Here is a short interview conducted by Chris Womack, Sports Anchor for WLOS, on my work with USA Table Tennis during the time of COVID-19.
Category Archives: Focus
Delay of the Games: Pause and Proceed
This Twitter exchange begins with Lex Gillette’s response to the news that the 2020 Summer Olympic Games would be delayed, due to the worldwide pandemic COVID-19. Gillette is a four-time Paralympic medalist and three-time long jump world champion. The reply is from Aubree Munro Watson, a professional softball player with Team USA.
Their exchange is emblematic of the majority of comments from athletes who have made the Olympic team or who are training for the trials. Publicly, most are staying positive:
“As for now, the work continues and even though there’s many obstacles, I’m still going to work just as hard to shoot for more moments like this in the future.” Karissa Schweizer, a six-time NCAA champion and pro runner for Nike (via Twitter)
“It means I have one more year to practice; one more year to make myself a better player.” Nikhil Kumar, US Olympic Table Tennis Team (via USATT)
“Just one more year to get better #Tokyo2021.” Lilly King, 2016 Olympic champion in the 100m breaststroke and the 4x100m medley (via Instagram)
“Many uncertainties now, but we will get through this. Just need to focus on what we can control and keep working towards our dreams.” Sakura Kokumai, the first American to qualify for karate in the Olympics (via Instagram)
These responses are adaptive and what we expect to hear. This type of attitude shows resilience and grit.
But when you look deeper, you realize there is also fear, uncertainty, and frustration. Just like most of us feel. Socially distanced can feel like socially isolated. Even with all the Zoom meetings, FaceTime, and other virtual platforms, we can feel lonely and disconnected, struggling to find our energy. More so, what if most of your focus has been on the upcoming Games or Trials?
In a piece for the WSJ, Kate Courtney, professional mountain bike racer and Olympic team member, writes about the pandemic-disrupted season:
In the past few weeks, I have felt the entire range of human emotion. At times, I am fearful and uncertain, not just about suspended dreams, but about our suspended world. What is the point of training in a time like this? Though I can ride my bike and train in a makeshift home gym, my mind is loud and questioning where it is usually quiet and resolved. I’ve tried to stay focused, pushing hard and thinking “all in for Tokyo,” only to find my mind consumed with panic and disappointment rather than strength and motivation.
Courtney concludes her piece saying “For now, my only solid plan is to look inward, keep my head down, and focus on taking the next right step. I have to keep believing that, on the other side, I will stand on that Olympic start line. Hope and heartbreak can live side-by-side.”
This is the sweet spot that we need to find at this time: Hope AND heartbreak. I can have doubts and fears AND I can continue to focus on the things that are meaningful to me.
In fact, it is often in times of anxiety and upheaval that we most need to explicitly turn to hope, purpose, and meaning.
Vic Strecher, a psychologist friend of mine who teaches at the University of Michigan, has written extensively on the need for purpose in our lives. Especially when our lives are disrupted. Strecher’s was more than disrupted; it was broken. Ten years ago, he and his wife lost their older daughter, Julia, age 19, to a heart attack. Julia had contracted a viral infection when she was a baby that required a heart transplant. Vic and his wife committed to giving her a full and beautiful life, never knowing how long she would have. In 2014, I heard Vic tell his story at a conference, and he has shared it many times. (I like this version the best.) He moved me to tears, not only because of his own loss, but because I was dealing with the loss of my younger brother, Bill, less than a year earlier, also of a heart attack.
In a time of loss, sadness, and anxiety, we can retreat (which both Vic and I did for awhile). But in coping with adversity, focusing on one’s purpose can help with healing and moving forward. Having a strong purpose is vital to our psychological, emotional, and physiological well-being.
