Mood
Getting into the right state of mind is critical for performance. In general, mood can be described as positive and negative, and the research into the relationship between mood and performance suggests that a positive mood is best.
Mood influences your performance
Excitement, joy, and happiness have been associated with better concentration, confidence, motivation, and capability, compared to negative moods such as anger and frustration. When we are happy and enjoy what we are doing, it is easier for us to focus on the task at hand as we become engrossed in the activity. In contrast, when we are unhappy we can be easily distracted and disengaged with the activity.
Totterdell (1999) studied the association between mood and performance in elite cricket players. 53 participants from 4 different teams, played in a cricket match lasting 3 or 4 days (not all in the same match), and were asked to rate their moods at different times during the game (before play, lunch, tea break, and at the end of play).
The researchers were interested to learn whether their mood at the start of a session would effect how they performed during each section of play. Performance was measured by self-ratings of how they played, and objective measures such as bowling and batting averages.
They researchers found that players did perform better when feeling happy, focused, energetic, enthusiastic and confident.
Research has shown that athletes perform better when feeling happy, focused, enthusiastic and confident.
Sleep influences your mood
Athletes typically use a number of strategies on the day of competition to manage their mood (e.g., listen to music, self-talk, imagery, etc), but the research into sleep suggests that it would be sensible to add sleep as a strategy to help manage your mood.
A study by Lastella, Lovell, and Sargent (2014) looked at whether sleep before the night of a marathon event influenced the pre-competitive mood of 103 runners (participants). On the morning of the event, the participants completed a survey about their previous nights sleep and rated their current mood. The results showed that a reduction in sleep quality and/or sleep duration did have a negative influence on an athlete's mood, e.g., the athletes felt more tension and fatigue before the event.
Dingles et al. (1997) restricted the sleep of 16 participants to just 5 hours per night, for a week long period. The cumulative sleep debt produced elevation in participants ratings of fatigue, confusion, tension, and stress. The change in mood had a negative effect on the participants performance on tests of memory, attention, and information processing. Interestingly, it took 2 nights of normal sleep (approximately 8 hours per night) before mood returned to a normal level.
Andrade, Bevalicqua, Coimbra, Pereira, and Brandt (2016) looked at the relationship between sleep and mood in 227 elite volleyball players. They collected sleep data via questionnaires on the day of a competition, approximately 30 minutes before a game. The researchers found that poor sleep quality was associated with increased confusion before the game, and players with higher levels of confusion were more likely to lose their game.
The moral of the story
Enjoyment is a big reason why athletes participate in sport. The more we enjoy something the more likely we are to repeat it. There is enough evidence to suggest mood is associated with performance, and if nothing else, being in a good mood is great for your mental health! Therefore, any strategy (such as sleep) that helps promote a good mood will likely benefit performance.
Learn more.....
MODULE SLEEP
The impact on performance
References
Andrade, A., Bevilacqua, G.G., Coimbra, D.R., Pereira, F.S., & Brandt, R. (2016). Sleep quality, mood and performance: A study of elite Brazilian volleyball athletes. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 15 (4), 601-605.
Dingles, D.F., Pack, F., Williams, K., Gillen, K.A., Powell, J.W., Ott, G.E., Aptowicz, C., & Pack, A.L. (1997). Cumulative sleepiness, mood disturbance, and psychomotor vigilance performance decrements during a week of sleep restricted to 4-5 hours per night. Sleep, 20 (4), 267-277.
Lastella, M., Lovell, G.P., & Sargent, C. (2014). Athlete's precompetitive sleep behaviour and its relationship with subsequent precompetitive mood and performance. European Journal of Sport Science, 14 (1), 123-130.
Totterdell, P. (1999). Mood scores: Mood and performance in professional cricketers. British Journal of Psychology, 90, 317-332.