Influence of mental stress and HRV

Dealing with racing pressure is an integral part of top sport. Parfitt & Pates (1999) describe that physical stress can positively affect sports performance, which has higher than anaerobic demands. The negative effect is described by Hanin (2000) and further emphasizes the use of this individual zone for optimal action, by which athletes can reduce emotional stress affecting performance. This could clarify the relationship between pre-race stress, psycho-somatic condition and athletic performance.

Tonhajzerová (2008) uvádí, že na změnách aktivity ANS se podílí více faktorů (stresorů) než jen fyzická zátěž.  Odrazem fyzické zátěže je dle ní kardiovaskulární odpověď organismu, charakterizovaná zvýšením aktivity sympatoadrenálního systému se zvýšením frekvence srdce. Jedním z dalších faktorů je i psychická složka; a to zpracování informace na úrovni CNS (emoce, adaptace atd.) a individualita jednotlivce (motivace, osobní postoj). S tím tedy může být spojený například jakýkoliv sociální problém, možnost začínající nemoci, předstartovní stav, reakce hráče na konkurenci atd. Dále dodává, že reakce na všechny tyto faktory je u hráče specifická ať jde o sport kolektivní nebo individuální.

Tonhajzer (2008) states that changes in ANS activity are due to more factors (stressors) than just physical activity. According to her, the reflection of physical activity is the cardiovascular response of the organism, characterized by an increase in the activity of the sympathoadrenal system with an increase in heart rate. One of the other factors is the psychic component; namely the processing of information at the CNS level (emotions, adaptation, etc.) and the individuality of the individual (motivation, personal attitude). This can be associated with, for example, any social problem, the possibility of an incipient illness, a pre-start condition, the player's reaction to the competition, etc. Tonhajzer adds that the reaction to all these factors is specific to the player, whether it is a collective or individual sport.

Mateo et al. (2011) in their research in the discipline of BMX confirms the occurrence of pre-start stress as an emotional change also reflected in the dynamics of Heart rate. He further states that it is a state of restlessness associated with certain difficulties (eg somatic and cognitive changes, decreased self-confidence, etc.) that impair sports performance even in short-term strength-coordination sports such as BMX. The results confirmed that the analysis of heart rate variability provides a complementary tool for evaluating racing pressure (stress). The same results were obtained by Blaquez et al. (2009) in elite swimmers by monitoring the psycho-physiological phase of the condition in training and subsequently in the race, where the results showed a movement towards the predominance of sympathetic as a result of the retreat of the vagus. With this finding, they identified the HRV methodology as a possible way to assess sympathovagal balance in the presence of pre-start stress.