Since the earliest days of sport and competition, there has been a special niche for a type of psychologist who focuses on the effects of sports on the brain and behavior. Sports psychologists study how sports play a role in human development, health and well-being throughout an athlete's life. Additionally, many sports psychologists specialize in using principles of psychology to help athletes develop the optimal mental state in order to enhance physical performance.
Performance Enhancement
According to a 2010 article in the New York Times entitled "How to push past the pain, as the champions do," athletes who deeply focus on the exercise or event show significantly improved performance. A lot of it is about "learning exactly how to pace yourself," says Dr. Jeroen Swart, who specializes in exercise physiology. Contrary to popular belief, this article claims that concentrating intensely on the physical activity, also known as association, improves exercise performance. This is because when you dissociate from the pain or discomfort experienced during running, your body can briefly speed up but eventually hits a physiologic wall, which forces you to slow down.
Psychological Development
Athletes must develop a strong motivational framework that can be used to resist the feeling that they are too tired and need to slow down. There is a constant psychological calculation going on in the elite athlete's mind: the balance between pushing too hard and underperforming. With practice, your mind's aptitude for pushing the limit is raised as you learn more about your abilities and how accurately you can strike the balance between fatigue and maximum ability.
Applications
Sports psychologists are an important player on the athletic health team. In cases of fatigue and overtraining, it's often helpful to have a mental health professional who specializes in the psychology of elite athletes participating in the diagnosis of any given patient. For instance, if an athlete begins experiencing extreme fatigue because of a rigorous workout schedule, the sports psychologist analyzes the patient and evaluates for overtraining syndrome, a condition similar to major depression related to changes in brain neurotransmitters during overtraining. According to a 2007 article in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, other potential causes of fatigue include anemia, infection, muscle damage or insufficient carbohydrate intake. A sports psychologist aids in distinguishing these cases from those of overtraining syndrome.
Role of the Sports Psychologist
Also thought of as motivational psychologists, these health professionals fill a variety of roles. They include minimizing performance anxiety, setting realistic goals and reaching a healthy level of self-determination and tenacity. Sports psychologists have a special understanding of the impact that a highly competitive, physically demanding activity can have on your psyche.
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