Leveraging Physiology and Psychology for Peak Performance
Mind and Body: How They Work Together
Have you ever tried to stop worrying about something, but no matter how hard you tried, your mind just wouldn’t let it go? Or maybe you felt angry, and someone told you to "just be happy," but it didn’t work? That’s because your mind and body are connected. They don’t work separately—they influence each other all the time.
To get really mentally strong, athletes need to understand how their mind and body work together. Let’s break it down.
The Mind-Body Connection
Physiology is the study of how our bodies work. It’s not just about how we move, but how everything inside us works to keep us alive and active. This includes the brain and all the chemicals inside our body, like dopamine, serotonin, adrenaline, and oxytocin, which affect how we think, feel, and act.
The brain and body are in constant communication. The brain sends signals to the body to get it moving, and the body sends signals back to the brain, which affects how we feel. This is how thoughts and feelings affect our body, and how our body affects our thoughts. It’s a constant cycle.
How Physical and Mental States Are Connected
Think about a time when you were nervous or excited, like before a big game or an important event. You might have felt your heart race, your muscles tighten, and your breathing become shallow. These are physical reactions that happen when the brain focus’s something it interprets as stressful or exciting.
This happens because the brain releases chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline, which help your body get ready for action. This isn’t inherently bad, it’s actually good for performance, when it becomes performance diminishing is when these chemicals take control. The problem comes when your body stays in an overwhelming state of excitement or stress, your brain thinks, "Something's wrong," and keeps feeling anxious or nervous. This can make it hard to think clearly, focus, or make good decisions. In sports, this is why athletes sometimes freeze under pressure or make mistakes when it matters most, more commonly known as choking.
State Management: The True Key to Mental Toughness
So, what can you do to address this? To perform your best, you need to manage both your body and mind. The key is when your thoughts are running at 100 mph you can’t just tell yourself to “calm down”—you have to shift your physical state first.
When athletes are really stressed, it’s hard for them to just stop thinking about it. But if they use techniques like deep breathing or moving their body in certain ways, it can help reset their body’s chemicals. When the body becomes still, the brain does too. Not that calm or stillness is the expectation, but the decrease in an elevated physical state allows the brain capacity to shift focus and make better decisions.
For example, deep breathing helps you regulate and manage body’s state, slowing the heart rate and helping the body feel calmer. When you take a deep breath, your body tells your brain “We are good”. Then and typically only then you can shift your mental state to focusing on what you need to do next.
Leveraging Physiology and Psychology for Peak Performance
In sports, peak performance is a result of leveraging both your mind and body together. Whether you’re in a high-pressure moment, like taking the final shot in a game, or you’re tired from a tough practice, understanding how your body and mind work together is important.
Top athletes don’t just train their bodies to be strong and fast—they also train their minds to stay calm, focused, and confident.
In Summary:
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Mind-Body Connection: Your brain and body are always talking to each other. When you’re stressed, your body reacts, and that stress keeps your brain focused on the feeling of pressure.
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The Role of Physiology: Chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol help prepare your body for action. But if they’re not controlled, they can make you feel overwhelmed, too stressed and hurt your performance.
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Step Back: To break the cycle of stress and regain focus, athletes need to use techniques like deep breathing, stepping back, and other strategies to reset their body. This helps them regain control of their focus and shift it back to what they can control.
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Train the Whole Athlete: Elite athletes train both their bodies and their minds. They know that mental toughness comes from being able to control both their body’s state and their mindset.
At Meraki Performance we train athletes to understand and leverage both their physiology and psychology for Peak Performance. We believe true mental toughness is about being able to manage both your body and mind, to keep your composure as well as your focus, so you’re ready for anything that comes your way.
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