New research published in the journal Psychological Science has connected higher real-time heart rates (an indicator of psychological stress) to lower performance of archery athletes in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
For the first time in sports, contactless real-time heart rates were measured and broadcast during the archery competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Using this data, the authors of the study compared the heart rates of competitors in individual competitions to their performance on subsequent shots. Data was collected from 122 individual competitors (both men and women) who took a total of 2,247 shots. Their heart rates were measured using cameras designed to measure skin reflectance, which can detect heart rates with 96% accuracy. Higher heart rates are generally an indicator of psychological stress.
The results showed that a higher heart rate measured immediately before taking a shot was linked to a lower score on that shot. This effect was greater for anyone who was shooting second in a match or who had a lower score than their opponent at that point in the match. It also had a greater impact on lower-ranking athletes than on higher-ranking athletes, and it tended to have a larger effect later in the match, when pressure may have been higher. No correlation was found between the impact of stress and the competitor’s gender or age.
The authors noted that athletes are usually trained to deal with stress, but these results suggest that athletes and their performance can still be significantly impacted by stress. A greater emphasis on training to manage psychological stress may be beneficial for athletes and anyone else who regularly encounters stressful situations, such as firefighters and paramedics.
Sources: Psychological Science, Science Daily