“The need for meaning and purpose is No. 1. It’s the deepest driver of well-being there is.” Alan Rozanski, Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
“Every life needs a purpose to which it can give the energies of its mind and the enthusiasm of its heart.” Saint Francis of Assisi
We are in a time of loss, sadness, and anxiety. AND we are in the position to move forward with purpose. Whether you are an athlete on the Olympic team or a basement ping pong player trying to stay in shape, you can use this time to remember why you play and to connect to something bigger than yourself.
My suggestions to Olympians, some of whom I’ll be speaking with in the next week, perhaps can be good reminders for us all:
- Be gentle with yourself. Practice self-compassion. This time IS challenging.
- When, not if, you get frustrated with reduced options for training/improving, acknowledge this. Don’t just brush that thought away. It’s okay to be affected by this and not to always demonstrate unshakable resilience.
- AND, you can use this time to work on your game. Especially your weaknesses.
- For many of us, this is a good time to improve our focus and attention. There is so much out there to distract us from our goals and purpose.
- Devote specific practice time to training your attention. Here are a few of my blog posts on focus
- Work on managing self-talk.
- Practice “defusing” from your thoughts and emotions, treating these like passing sensations rather than absolute facts of your situation.
- Breathe, stay grounded, and ACT
- Accept your reactions and be present
- Choose a valued direction
- Take action
Feel free to reach out and connect with me. I would love to hear how you are doing.
Be well 💗
In the moment
Thirty years ago, the first empirical test of a mindfulness-based intervention for athletes was published by Jon Kabat-Zinn and his colleagues. The researchers found that, following mindfulness training, a group of college rowers performed well above their coach’s expectations (based on experience level and physical ability). A second group (Olympic rowers, several of whom won medals) reported feeling that the mindfulness training (MT) had helped their performance. After this first study, there was a dearth of studies on mindfulness training in sports. But there has been a recent resurgence with most studies showing that MT is impacting athletes in positive ways (e.g., less stress, increased ability to focus, etc.).
The idea is that rather than trying to control internal phenomena (thoughts/images), it may be more beneficial for athletes to develop skills in present-moment awareness and acceptance. As Kabat-Zinn suggests, one is trying to pay attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.
Most of the athletes I work with don’t have much trouble with the first component (purposeful attention), but struggle more with staying in the present moment, nonjudgmentally… especially after they make mistakes, when the self-talk often becomes past-oriented and highly judgmental. Given that this is so hard for many of us, it makes sense to train the mind to be better at this.
What we are talking about is improving self-regulation (in this case, of attention) in order to facilitate optimal performance. Most of this training mirrors a well-established protocol called Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) which has been modified for work with athletes and teams.
To get a taste of this, try these strategies as a start.
1. Mindful Breathing
Take a few minutes a day to pay attention to your breath, which can bring on a calm and clear state of mind (via the parasympathetic nervous system). Physiologically, this can help to regulate your breathing if it becomes shallow. Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and start to deepen your breath. Inhale fully and exhale completely. Focus on your breath entering and exiting your body. Start with five minutes and you can build up from there. When your mind wanders (which it inevitably will), gently bring it back to the breath.
2. Body Scan
Practice a body scan to help release tension, quiet the mind, and bring awareness to your body in a systematic way. Lie down on your back with your palms facing up and legs relaxed. Close your eyes. Start with your feet and notice how they feel. Are they tense? Are they warm or cold? Focus your attention here for a few breaths before moving on up your body — as you travel from your foot to your ankle, calf, knee and thigh. Continue to move up your hips, lower back, stomach, chest, shoulders, arms, hands, neck and head — maintaining your focus on each body part and any sensations there. Breathe into any areas that are holding stress and try to release it. As you engage in this practice regularly, you will become more highly attuned to what’s happening in your body. You can spend 10 minutes or longer doing a body scan.
3. Internal Messages
Pay attention to your internal dialogue, but don’t spend time battling the chatter. That means when unhelpful thoughts arise — “I can’t keep this pace up,” or “I better not double-fault” — notice them, but don’t judge them or become stuck/fused with them. It’s okay to notice that the thoughts and feelings are there, but don’t attach any weight to them. Instead, let the thoughts and emotions go quickly (like clouds passing, or leaves floating down a stream) and speak in terms of what you want to achieve in this moment.
