Effects Of Stress On Performance

By Author: Harry Campbell
Total Articles: 75
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Our nervous system is constantly at work partly as an interface between our mind and body.  It reacts to our environment, physical activity, and our thoughts.  It causes changes heart rate, blood pressure, blood circulation, contraction level of our muscles, our breathing, and many other things.  When the changes are appropriate and useful for the situation this is a very good thing.  When the changes are due to an overreaction related to stress then it can be harmful.   There are many ways that stress can cause problems with health and I have discussed these in other places.  Here I want to focus on effects on performance.  This type of negative stress reaction can happen with various types of performance including athletes, singers, speakers, students, business people, and actors to name a few.

When a performer becomes anxious the same kinds of changes happen in their brain and the rest of their body that would be helpful to get them out of physical danger in a situation where there is no need for the type of physical reaction the body is prepared for.  That state is usually not what is ideal for a ...
... high-quality performance.  Let’s go through a few examples.  A basketball player who has practiced thousands of free throws for years and has an excellent percentage of making them, say 85% is in position to win the game by making only one out of two free throws, misses them both badly, not even hitting the rim or backboard.  Maybe before he went to the line one of the opposing players made an insulting comment (trash talking).  His reaction might be to become angry and think about getting revenge.  His brain and body are now in fight mode which is not ideal for the task at hand.

Another example is when Greg Norman lost the Masters golf tournament after having a comfortable lead.  After making a few mistakes it seems as though he lost focus and never recovered, missing several easy short puts along the way.  This type of performance may have been due to the brain going into more of a fear rather than focus mode.

Finally, I once attended a basketball game with my nephew James at Madison Square Garden, known as “the world’s most famous arena”.  It is a great honor to be chosen to sing the national anthem at an NBA game, especially at Madison Square Garden.  The lady who was singing it must have been very nervous.  She started out well then after singing “and the rocket’s red glare” there was a long pause and then she continued “and the ball in the air” which are not the right words.  Some in the crowd started to laugh and some booed probably believing that it was disrespectful to mess up the national anthem.  This is another situation where stress may have negatively impacted performance.  The moment was very big.  She probably knows the song very well.  At that time in front of the large crowd it is not surprising that she may have been nervous.  Maybe she hadn’t sang in front of a crowd that large before.  In any case, it’s like when you are nervous sometimes it feels like your brain short circuits and you can’t remember information that you know very well but your brain just won’t recall it at that moment.  This is because the brain is in an emergency state where details like words to a song would not be important during a life or death situation.  This is why performers who have had some training in stress management will take a few deep breaths before performing. This can help calm the nervous system down and help the brain and body stay in a better state for optimal performance. Read more...

Harry L. Campbell

Author of What Stress Can Do, Available on Amazon.com

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