Abstract
Background: Anticipation of forthcoming demands is often met with biological up-regulation, for example, levels of the stress hormone cortisol are typically elevated immediately prior to an anticipated event. Similarly, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), a surge in cortisol in the period following waking, is elevated on days of anticipated demand and this is viewed as an adaptive response in the preparation for challenge. This study assessed the effects of competition as an anticipated challenge in elite rowers.Methods: Elite rowers (N = 8) were assessed during two training and two competition weekends. Each assessment involved the measurement of self-reported competitive (cognitive and somatic) anxiety and salivary diurnal cortisol across 2 days representing a preparation day prior to either a training or competition day. Competitive anxiety was measured each morning and saliva samples were provided immediately upon waking and 30 min post waking (CAR) and before bed.Results: Self-reported cognitive and somatic anxiety levels were significantly greater during the competition phase compared with training. Additionally, levels of cognitive anxiety were greater on the day of competition compared with the preparation day. CAR magnitude was significantly reduced during the competition phase compared with training; however, there were no differences between preparation and event days.Conclusions: Reduced or blunted CARs are typically observed in chronically stressed populations and are characteristic of burnout and fatigue. While an increased CAR during competition may represent an adaptive response to challenge, blunted CARs and the concomitant increases in competitive anxiety observed here indicate maladaptive responding during a period where maximized functioning is critical.
Highlights
The anticipation of forthcoming demand is ubiquitous in competitive sport and the period prior to competition is typically accompanied by changes in mood, in particular, increases in competition anxiety
There was a statistically significant difference in the cortisol awakening response (CAR) between phases [F (1,6) = 20.1, p = 0.004, η2 = 0.77] where CAR magnitude was greater during the training phase compared with the competition phase
There were no significant differences in the CAR between weekends or days of testing
Summary
The anticipation of forthcoming demand is ubiquitous in competitive sport and the period prior to competition is typically accompanied by changes in mood, in particular, increases in competition anxiety. For forthcoming events where demand is likely, it is adaptive for resources to be mobilized before the event is encountered in order that the appropriate response can be initiated immediately This is especially the case where there is a need for rapid responses, and activation of two key physiological systems, the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis provide resource to deal with the presenting situation (Hare et al, 2013). A recent review concluded that cortisol levels are elevated in athletes prior to competition and that levels are greatest when sampled closer to the start of competition (van Paridon et al, 2017) This may provide evidence of an adaptive role for biological up-regulation to enable resources immediately prior to demand. This study assessed the effects of competition as an anticipated challenge in elite rowers
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