. Murray J. Mental Factors in Tennis Can Be Used to Improve Your Game. Self Help Magazine
Website. 2009. Available at: http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/article/tennis. Accessed April 16,
2010.
5. Pye J. Competition Anxiety Needn’t Get You Down. Peak Performance Website. 2009.
Available at: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/sports-psychology-techniques-to-avoid-anxiety36295. Accessed April 18, 2010.
6. Solomon G. Is Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology for You? Association for Applied
Sport Psychology Website. 2010. Available at: http://appliedsportpsych.org/about/about-appliedsport-psych. Accessed April 17, 2010.
7. University of Miami, Florida. Campbell Publications. 2010 Available at:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/~cmallery/150/neuro/neuromuscular-sml.jpg. Accessed April 18,
2010.