Mental Toughness in Table Tennis
Currently, the World Junior Table Tennis Championship is being played in Cape Town, South Africa. Sean O’Neill recently asked me to be available to the juniors from the U.S., to answer questions and provide tips for improving their mental game. If anyone would know about mental toughness, it is Sean.
I first met Sean during my internship with the U.S. Olympic Training Center in 1990. I was working on my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, but had a focus in sport psychology. When I arrived at the Colorado Springs training site, I was happy to be assigned the table tennis developmental team. Sean was there, not as a junior, but as a veteran member of the National Team. His goal was to make the 1992 Olympic team. Sean asked me to help him with visualization, positive affirmations, etc. I have worked with many athletes over the past 25 years, but few have shown the dedication to mental toughness that Sean did. He was relentless in his physical and mental training and it paid off.
A 2008 USATT Hall of Fame member, Sean O’Neill has represented the United States in every international competition possible, including the Pan Am Games, Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup (team, doubles, and singles), and various international championships.
A five-time U.S. Men’s Singles, Doubles Champion, and six-time U.S. Mixed Doubles Champion, Sean won a total of twenty-eight U.S. Olympic Sports Festival medals, of which twenty-one were gold. A member of four Pan Am Games teams, Sean won two Gold, five Silver, and one Bronze medals.
Based on my work with Sean and with many other table tennis athletes, here are some of my thoughts about competing successfully. (This does not speak specifically to the mental training that you should do outside of competition — but most of what I write below should be employed in practice sessions too.) Since games are played to 11, here are:
Eleven Tips for Mental Toughness in Competition Table Tennis
1. Routines.
Have a pre-serve routine (whether serving or receiving) that is unshakable.
Have an emotion-setting routine. You will be nervous — no question. That is not the problem. The problem is interpreting the butterflies in your stomach as negative. They are not. They are your body’s way of saying “I’m ready. I’m excited.” If you are really over-the-top anxious, slow things down a bit. Take a little more time before a point to breathe from your belly and to calm your mind and body.
Have a refocusing routine (when you lose a point or become distracted) — more on this in Tip #2
2. Refocus after distraction or a poor point. When Todd Sweeris was a junior, many times after he made a mistake, he would look to the crowd (anticipating negative feedback). I had Todd draw a small blue dot on his racquet that he would focus on after each point. This allowed him to prepare for the next point (see #3). (Todd went on to represent the U.S. in the Olympics in ’96 and 2000.)
3. Next point mentality (NPM). Once the point is over, it is over. Quickly analyze what just happened and then move on. The mentally tough player is immediately onto the next point and rally.
4. Process not Outcome. Focus on the process of playing well. The second you think about the outcome (winning or losing), you are no longer in the present moment. You can only control the current point and the way you play it. Of course you want to win. But wanting to win (and thinking about winning/losing) isn’t the route to successfully competing. Wins come from playing each point with full intensity, courage, and composure. There is no point where you relax. And there should be no point where you over-try.
5. Thought control. Ideally, your thoughts will remain positive throughout a match and a tournament. The reality is that you may have negative thoughts (e.g., self-criticism) pop up. That’s okay. Just don’t attach any weight to those thoughts and self-statements. They are just thoughts. Let them go without trying to force it. The easiest way to do this is to get back to #3 (NPM).
6. Confidence. Confidence is easy when you’re playing well. But what about if things aren’t going so well. Remind yourself of how hard you have prepared for this and don’t allow your mind to move to negativity. Sean did this very well. He had a set of positive affirmations that he would repeat before a match and during visualizations. This got him into a confident mindset that translated to…
7. Try for every ball. (Sean’s rules…
Rule #1: Try for EVERY ball
Rule #2: If the ball is too far away to reach, see Rule #1
8. Display mental toughness. This mentality in #7 translated to an intensity in competition that was hard to ignore. It demonstrated to Sean’s competitors that they couldn’t beat him by getting into his head. They knew they would have to beat him tactically.
