The effects of lifestyle on sports Performance

Prasannakumar D R.
Physical Education Director, GFGC, Hirekerur, Haveri Dist - 581111.

Introduction:
It is recognized that an athletes lifestyle has many areas that need managing
effectively in order to make sure that they do not become distractions and impact
performance. The role of Lifestyle, Coach is to help improve performance by helping
athletes manage these distractions.
Lifestyle is a confidential service that is offered through a variety of forms, e.g.,
workshops targeting athletes, training sessions, coaches and parents to individual
focused support. Work is delivered in conjunction. Lifestyle encourages athletes to
prepare for sport achievement targets. The main areas of support may include
educational guidance, career development, effective communication, coach
support/development, developing sponsorship profiles, time management skills,
transition management, developing effective support networks, managing finances,
lifestyle in the rehabilitation period following injury.
To perform at your best, you need to be in peak physical condition. A common mistake
is to assume that Peak physical condition comes merely as a result of completing
hours, days and weeks of training. There is however, another factor that is far more
important lifestyle.
Lifestyle factors account for failure amongst top athletes far more often than poor
training. Too little or too much sleep, stress at home, medical history and diet all play a
major role in the physical condition of both amateur and professional sports
performers. For a person to perform at his or her best, their lifestyle factors and the
Training must all come together at the crucial time.
How Lifestyle does help athletes?
Lifestyle aims to help the individual to develop skills to effectively manage all their
commitments including sport (training and competition) and non-sport (family related,
education/employment related.) It is important that athletes can find a balance between
their athletic life and life outside of sport. All interventions are aimed at having a
Lifestyle impact. Examining mental behaviors and decision making used by player in
order to help management of performance during a play. Helping a hockey athlete
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manage simultaneous transitions to a centralized training programme and from

education to employment
Stress
Stress can be both good and bad for a person engaged in a sporting event. Good
stress can improve performance, whereas bad stress can cause them to underperform.
The bodys response to stress is to change the biochemistry in the blood, by releasing
adrenalin. This gives the body an energy boost. The muscles become tighter and
prepared for exertion. The senses become more attuned. For example, pupils dilate to
allow more light to enter the eye and improve eyesight. This response is known as the
fight-or-flight response. If too much adrenalin is released, the performer suffers from a
lack of control; their hands will shake and their muscles will contract with too much
power. This can lead them to mistimed a tackle in football or overstep the throwing line
in an athletic event. If there is not enough adrenalin present, the performer will suffer
from a lack of energy in training or competition, and will be too lethargic to be
competitive. Stress is a crucial part of ensuring peak performance in any sport.
Attaining the perfect level of stress for the individual at the right time is often harder
than attaining peak physical condition. Having knowledge of a persons stress levels,
and knowing how to manage and alter these levels, is the only way to improve this
aspect of an individuals condition.
Diet
Eating well is an important part of improving sporting performance, and a winning diet
is not just for Olympic hopefuls. Athletes of all ages and levels benefit from eating well.
There isnt a magic eating plan that works for everyone. Eating well is specific to you,
your individual nutritional needs, and your training and competition schedule. It is also
important to match your diet to the Demands of your sport. For example, endurance
athletes, such as distance runners, need to consume large amounts of carbohydrates
because these contain lots of energy for aerobic performance. Athletes relying on
strength, on the other hand, need lots of protein to help build muscle bulk and power.
The key is to make sure that you are eating the right foods, at the right times and in the
right quantities
Alcohol
Alcohol affects the bodys ability to turn food into energy, slows down reaction times,
increases body heat loss and reduces endurance. For example, if you have alcohol 24
hours before exercising you are more likely to develop muscle cramps. The relaxant
properties of alcohol can affect your sporting ability long after youve finished drinking.
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Alcohol slows down the information processing ability of the brain. This, in turn, affects
your reactions, coordination, accuracy and balance all the things that are important
for staying on top in any sport. After exercising the body needs to be rehydrated. Its
not helpful to drink alcohol straight after a match or event as this will continue to
dehydrate the body further.
Smoking
Smoking interferes with the bodys ability to function in a number of ways. Firstly,
tobacco smoke affects the lungs so that they work less efficiently and cant pick up the
amount of oxygen the body needs when it is working hard. Secondly, tobacco smoke
contains a chemical called carbon monoxide, which gets into the bloodstream and
inhibits it from picking up oxygen. It also contains other chemicals that affect the
circulation of blood. They make the blood vessels smaller so that they are less able to
carry oxygen when your body is burning up large amounts of energy. In short, if you
smoke your body has less fuel and the fuel it does have is transported less efficiently to
those areas that need it when you are taking part in sport. Because of this, smokers
tend to have less energy and also find it harder to maintain high levels of fitness than
non-smokers.
Drugs
As sport becomes more competitive some people are tempted to cheat to improve their
chances of winning. People who cheat by abusing medicines may be banned from
sport if they are caught. They are also risking their health. Some athletes have died
because they have abused medicines. To discourage cheating, sports authorities have
banned certain medicines. Some medicines are banned in some sports, but not in
others. Athletes also need to be careful about what they take because some of the
banned medicines, such as cold and flu remedies, can be bought from a pharmacy
without a prescription. Depending on their sport, some athletes who need treatment for
problems such as diabetes or asthma may also need to get permission to take their
medication in order to ensure they arent breaking any rules.
Drugs can be classified into three groups: socially acceptable, socially unacceptable
and performance-enhancing. Socially acceptable drugs, such as cigarettes and
alcohol, are rarely banned in sport, but they do have a negative effect on performance.
Socially unacceptable drugs include substances such as cannabis and ecstasy. Not
only are these substances banned in sport but it is illegal to carry, consume or supply
them.

 Performance-enhancing drugs include anabolic steroids (which build muscle

strength), stimulants (which reduce tiredness), and narcotic Analgesics (which relieve
pain). These substances are almost always banned in sport because they give a
competitor an unfair advantage. They can also be extremely dangerous.
Demands of work
Many sports performers have to juggle training and competition with a normal day job.
This often leads to conflicts where there isnt enough time to do both properly. This is
even more so for sportsmen and women who are parents. If a sports performer
commits insufficient time to training their Physical fitness will decrease. If the sports
performer commits insufficient time to their work or family life this is likely to lead to an
increase in stress levels, which will affect physical performance. The important thing is
to achieve a healthy balance, where the demands of work and family fit easily into a
daily routine that also allows enough time for training.
Sleep
Getting the right amount of sleep is crucial to sporting success. Sleep impacts on
performance in three main ways:
Too much or too little sleep can cause a decline in the performance of the brain
which, in turn, causes problems with focus, concentration, flexibility, decision making
and information processing.
Very deep sleep helps consolidate activities, tasks and skills undertaken during the
day. It is indispensable for helping motor learning and skill acquisition.
Sleep stimulates the release of growth hormones, the bodys natural agent for cell
growth and reproduction. This increases muscle mass and also stimulates the immune
system. Sleep deprivation raises the level of stress hormones, which interfere with
tissue repair and growth, and have a negative effect on performance.
Conclusion:
Life style is directly influencing on enhancing of sports performance as well as mental
focus. It helps maintaining the very good stability of mental and physical sportsmen to
focus towards his life and sports achievement targets. And it helps to reflect his overall
performance and personality which is required for sports field.

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