ENERGY MANAGEMENT: PSYCHING UP WITHOUT PSYCHING OUT

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ENERGY MANAGEMENT PSYCHING UP WITHOUT PSYCHING
OUT

• Damon Burton
• University of Idaho

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• What is arousal?

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AROUSAL DEFINED

• Arousal the general physiological and
  psychological activation of the body that varies
  on a continuum from deep sleep to intense
  excitement.

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AROUSAL CONTINUUM

• Low
  High
• Arousal
  Arousal
• Coma
  Frenzy
• couch potato
  working out

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COMPONENTS OF AROUSAL

• intensity amount of activation of the Autonomic
  Nervous System.
• direction interpretation of activation as
  positive and facilitating performance or negative
  and detrimental to performance.

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PHYSIOLOGICAL COMPONENTS OF AROUSAL

• Under stress, the Autonomic Nervous System is
  activated.
• The sympathetic component of the ANS pumps
  adrenaline into bloodstream to help the body
  prepare to handle demanding situation.
• The Fight or Flight Syndrome is a survival
  mechanism built into our caveman ancestors.

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PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES DURING MAXIMAL AROUSAL

• Heart rate, blood pressure and breathing
  increase,
• Muscles develop anticipatory tension,
• Glucose is released from the liver to provide
  extra energy,
• Through vasodilation, blood is shunted away from
  the digestive system to the large muscles of arms
  and legs,
• The kidneys shut down and the bladder is emptied,
• Brain activity increases, enhancing alertness,
  and
• Our cooling system engages to prepare for
  vigorous activity.

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WHAT TRIGGERS ACTIVATION OF THE ANS?

• life-threatening situations that trigger the
  Fight or Flight Syndrome,
• psychological stress such as preparing for a big
  test, an important speech, a crucial job
  interview or a major sport competition.

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MENTAL COMPONENTS OF AROUSAL

• self talk,
• imagery,
• attentional focus, and
• perceptions of control.

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Does arousal help or hurt performance?
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Relationships Between Physical and Mental
Components of Arousal
High Physical Arousal

• excitement
• challenge
• readiness

• somatic anxiety
• anger

Facilitative
Debilitative

• boredom
• fatigue
• lethargy

• relaxation

Low Physical Arousal
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FACILITATIVE AROUSAL

• high arousal that is interpreted positively as
  optimal challenge, readiness or excitement.
• leads to a constructive approach to competition
  in which athletes are highly-focused, thinking
  positively, feeling prepared and in control, and
  imagining successful process and outcome.
• prompts performers to rise to the occasion,
  attain personal excellence and promote Flow.

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DEBILITATIVE AROUSAL

• high arousal that is interpreted negatively as
  threat, worry, and fear of failure.
• leads to a detrimental approach to competition in
  which athletes are highly-distracted, thinking
  negatively, feeling ill prepared and totally
  overwhelmed, and imagining disastrous performance
  and outcome.
• prompts choking and poor performance, thus
  blocking Flow.

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• How does arousal
• relate to anxiety?

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RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN AROUSAL AND ANXIETY

• Anxiety a negative emotional state
  characterized by feelings of nervousness, worry
  and apprehension associated with activation of
  the body.
• Anxiety is a negative emotion that has a
  detrimental impact on performance.
• Trait anxiety is the tendency to view
  situations negatively and respond with higher
  levels of state anxiety.
• State anxiety is a momentary anxiety experience
  that includes both autonomic arousal and specific
  cognitions of worry and apprehension.

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Model of Competitive Emotions
Facilitative

• excitement
• readiness

• self-confidence

self
Physical
Mental

• somatic anxiety

• cognitive anxiety

Debilitative
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DIMENSIONS OF ANXIETY

• Cognitive Anxiety is negative expectations of
  success or worrying about the negative
  consequences of failure.
• Symptoms include self-doubts, concerns about
  doing well, lack of control, inability to
  concentrate and images of failure or disaster.
• Somatic Anxiety is the physiological and
  affective component of anxiety that develops
  directly from autonomic arousal and is
  interpreted negatively.
• Symptoms include muscular tension, butterflies
  in the stomach, shortness of breath, sweaty
  palms, cotton mouth, frequent urination, and
  increased heart rate.