9. Reframe. A mental trick you can use when the game is tight (say 10-10) is to reframe the score in your head as something like 4-4. How would you play a 4-4 point? That’s how you should play a 10-10 point. We often get tighter at 10-10 and play more conservatively. But that is moving away from your game. Always play your game.
10. Body language. Before matches and in between points, be sure to keep your head up. When nervous or self-critical, we tend to gaze down. Keep your head up and try to have a body language that suggests confidence, but not cockiness.
11. Have fun. Table tennis is a blast. I have played since I was a little kid and now I’m teaching my own children. We can sometimes take it way too seriously. Remember, it is a GAME that is fun. Have a small smile on your face as you play. You’ll confuse your opponent (“Why is she smiling?!?). And you’ll put yourself into the right frame of mind. Have fun out there.
Danny MacAskill: Focus defined
Danny MacAskill is a street trials cyclist who has appeared in some very popular riding videos, performing tricks and stunts that seem impossible for a man and his bike. Here is a great piece on the production of these videos, which emphasizes the need for total focus (from both MacAskill and the film team).
The mental challenge is that when you are doing a back flip drop of two meters onto concrete or riding on a cable 4 meters off the ground it’s a scary thing. Some of the bigger tricks take a lot of focus and bravery to do and sometimes that barrier takes Danny a long time to overcome. ~ Stu Thomson, a longtime friend of MacAskill and competitive mountain bike rider-turned director
The focus that MacAskill demonstrates in his riding is incredible. His newest video, just released, has the Scottish MacAskill returning to his native Isle of Skye and riding the gorgeous and extremely challenging Cuillin Ridge. I can only watch this with awe and admiration. Enjoy.
In the zone
The first weekend of the men’s NCAA tournament is over. Sixteen teams remain to compete for the national title. One team that won’t be there, despite having hopes of going deep into the tournament, is Creighton. The BlueJays ran into the stifling defense of Baylor, losing badly by 30 points. It was the final game of senior Doug McDermott, son of coach Greg McDermott.
But what a career that Doug had. McDermott finished his career ranked fifth in NCAA history with 3,150 points, passing the likes of Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson. Doug’s offensive skills are fun to watch in action. He has a real feel for the game and for what shot or move would be most successful in any game situation. How did he get so good?
There are two things that Doug has done over the years that I would highlight: deliberate practice and visualization.
(1) Deliberate Practice. As prolific a scorer as Doug is, he had the opportunity to enter the NBA draft twice, had he chosen to leave college early. Instead, he decided to stay and work on his weaknesses:
McDermott has turned down the chance to go pro early twice, while adding different dimensions to his game. He’s improved his in-between game. The 6-8 forward is hitting his fadeaway jumper more consistently. He’s added to his post play. He’s worked on his defense and lateral movement. He honed skills and grew his confidence last summer alongside NBA stars at a Team USA mini-camp. ~ Nicole Auerbach, 3-12-14, USA Today Sports
Deliberate practice involves
- rigorous skills assessment
- repetitive performance of skills
- specific feedback
- discovering one’s weaknesses, and working deeply on those
- good planning skills (organize work in a structured way)
- concentration/dedication (high levels of focus)
- self reflection (ability to self-regulate learning)
As you can see, this is an intense process and one that takes high levels of motivation. It is done in the context of getting critical feedback throughout the process, something perhaps made easier by the fact that Doug was always around basketball with his father as a coach (and as his coach at Creighton).
(2) Ability to get into “the zone.” This zone is often talked about as a magical realm for athletes in which time slows and execution feels effortless. I think that this is probably true to some extent, but that it is less about the feelings of effortlessness and more about the feelings of being “dialed in” — having unshakable focus.
