Elite sport psychology/mood/strategies

Activity

How do you manage your mood?

In this section, you are going to learn about strategic approaches to mood regulation. Before that, take a few minutes to have a think about how you regulate your mood during your daily life?

You may do it intuitively without really thinking about it. People often actively manage their mood by, for example, going for a walk, listening to music, or talking with friends.

Athletes usually have a general awareness of their mood and often adopt their own self-regulation strategies. However, mood regulation can be implemented in a more systematic way to help promote superior performance. In particular, athletes might monitor their moods using a mood assessment tool such as the BRUMS, and then take steps to regulate specific aspects of their mood.

Click on the box below to see some mood regulation strategies that have been shown to be effective for various mood dimensions.  If you completed the BRUMS previously you may wish to consider how these strategies relate to your own mood profile.

Mood Regulation Strategies

Mood regulation strategies

Research has identified a number of strategies for mood regulation:

Regulation of tension

• Use relaxation techniques.
• Use sport-related imagery.
• Engage in physical activity such as stretching or jogging.
• Follow pre-competition rituals or superstitions.

Regulation of depressed mood

• Deal with the cause of the feelings.
• Talk to someone about your feelings.
• Put those feelings into perspective.
• Seek physical affection.

Regulation of anger

• Use relaxation techniques.
• Spend time alone.
• Put your feelings into perspective.
• Avoid the cause, or trigger, of your feelings.

Regulation of vigour

• Engage in physical activity.
• Use sport-related imagery.
• Listen to fast, upbeat music.
• Focus on competition strategies.

Regulation of fatigue

• Use relaxation techniques.
• Take a shower.
• Rest, take a nap, or sleep.
• Have a massage.

Regulation of confusion

• Focus on competition strategies.
• Engage in positive thinking.
• Deal with the cause of the feelings.
• Talks to someone about the feelings.

Music

Music can play an important role in mood regulation.  In general terms, high tempo music, especially music with inspiring lyrics or motivating associations, can help to increase vigour and aggression, whereas softer, slower music has a calming, relaxing effect.

As part of a mood regulation plan, music playlists can be put together that are individually tailored to the target mood of the athlete. These playlists can be stored on a mobile phone or MP3 player and listened to as part of a training program, when preparing for competition, or during athlete downtime.

The role of music in sport psychology will be examined in more detail in a later module.

Exercise

The use of exercise to regulate mood has generated a great deal of research. Moderate intensity and vigorous exercise is known to release mood-enhancing chemicals into the bloodstream, and the benefits of regular exercise to health and well-being are well documented.

Elite athletes have to endure a much heavier physical workload than recreational exercisers.  During prolonged and heavy periods of training, athletes may experience mood disturbance, in the form of low vigour, high fatigue, increased anger, and symptoms of depressed mood.

Exercise that is novel or unrelated to an athlete’s sport can be used to enhance mood. Rhythmic and repetitive activities such as swimming, jogging and cycling can be effective, as well as exercises that involve rhythmic and abdominal breathing, including yoga and pilates.

Elite athletes frequently turn to playing other sports for recreation as a way to maintain balance in their lives. Many soccer players enjoy playing golf and Australian Rules footballers are often passionate surfers.

Rest

Rest is a crucial part of training for an elite athlete, especially in circumstances where prolonged mood disturbance is detected. Such circumstances might include:

• Following a long competitive season.
• Following a period of illness.
• Where overtraining or unexplained underperformance syndrome is evident.

To recover from such circumstances, a period of complete rest is often necessary followed by the gradual reintroduction of training. In parallel, regular mood assessments might be administered until a positive mood profile is evident again. Once a positive mood profile is reached, training volume can be increased progressively over time back up to normal levels.

Pep talks

The role of the coach in regulating mood is critical. A pre-game speech (or pep talk), delivered to a team or an individual athlete can not only help build confidence, but can also generate positive emotions and enhance mood.

An example of an inspirational team talk is delivered by the fictional coach Tony D’Amato (Al Pacino) in the 1999 movie Any Given Sunday. Take a look (some profane language).

• Al Pacino “Inches” Speech, Any Given Sunday (1999)

Self-talk

Many athletes regulate their moods through self-talk. Self-talk can occur silently or out loud. It can used to give self-encouragement and provide clear instructions, or alternatively if the self-talk is negative, it can serve to undermine self-belief, reduce self-confidence, and generate anger. Self-talk aimed at regulating a specific mood involves words and phrases that capture the qualities an athlete is striving to achieve. Here are some examples of self-talk phrases for specific purposes:

Reduce tension

• Stay calm.
• Breathe deeply.
• Cool as a cucumber.

Control aggression

• Keep your head.
• Use it, don’t lose it.
• Let them make the mistakes.

Reduce fatigue

• Wake up.
• Lift yourself up.
• Eyes wide open.

Increase vigour

• Come on.
• Ready for it.
• Take it to them.

Variety in preparation

Variety in terms of physical training and mental preparation is an important influence on mood. A lack of variety can lead to boredom and staleness. It can also lead to a performance plateau where the athlete is no longer being physically challenged.

Sustained pursuit of sporting success can lead to mental fatigue and burnout. The role of the coaching and support staff is vital in terms of designing programs that avoid burnout through effective monitoring and scheduling.

Features than could be introduced into a training program to create variety include:

• Training at different times.
• Offering a variety of training challenges that include novel activities and lack predictability.
• Changing the training venue for one day a week.