Effect of Walking in Nature on Stress Levels and Performance of Taekwondo Athletes in the Competition Period

Abstract

Introduction. Despite its importance for sports, the problem of the interaction of genetic and environmental factors affecting sports results in competitions is still not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of walking in nature on stress levels and performance of taekwondo athletes during the competition period. Materials and Methods. The participants of this study were 12 Latvian taekwondo athletes, including males (n = 6) and females (n = 6), aged 17-23. The experiment was held four weeks before the International Sweden Taekwondo Competition (2022). The participants underwent twelve training sessions, including 40 minutes of walking in nature, in zones 1 and 2 (HR 101-141 bpm). The Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale questionnaire, gas discharge visualization, and the Determination Test were used to measure the stress levels. The data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviations, the Shapiro-Wilk test, paired sample t-test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results. The results of the paired sample t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that walking in nature significantly affects stress levels ( DASS questionnaire, W = 78.00, as a p-value of 0.002 is < 0.05, gas discharge visualization, t(11) = 8.420, as a p-value of 0.001 is < 0.05, and the Determination Test, t(11) = −5.116, as a p-value of 0.001 is < 0.05) at the 5% level. Conclusions. The findings support visiting natural environments by walking in nature as a potentially helpful activity in taekwondo athletes’ strategy to reduce stress levels. Thus, while coaches may choose different strategies or activities to reduce stress, for many athletes, walking in nature and natural environments helps reduce stress levels.