Lesson 22
RELAXATION STRATEGIES FOR SPORT
While some athletes 🏃♂️ may suffer from low levels of arousal ⚡⬇️, the more difficult problems occur with athletes who experience excessively high levels of anxiety 😰 and tension 😣. For these athletes, any strategy calculated to heighten arousal ⚡⬆️ can only cause greater anxiety 😟 and tension 😤. Relaxation procedures 🧘♀️ can effectively reduce tension 😌 and anxiety 😰 associated with sport 🏟️. Four prevalent relaxation procedures 🛠️ can be adequately categorized under the broad heading of relaxation 🧘. These are:
- Progressive relaxation 💪
- Autogenic training 🔄
- Meditation 🧠
- Biofeedback 📊
Each procedure is unique ✨, but they all yield essentially the same physiological result ⚖️. That is, they all result in the relaxation response 😌. Such procedures result in decreased oxygen consumption 💨⬇️, heart rate ❤️⬇️, respiration 🫁⬇️, and skeletal muscles activity 💪⬇️, while they increase skin resistance ✋⬆️ and brain waves 🧠⬆️.
Four different factors ⚙️ are necessary for eliciting the relaxation response 😌. Each of these factors is present to some degree in the specific relaxation techniques 🧘♂️ that will be discussed. These four elements or factors are:
- A mental device 🧠
- A passive attitude 🛋️
- Decreased muscle tone 💪⬇️
- A quiet environment 🤫
The mental device 🧠 is generally some sort of word 📝, phrase 🗣️, object 🪄, or process 🔄 used to shift attention inwards 🔍.
In this lecture 📖 we will discuss specific relaxation techniques 🧘♂️ that are designed to bring about the relaxation response 😌. These techniques, as mentioned above, include: progressive relaxation 💪, autogenic training 🔄, meditation 🧠, and biofeedback 📊.
Mastering the technique of deep breathing 🌬️ for the purpose of relaxation 😌 and relieving tension 😤 is an important component of each of the relaxation techniques 🧘♀️. Two patterns of breathing 🌬️ are typically used for general relaxation 😌:
- Chest breathing 🫁
- Abdominal breathing 🫀
Chest breathing 🫁 is usually associated with emotional distress 😰 and is often shallow, irregular ❌, and rapid ⚡. Conversely, abdominal breathing 🫀 is associated with relaxation 😌 and is often deep 💨, regular 🔄, and slow 🐢. In practicing the relaxation procedures 🧘♂️, the athlete 🏃♀️ must practice relaxing through deep breathing 🌬️. The process of deeply inhaling and exhaling 🫁 in a slow rhythmic fashion 🕰️ is very relaxing 😌 to the body 🧍♂️ and mind 🧠. Deep breathing 🌬️ can be practiced at any time ⏰ or place 🌍.
1. Progressive Relaxation 💪
Modern progressive relaxation techniques 🧘♂️ are all variations of those outlined by Edmond Jacobson (1929, 1938) 📚. Jacobson's progressive relaxation procedure requires that the subject lie on their back 🛏️, the room should be fairly quiet 🤫, and arms and legs should not be crossed ❌, to avoid unnecessary stimulation ⚡. While the goal of any progressive relaxation program 🏁 is to relax the entire body 🧍♂️ in a matter of minutes ⏱️, it is essential that in the beginning the subject practice 🏋️ the technique for at least one hour every day 🕰️. Once the relaxation procedure 🧘♀️ is well learned ✅, the relaxation response 😌 can be achieved in a few minutes ⏱️.
Jacobson's method calls for the subject to tense a muscle 💪 before relaxing it 😌. Jacobson warns ⚠️ that only the first few minutes ⏱️ of any relaxation session 🧘♂️ should be devoted to muscle tensing 💪. The remaining time 🕰️ should be devoted to gaining complete relaxation 😌. For a muscle 💪 to be considered relaxed 😌, it must be completely absent of any contractions ❌ and must be limp 💤 and motionless 🛌.
Jacobson's full progressive relaxation procedure 💪 involves systematically tensing 💪 and relaxing 😌 specific muscle groups in a predetermined order 🔢. A well-developed relaxation training program 🧘♂️ requires a great deal of practice 🏋️ in the beginning. Research 🔬 has clearly shown ✅ that progressive relaxation procedures 💪 are effective in eliciting the relaxation response 😌.
