Role of neuroscience in sports

Ⓒ

If you are wondering what Neuroscience has to do with sports training, the answer is - everything! The difference between good athletes and great ones is that great athletes know that the way to maximize their strength and potential is to train both their mind and body. This is where sports neuroscience comes in. It helps athletes understand the neurobiological effects of their training.

Sports neuroscience has exploded so much in recent years that there are now doctoral programs in top schools around the country that focus exclusively on sports neuroscience research. In this article, I will share 5 important aspects of your sports training that you can hack with a little help from neuroscience.

Understanding Your Physiology

Any sport is intrinsically a physiological activity requiring excellent motor skills, reflexes and strength depending on the type of sport you play. Physiology, unlike anatomy, differs for each athlete and involves important factors such as environmental conditions, hydration level, body composition and carb loading. Sports physiology helps athletes and coaches recognise the effects of their training regimen on their body.

Seek the help of a sports physiologist who can help you understand the physiological demands of your specific sport and help you train at your highest level. Sports physiologists will typically measure how you perform under various test conditions to study and identify your areas of improvement. Using this information, your coaches can then design a customized training program that is specifically tailor made for your body.

Holistic Lifestyle Enhancement

Elite athletes recognize that much of their success lies outside of the training room as it does inside. For example, you can hardly be expected to be a top athlete if you are on the brink of debt and faced with a huge financial burden. Similarly, over the course of years you may have developed certain habits such as waking up late or sleeping too few hours that are detrimental to your sports performance.

Holistic lifestyle enhancement allows you to recognize that it is very important to develop successful habits in all aspects of your life to augment your sport training. If your coach is not a trained performance lifestyle practitioner, seek the help of one. These experts can provide the support that is necessary to truly live a healthy lifestyle. They can also help you through financial counselling and help you identify your options after your sports career.

Consistent Analysis of Performance

Depending on the level of expertise you want to attain, it is very important to keep consistently measuring and analysing your performance. Ask your friend or coach to record your training sessions or practice games and make sure you watch them after each game. Introspection and learning are crucial mental factors that are likely to affect your performance.

If you want to learn more from your games including specific technical and tactical mistakes you are making in the game, then consider investing in an analysis software. For almost every major sport, there exists performance analysis software that can provide you with great insight about your game. The more training sessions you have and the more games you upload in the analysis software, the more data and insights you can gather. For example, one athlete recognized that he performed better on indoor tracks as opposed to outdoor fields.

Mental Training

Constant physical training can be an exhausting activity. Add to it a few losses and you are looking at a recipe for disaster. Mental training is not just important but essential for successful sports performance. Sports neuroscience ranks it among the top things to-do for athletes of all levels. Mental training provides you with the discipline necessary to consistently perform on and off the field. Sports neuroscience plays a pivotal role because it can help trainers and coaches develop mental training methods based on every athlete’s specific needs.

Performance Nutrition

The final hack is one that is most overlooked. With athletes typically averaging 5-7 meals per day to keep energy levels up, it is crucial to understand what you can and cannot eat in each of those meals. Understanding your diet involves an understanding of your environmental factors, your specific sport, energy expended and your body composition.

Each meal you eat can alter your body in a small but significant way that could ultimately be the difference between a win or a loss. If you are training 3-4 hours per day, the last thing you want is to succumb to diseases and then realize that you have botched your immune system because you have not had proper nutritious meals.

So, there you go! These are five ways to hack your sports training and improve your performance. Whether you are practicing for the Olympics or for your local league match, these hacks will surely be useful in taking your sport to the next level. Good luck!