The Cortisol Awakening Response and Resilience in Elite Swimmers

Abstract

The sports environment is stress-eliciting in that it encapsulates perceived uncontrollability, unpredictability and requires ego-involvement. The HPA axis has been shown (indicated by cortisol release) to respond to anticipated sports competition up to a week prior to the event. Research also alludes to the importance of individual differences, such as optimism and trait perfectionism, in moderating the impact of cortisol upon performance. In total, 41 (male n=27) national (n=38) and international (n=3) swimmers were recruited from northeast England and Australia. Swimmers completed a measure of resilience and also provided buccal saliva swabs, from which total cortisol release prior to and during the event was calculated. Findings revealed that resilience significantly predicted performance and the influence of AUC (cortisol release) upon performance was moderated by resilience. These findings suggest that resilience can influence athletic performance either directly or indirectly, through appraisal (i. e., interpretation of the stressor to be facilitative and non-threatening).

Key words

performance - swimming - competition - stress - psychophysiology - appraisals

• References

• 1 Adam EK, Hawkley LC, Kudielka BM, Cacioppo JT. Day-to-day dynamics of experience-cortisol associations in a population-based sample of older adults. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2006; 103: 17058-17063
• 2 Aiken LS, West SG. Multiple Regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks: Sage; 1991
• 3 Arena J, Hobbs S. Reliability of psychophysiological responding as a function of trait anxiety. Biofeedback Self-Regulation 1995; 20: 19-37
• 4 Bondi M, Picardi A. Psychological stress and neuroendocrine function in humans; the last two decades of research. Psychother Psychosom 2005; 68: 114-150
• 5 Bonfazi M, Sardella F, Luppo C. Preparatory versus main competitions: differences in performances, lactate responses and pre-competition plasma cortisol concentrations in elite male swimmers. Eur J Appl Physiol 2009; 82: 368-373
• 6 Borg G. Borg’s perceived exertion and pain scales. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 1998
• 7 Carver CS. Resilience and thriving: Issues, models and linkages. J Social Issues 1998; 54: 245-266
• 8 Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd (ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates; 1988
• 9 Cohen F, Kearney KA, Zegan LS, Kemeny ME, Neuhaus JM, Stites DP. Differential immune system changes with acute and persistent stress for optimists vs pessimists. Brain Behav Immunity 1999; 13: 155-174
• 10 Debono M, Ghobadi C, Rostami-Hodjegan A et al. Modified-release hydrocortisone to provide circadian cortisol profiles. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2009; 94: 1548-1554
• 11 Dickerson SS, Kemeny MF. Acute stressors and cortisol responses: a theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychol Bull 2004; 130: 355-391
• 12 Dorn L, Lucke J, Loucks T, Berga S. Salivary cortisol reflects serum cortisol: analysis of circadian profiles. Ann Clin Biochem 2007; 44: 281-284
• 13 Ehrlenspiel F, Strahler K. Foundations, Markers, Trends. Routledge: Psychoneuroendocrinology of Sport and Exercise; 2012
• 14 Ellenbogen MA, Santo JB, Linnen AM, Walker CD, Hodgins S. High cortisol levels in the offspring of parents with bipolar disorder during two weeks of daily sampling. Bipolar Disorders 2010; 12: 77-86
• 15 Filaire E, Alix D, Ferrand C, Verger M. Psychophysiological stress in tennis players during the first single match of a tournament. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009; 34: 150-157
• 16 Filaire E, Duche P, Lac G, Robert A. Saliva cortisol, physical exercise and training: Influences of swimming and handball on cortisol concentrations in women. Eur J Appl Physiol 1996; 74: 274-278
• 17 Fletcher D, Hanton S, Mellalieu SD. An organizational stress review: Conceptual and theoretical issues in competitive sport. In Hanton S, Mellalieu SD. (eds.). Literature Reviews in Sport Psychology. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science; 2006: 321-373