A recent article in Sports Illustrated (March 17) described Doug’s ability to get into the zone as connected to his work with Jack Stark, an Omaha-based sport psychologist. According to the article, McDermott and Stark would have a mental preparation session before every game. This session would include a hypnotic induction, deep relaxation, and guided imagery.
McDermott arrives at a beach. There, he removes the clutter from his mind — the anxiety of game day, the pressure of carrying an offense for a top 10 team — and puts its in a box, on a raft, and pushes into the blue water. The tide carries it away.
Hypnosis opens the mind to suggestion, so stark begins refilling McDermott’s with positive past experiences, reminders of times when the points came easy. Stark guides him through that day’s game. He covers how McDermott will deal with defenses and make winning plays.
The visualization session is quite active, as you can see. It is not just about relaxing before a game. Mental preparation should include seeing how one will respond to changes in the competition; how one will react and respond with composure. This type of visualization is practiced routinely at the highest levels of competition.
Doug McDermott: Best wishes as you begin playing at the next level. You’ve given college basketball fans a lot to enjoy and respect over the years. And a lesson for the rest of us striving to improve in various areas of our lives.
Olympic dreams supported by sound mental habits
Watching the Olympic Games is always a treat for me. The pressure on these athletes to put in a “performance of a lifetime” helps some thrive, while others struggle. I was fortunate to work at the Olympic Training Center (based in Colorado Springs) in the early 90s, helping young athletes develop their mental skills as fully as their physical skills. We were always working on improving consistency, mental toughness, and focus.
There are a lot of good books available for athletes looking for that elite mindset: Toughness, by Jay Bilas; Choke, by Sian Beilock; In Pursuit of Excellence, by Terry Orlick; Eleven Rings, by Phil Jackson. But for a quicker look at the mental habits of elite athletes, you should read the recent column by Carolyn Gregoire of the Huffington Post. This article, The Brain-Training Secrets of Olympic Athletes, is superb: current, on-target, and with many helpful links.
Gregoire focuses on five practices that Olympic athletes use to reach their peak. (She also makes it clear how we can use these strategies in our own lives — a focus of my own practice and blog.) So, without further ado, here are the strategies that Gregoire highlights:
(1) Visualize the outcome you want. I would add that you should also visualize what you will do when something sets you back — a mental contingency plan.
(2) Meditate daily. It seems daily that there is a new finding on the benefits (psychological and/or physiological) of mindfulness practice. Being in the moment is, not surprisingly, a key skill in high level performance.
(3) Evict the obnoxious roommate in your head.
“Do your thoughts tend to lift you up — or are you constantly tearing yourself down with an inner monologue of fear, self-doubt and feelings of unworthiness? Great athletes, through all the challenges they face, are able to exert a great deal of control over the way they talk to themselves, and they’ve managed to evict the”obnoxious roommate” living in their heads that tells them they can’t do it.” ~ C. Gregoire
(4) Set smarter goals. Goal-setting sounds so basic because it is. It is simple to do. But it is also simple to do poorly — for example, setting outcome goals without also setting the process goals. Set daily goals. Build on small successes. Emphasize what is in your control — attitude, effort, focus — rather than things like times, points, or places.
(5) Go with the flow. Gregoire closes her piece with the idea that Olympic athletes need to be able to achieve “flow,” that state of mind in which time seems to slow and when one feels fully immersed in the activity. Flow is not a random event. In fact, it is much more likely to occur if you have committed to the first four strategies listed above. Mostly, it is a function of quieting the mind — allowing yourself to achieve the confident, but calm mindset. This doesn’t mean you can’t be aggressive if that’s your style. But it does mean that you shouldn’t have to force it.
Well, back to my nightly watching of the Winter Games. So inspiring…
Mental toughness — quantified
“Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like muscles of the body.”