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POSITIVE COMPETITIVE EMOTIONS

• Self-Confidence is positive expectations of
  success that should facilitate performance.
• Symptoms include feelings of control,
  perceptions of being highly prepared, few
  concerns about doing well, extreme belief in
  talent and ability, and images of success.
• Excitement/Readiness reflects a positive
  interpretation of autonomic arousal symptoms that
  should facilitate performance.
• Symptoms include muscular tension, butterflies
  in the stomach, shortness of breath, sweaty
  palms, cotton mouth, frequent urination, and
  increased heart rate.

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• How does arousal impact performance?

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DRIVE THEORY AROUSAL- PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP

• Performance
• 
  Arousal

High
High
Low
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INVERTED-U THEORY AROUSAL- PERFORMANCE
RELATIONSHIP

• Performance 1
  2 3
• Individualized ZOF

Arousal
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CATASTROPHE THEORY WHEN AROUSAL COGNITIVE
ANXIETY ARE HIGH

• High Cognitive Anxiety
• Performance 1
  2 3
• Arousal

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How do underarousal and overarousal hurt
performance?
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HOW UNDERAROUSAL IMPAIRS PERFORMANCE

• Arousal is insufficient to prepare body for
  challenging competitive demands.
• Insufficient oxygen is pumped to the working
  muscles,
• The bodys cooling system is not adequately
  readied,
• Nonessential systems such as digestion and
  excretion are not put on standby,
• Glucose has not been released from the liver to
  fuel activity, and
• Brain activity increases, heightening alertness.

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HOW OVER AROUSAL IMPAIRS PERFORMANCE

• excessive muscular tension and coordination
  problems,
• index finger example
• attentional problems,
• attentional narrowing,
• inability to shift attention,
• brain specialization problems,
• excessive analyzer control,
• adoption of an outcome rather than a process
  orientation

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• How do task and
• personality variables
• influence optimal arousal?

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OPTIMAL AROUSAL SIMPLE VERSUS COMPLEX TASKS

• attentional demands
• decision-making requirements, and
• nature of the motor response.

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ATTENTIONAL DEMANDS

• the number of stimuli in the environment,
• the number of cues you need to attend to,
• the duration and intensity of the stimuli, and
• the conflicting nature of cues.

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DECISION-MAKING REQUIREMENTS

• number of decisions necessary,
• number of choices per decision,
• speed at which decisions have to be made, and
• the sequence of those decisions.

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NATURE OF THE MOTOR RESPONSE

• the number of muscles involved,
• the amount of coordination required,
• the precision and steadiness needed, and
• the fine motor skills required.

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OPTIMAL AROUSAL TASK DURATION

• Long-duration events require execution of the
  skill as efficiently as possible to minimize
  energy expenditure through good technique and
  correct pace.
• Short-duration events require sharply-focused,
  explosive arousal for a few moments when athletes
  perform.

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• Does the inverted-U hypothesis still effectively
  explain how arousal influences performance?

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RECONCEPTUALIZING THE INVERTED-U

• Facilitative arousal conditions cognitive
  anxiety is low, self-confidence is high, and
  athletes adopt a process orientation.
• Debilitative arousal conditions cognitive
  anxiety is high, self-confidence is low, and
  athletes adopt an outcome orientation.
• Neutral arousal conditions low-moderate
  cognitive anxiety, moderate to high
  self-confidence, and a moderate outcome
  orientation.

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AROUSAL-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP FACILITATIVE
CONDITIONS

• Performance
• 
  Arousal

High
High
Low
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AROUSAL-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP NEUTRAL
CONDITIONS

• Performance 1
  2 3
• Individualized ZOF

Arousal
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AROUSAL-PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP DEBILITATIVE
CONDITIONS

• High Cognitive Anxiety
• Performance 1
  2 3
• Arousal

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SPORT ENERGY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

• Education Phase
• General Education
• Personal Education through Awareness
• Acquisition Phase
• Develop Energy Management Skills
• Adjust Your Optimal Energy Zone
• Practice and Rehearsal Phases

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AWARENESS TRAINING

• First step in energy management program.
• Use imagery to vividly recall your best
  performance
• evaluate performance states
• Next use imagery to recall your worst performance
• evaluate performance states
• Compare your responses

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ENERGY MANAGEMENT TRAINING ASSIGNMENT

• Total Relaxation
• imagery, self-directed and progressive muscle
  relaxation combined with diaphragmic breathing.
• Conditioned Relaxation Training
• pair relaxation cue word with diaphragmic
  breathing and feelings of deep relaxation 15-20
  times
• Practical/Rapid Relaxation
• 3-5 seconds combination of 1-2 diaphragmic
  breaths coupled with repeating your cue word
  twice