• 18 Fletcher D, Sarkar MA. A grounded theory of psychological resilience in Olympic champions. Psychol Sport Exerc 2012; 5: 669-678
• 19 Fletcher D, Sarkar M. Psychological resilience: A review and critique of definitions, concepts and theory. European Psychologist 2013; 18: 12-23
• 20 Frankenhaeuser M. The psychophysiology of workload, stress, and health: Comparison between the sexes. Ann Behav Med 1991; 13: 197-204
• 21 Hardy L, Parfitt CG, Pates J. Performance catastrophes in sport: A test of the hysteresis hypothesis. J Sports Sci 1994; 12: 327-334
• 22 Harriss DJ, Atkinson G. Ethical standards in sports and exercise science research: 2014 update. Int J Sports Med 2013; 34: 1025-1028
• 23 Hellhammer DH, Wust S, Kudielka BM. Salivary cortisol as a biomarker in stress research. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2009; 34: 163-171
• 24 Jimenez M, Aguilar R, Alvero-Cruz JR. Effects of victory and defeat on testosterone and cortisol response to competition: evidence for same response patterns in men and women. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2012; 37: 1577-1581
• 25 Kuczka KK, Treasure DC. Self-handicapping in competitive sport: Influence of the motivational climate, self-efficacy, and perceived importance. Psychol Sport Exerc 2005; 6: 539-550
• 26 Kudielkaa BM, Hellhammer DH, Wust S. Why do we respond so differently? Reviewing determinants of human salivary cortisol responses to challenge. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2008; 34: 2-18
• 27 Martin AJ, Marsh HW. Academic resilience and its psychological and educational correlates: A construct validity approach. Psychol Schools 2006; 43: 267-282
• 28 Mendel CM. The free hormone hypothesis. Distinction from the free hormone transport hypothesis. J Androl 1992; 13: 107-116
• 29 Munck A, Guyre PM, Holbrook NJ. Physiological functions of gluccortisoids in stress and their relation to pharmacological actions. Endocrinol Rev 1984; 5: 25-44
• 30 Pearson-Murphy BE. Glucocorticoids, Overview, Encyclopedia of Stress. Academic Press; 2000: 244-261
• 31 Pruessner JC, Kirschbaum C, Meinlschmidt G, Hellhammer DH. Two formulas for computation of the area under the curve represent measures of total hormone concentration versus time-dependent change. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2003; 28: 916-931
• 32 Quested E, Bosh JA, Burns VE, Cumming J, Ntoumanis N, Duda JL. Basic psychological needs satisfaction, stress-related appraisals, and dancers’ cortisol and anxiety responses. J Sport Exerc Psychol 2011; 33: 828-846
• 33 Refinetti R. Circadian Physiology. 2nd edition. Boca Raton: CRC Press; Reinberg A M 2006
• 34 Rohleder N, Beulen SE, Chen E, Wolf JM, Kirschbaum C. Stress on the dance floor: The cortisol stress response to social-evaluative threat in competitive ballroom dancers. Personal Social Psychol Bull 2007; 33: 69-84
• 35 Rudolph DL, McAuley E. Self-efficacy and salivary cortisol responses to acute exercise in physically active and less active adults. J Sport Exerc Psychol 1995; 17: 206-213
• 36 Sarkar M, Fletcher D. How should we measure psychological resilience in sport performers?. Meas Phys Educ Exerc 2013; 17: 264-280
• 37 Sarkar M, Fletcher D. Ordinary magic, extraordinary performance: Psychological resilience and thriving in high achievers. Sport Exerc Perform Psychol 2014; 3: 46-60
• 38 Sarkar M, Fletcher D. Psychological resilience in sport performers: A narrative review of stressors and protective factors. J Sports Sci 2014; 32: 1419-1434
• 39 Sarkar M, Fletcher D, Brown DJ. What doesn’t kill me…: Adversity-related experiences are vital in the development of superior Olympic performance. J Sci Med Sport 2015; 18: 475-479
• 40 Wilhelm I, Born J, Kudielka BM, Schlotz W, Wust S. Is the cortisol awakening rise a response to awakening?. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2007; 32: 358-366
• 41 Wirtz PH, Elsenbruch S, Emini L, Rudisuli K, Groessbauer S, Ehlert U. Perfectionism and the cortisol response to psychosocial stress in men. Psychosomat Med 2007; 3: 249-255
• 42 Wust S, Wolf J, Hellhammer DH, Federenko I, Schommer N, Kirschbaum C. The cortisol awakening response – normal values and confounds. Noise Health 2000; 2: 79-88