– Lynn Jennings (nine-time winner of the U.S. National Cross Country Championship)
We all seem to understand the competitive advantages of being “mentally tough.” And while this is true of all sports, distance running ranks up there with the most demanding on the psyche. But what exactly is “mental toughness” and can it be measured?
John Hall, a doctoral student at Staffordshire University in the U.K., set out to examine mental toughness in ultramarathoners. Hall measured three components: confidence, control, and constancy.
He also measured a few other performance markers such as hardiness, effort, and use of mental skills. He gave questionnaires to ultrarunners (n=706) before six different races and then correlated responses with finishing times. In short, Hall found that mental toughness accounted for 14% of the variance in finishing times. (In an ultra, this can translate to hours differences in times.) Even in a 5000m cross-country race, this could account for 2-3 minutes — a huge effect. I’m not inclined to get hung up on “14%” being some magical number. Rather, Hall’s study helps us tangibly see something that is usually difficult to quantify.
What factors in mental toughness appear to be most important?
Both Hall’s study and my experience working with distance runners identify three key factors:
1. High self-confidence.
2. Constancy of thought. This relates to having high levels of concentration, determination, acceptance of responsibility, and stability of attitudes.
3. Specific mental skills such as the ability to focus and refocus, relax, and manage stress.
The idea that one can simply will oneself through a race is tempting, but ultimately untrue for most. (Perhaps Steve Prefontaine was an exception.) But most elite athletes, including Anne Lundblad — former USATF Ultrarunner of the Year — whom I interview here, spend a great deal of time training the mind. As Lundblad explains, self-confidence that is difficult to shake even under high pressure is gained through specific forms of mental training. She uses self-affirmation and refocusing strategies to stabilize her thoughts and attitudes. It’s not that Lundblad doesn’t lose confidence or feel pain — she does, of course. But she quickly regains control, constancy, confidence, and focus. In addition to viewing the interview with Anne, it might be helpful to revisit an earlier post of mine, which focuses on developing persistence and grit through deliberate practice.
In any case, it’s nice to see Hall’s research and his attempt to quantify the advantage of mental toughness. Through all this, remember that mental toughness is less a trait than a way of behaving. And that changing one’s habitual way of behaving or thinking (to become more mentally tough) takes time — and is ultimately rewarded in enjoyment and results.
Winning through the ages
A recent NPR story featured Graham Johnston, an 82-year-old master’s swimmer who just competed in The National Senior Games. Johnston is an excellent freestyler and has set many records over the years.
The article could just have easily highlighted Clarke “Mitch” Mitchell (age 81) who swam with Johnston many years ago when they both competed for the University of Oklahoma.
I have known Mitch for the past 15 years. He has seen me cycle in and out of the pool, sometimes competing in master’s events, sometimes not. Sometimes doing hard work outs. Other times just slopping along.
But not Mitch. He has shown consistency, persistence, the ability to swim through injuries and arthritis, and an indefatigable spirit and love of swimming. And in the Pan-Am Games in June, Mitch beat Johnston to win the 50-meter free in the 80-84 age group. Mitch also set a U.S. record in the 100-meter backstroke (1:31.1) and a world record in the 50-meter butterfly (38.75).
I asked Mitch to tell me about his swimming — his training, his mental approach, his motivation. I’ve summarized some of his answers below. It’s easy to see why he is still so enthusiastic about swimming, and why he continues to break records.
Bob ~ What drives you to continue to train and compete?
Mitch ~ Preparing for retirement, I knew I had to have something I liked to do to take up some of my free time. It needed to be something I could do as I aged and something I could do pretty well to keep me happy. I like the fellowship, I do well, I have a good place to practice and it helps keep me going. It helps me handle the Rheumatoid Arthritis, too.
B ~ What would you say your strengths are from a psychological/mental standpoint?
M ~Besides having had some really good coaching through the years, I have the ability to focus. It’s difficult for me to focus on too many things at the same time, so I rely on reflex to handle most of it and focus on a particular item or two in a race or meet. I don’t get uptight before a race or meet, just reconcile myself to do all I can and let it happen. I am a goal setter and vary the goals from season to season to keep it feeling new.
