Athlete's 'rituals' important for overcoming performance anxiety

Dry mouth, sweaty palms and rapid heart rate are just a few symptoms of increased anxiety, the kind an athlete might feel before the big game. Those symptoms drop off quickly, but psychological factors hang around to influence the outcome of an athlete's performance. That is where intervention, often in the form of rituals or performance routines, comes in, according to Richard Cox, a sports psychology researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

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<p><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news89468913.html">Athlete's 'rituals' important for overcoming performance anxiety</a></p> <p>Dry mouth, sweaty palms and rapid heart rate are just a few symptoms of increased anxiety, the kind an athlete might feel before the big game. Those symptoms drop off quickly, but psychological factors hang around to influence the outcome of an athlete's performance. That is where intervention, often in the form of rituals or performance routines, comes in, according to Richard Cox, a sports psychology researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia.</p>