Abstract
With the increased use of technology, relaxation interventions are finding their way into technology devices like virtual reality head-mounted displays (VR HMDs). However, there is a lack of evidence on the efficacy of VR relaxation interventions to reduce anxiety in athletes and how that is portrayed in their movement patterns. The purpose of the current study was to examine how a VR relaxation intervention affected perceived anxiety levels and penalty kick performance of female soccer players. Thirteen female soccer players took five penalty kicks in baseline, stress-induced, and VR relaxation conditions. Perceived levels of anxiety, self-confidence, mental effort, heart rate (HR), accelerometry of the lumbar spine and thigh, and performance in each condition was obtained. Results indicated that the VR intervention significantly reduced cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety from baseline (p = 0.002; p = 0.001) and stress (p < 0.001; p < 0.001) with large effect sizes (Kendall’s W = 0.72; 0.83). VR significantly increased self-confidence from baseline (p = 0.002) and stress (p = 0.001) with a large effect size (Kendall’s W = 0.71). Additionally, all participants felt that VR helped them relax. Mental effort was significantly higher in the stress condition compared to that in baseline (p = 0.007) with moderate effect size (Kendall’s W = 0.39). Peak acceleration and performance were not significantly influenced by stress or VR. This study serves as an initial step to evaluate VR relaxation interventions on performance in female soccer players.
Highlights
Coaches, athletes, and practitioners are seeking strategies to optimize performance, and with the ever-evolving world of technology, virtual reality (VR) has seen an increase in use as a means to optimize performance
The present study examined the effects of a VR relaxation intervention on anxiety and performance of penalty kicks in female soccer players
The results indicated that the VR relaxation intervention reduced cognitive and somatic anxiety while increasing confidence compared to the stress condition
Summary
Athletes, and practitioners are seeking strategies to optimize performance, and with the ever-evolving world of technology, virtual reality (VR) has seen an increase in use as a means to optimize performance. VR has been used to enhance perceptual-cognitive skills by training athletes to detect informational cues related to the game [1]. VR has been used for relaxation in sport to help athletes properly manage potential stressors by teaching athletes coping strategies with VR [1]. More information is needed with VR as a relaxation intervention for athletes under stress and competitive anxiety. Stress and competitive anxiety are areas that have received considerable attention in athletics. Stress occurs when there is an imbalance between physical and mental demands placed on the athlete, and the response capability under those conditions fails to meet the demands, having important consequences [2]. Psychological stress is “a relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding [their] resources and endangering [their] well-being” [3]
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