2. Autogenic Training 🔄
Autogenic training 🔄 relies upon feelings associated with the limbs 💪 and muscles 💪 of the body 🧍♂️. Autogenic training 🔄 is very similar to autohypnosis 🌀, and is based upon early research with hypnosis 🧠. Various authors ✍️ have suggested different exercises 🏋️ and self-statements 🗣️ to bring about the relaxation response 😌 using autogenic training 🔄.
Essentially, autogenic training 🔄 is composed of three component parts 3️⃣ that are often intermingled 🔀.
- The first and most important part, to suggest to the mind 🧠 a feeling of warmth 🔥 in the body 🧍♂️ and heaviness 🪨 in the limbs 💪.
- The second component part involves the use of imagery 🌄. In this step, the subject is encouraged to visualize 🖼️ relaxing scenes while focusing on feelings of warmth 🔥 and heaviness 🪨 in the arms 💪 and legs 💪.
- The third component involves the use of specific themes 🗂️ to assist in bringing about the relaxation response 😌. One particularly effective theme is the use of self-statements 🗣️ to suggest to the mind 🧠 that the body 🧍♂️ is indeed relaxed 😌.
Research 🔬 shows that autogenic training 🔄 is also effective ✅ in bringing about the relaxation response 😌.
3. Meditation 🧠
Meditation 🧘♂️, as a form of relaxation 😌, is tied directly to the concepts of selective attention 👁️. In practicing meditation 🧘♀️, the individual attempts to uncritically focus 🎯 on a single thought 💭, sound 🔊, or object 🪙. The practice of meditation 🧘♂️ as a form of relaxation 😌 and thought control 🧠 has its origin 🌏 in Eastern cultures 🏯 more than four thousand years ago ⏳.
The most common mental device 🧠 used in transcendental meditation 🧘♀️ is the silent repetition of a mantra 🔁. It is clear ✅ that various forms of meditation 🧘♂️ can reduce anxiety 😰 and tension 😌 by evoking the relaxation response 😌.
4. Biofeedback Training 📊
It has been demonstrated 🔬 that humans 🧍 can voluntarily control functions of the autonomic nervous system 🧠💓. Biofeedback 📊 is a relatively modern technique 🧪 that is based upon this principle ⚖️. Biofeedback training 📊 uses instruments 🛠️ to help people control responses ⚡ of the autonomic nervous system 🧠💓.
For example 🔍, a subject monitors an auditory signal 🎵 of her own heart rate ❤️ and experiments 🔬 with different thoughts 💭, feelings 💓, and sensations 🌡️ to slow the heart rate ❤️⬇️. Once the subject learns ✅ to recognize the feelings 😌 associated with the reduction of heart rate ❤️⬇️, the instrument 🛠️ is removed ❌ and the subject tries to control 🧠 the heart rate ❤️ without it.
Instrumentation 🛠️
Athletes 🏃♂️ could be trained 🏋️ to control their physiological responses ⚡ in the laboratory 🧪; they should be able to transfer 🔄 this ability onto the athletic field 🏟️. There are three basic instruments 🛠️ for biofeedback 📊:
- Skin temperature 🌡️
- Electromyography (EMG) 💪📈
- Electroencephalogram (EEG) 🧠📊
The most commonly used ✅ and least expensive 💰 form of biofeedback 📊 is skin temperature 🌡️. Although sophisticated instruments 🛠️ are available, a simple thermometer 🌡️ can be used to monitor skin temperature 🌡️. Another very popular biofeedback technique 📊 employs the use of an electromyographic feedback instrument (EMG) 💪📈. A third major instrument 🛠️ used for biofeedback 📊 is the electroencephalogram (EEG) 🧠📊, commonly called brainwave training 🌊🧠.
While skin temperature 🌡️, EMG 💪📈, and EEG 🧠📊 are the most commonly used ✅ in biofeedback training 📊, several others are used to a lesser degree ⚠️. These are heart rate ❤️ and blood pressure 🩸.
Biofeedback and Performance 🏆📊
A number of scientific investigations 🔬 have been conducted to determine the effect ⚖️ of biofeedback 📊 on athletic performance 🏃♂️🏆. In forty-two studies 🔢, 83% 📊 found biofeedback training 📊 to be successful ✅ in facilitating sport 🏟️ and athletic performance 🏆, as well as beneficial 👍 to the athlete's well-being 😌.
References 📚
Cox, H. Richard. (2002). Sport Psychology: Concepts and Applications. (Fifth Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies 🏢
Lavallec. D., Kremer, J., Moran, A., & Williams. M. (2004). Sports Psychology: Contemporary Themes. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Publishers 📖