B ~ You are so positive and encouraging. Is that something that you’ve always had in you? Or, have you tried to cultivate a positive attitude for sports and life?
M ~ Being positive is something I have tried to learn. I was a cheerleader in high school and college, as well as being a swimmer, so some of it comes naturally. But it’s a philosophy of life I’ve adopted more in later years. When you see so many folks with much greater problems than I have had, it helps keep the perspective. Also, I try to plan for contingencies, so I’m ready for complications.
B ~ Anything you do to prepare psychologically for a meet?
M ~ Yes, I visualize the pool, the race I am focusing on, and the things I am working on for that particular race. I don’t predict times or place… just things like pace, turnover, breathing patterns, my kick, or whatever. Reflexes and training take care of the other things. Also, in workouts, I always swim to the wall and do the strokes and turns legally. Remember, “practice doesn’t make perfect… practice makes consistent!”
B ~ Thanks, Mitch. Keep on swimming! (And I’ll try to keep up.)
Sleep
Are you getting enough sleep? Surveys conducted in the U.S. suggest not. And how does sleep deprivation affect you? “Feeling tired” is the obvious answer. But the list of negative effects (as summarized this week in Jane Brody’s health column) goes well beyond fatigue:
According to sleep specialists… a number of bodily systems are negatively affected by inadequate sleep: the heart, lungs and kidneys; appetite, metabolism and weight control; immune function and disease resistance; sensitivity to pain; reaction time; mood; and brain function.
Some of the most insidious effects of too little sleep involve mental processes like learning, memory, judgment and problem-solving. During sleep, new learning and memory pathways become encoded in the brain, and adequate sleep is necessary for those pathways to work optimally. People who are well rested are better able to learn a task and more likely to remember what they learned. The cognitive decline that so often accompanies aging may in part result from chronically poor sleep.
With insufficient sleep, thinking slows, it is harder to focus and pay attention, and people are more likely to make poor decisions and take undue risks. As you might guess, these effects can be disastrous when operating a motor vehicle or dangerous machine.
The effects of sleep deprivation may be especially critical for athletes and others pursuing peak performance. (I’m picturing a sleep-deprived NASCAR driver or downhill skier.)
The good news is that we can change our sleep habits. And we should. Getting adequate sleep helps us with
a) being able to focus and make the right decisions in a pressure situation.
b) recovery from intense training. (“Eat, sleep, swim,” Michael Phelps told NBC when asked about his preparations for last summer’s Olympic Games.)
c) managing pain (physical and emotional) more effectively.
So, as renowned sleep researcher Jim Maas advises, we need to quit treating sleep as a luxury and instead as a necessity.
Dr. Maas, retired professor of psychology at Cornell, has recently published Sleep to Win: Secrets to Unlocking Your Athletic Excellence. As Maas writes on his blog:
Since many of my students were scholar-athletes, I started working with teams and individuals striving to become better at their sport. The results of paying attention to sleep were immediate and profound. We gave seminars to athletes from basketball to hockey, lacrosse, wrestling and field hockey and started to see vast improvement in energy level, reaction time and recovery from injury.
Researchers at The Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine have also been investigating the relationship between sleep and sport performance. When athletes are encouraged to sleep more (attempting to get 10 hours per night), they experience significant improvements in speed, reaction time, accuracy, energy, and mood. As sleep specialist Dr. Michael Breus reports, some professional sports teams are taking these data seriously, making changes in their practice schedule in an attempt to improve performance. Smart.
There are many sources of information for getting better sleep, reducing sleep deprivation, and overcoming sleep problems like insomnia. For a primer, read this basic guide by Dr. Breus.
But first and foremost, you have to prioritize sleep as a fundamental part of improvement and your pursuit of excellence.
Sweet dreams….