Competition stress leads to a blunting of the cortisol awakening response in elite rowers
Open accessAbstract
Background Anticipation of forthcoming demands is often met with biological up-regulation, for example, levels of the stress hormone cortisol are typically elevated immediately prior to an anticipated event. Similarly, the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR), a surge in cortisol in the period following waking, is elevated on days of anticipated demand and this is viewed as an adaptive response in the preparation for challenge. This study assessed the effects of competition as an anticipated challenge in elite rowers. Methods Elite rowers (N=8) were assessed during two training and two competition weekends. Each assessment involved the measurement of self-reported competitive (cognitive and somatic) anxiety and salivary diurnal cortisol across two days representing a preparation day prior to either a training or competition day. Competitive anxiety was measured each morning and saliva samples were provided immediately upon waking and 30 minutes post waking (CAR) and before bed. Results Self-reported cognitive and somatic anxiety were significantly greater during the competition phase compared with training. Additionally, levels of cognitive anxiety were greater on the day of competition compared with the preparation day. CAR magnitude was significantly reduced during the competition phase compared with training; however, there were no differences between preparation and event days. Conclusions Blunted CARs are typically observed in chronically stressed populations and are characteristic of burnout and fatigue. While an increased CAR during competition may represent an adaptive response to challenge, blunted CARs and concomitant increases in competitive anxiety indicate maladaptive responding during a period where maximised functioning is critical.
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Sport competitive anxiety can influence an athlete's performance in either a facilitative or debilitative fashion due to acute changes in hormonal level.
“Sport competitive anxiety can also influence an athlete's performance in either a facilitative or debilitative fashion due to acute changes in the hormonal level [41].”
From Effect of yoga and mindfulness on psychological correlates in young athletes: A meta-analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [41]
The Introduction (page not available) describes challenge and threat responses in sport, including different biological responses and negative performance consequences of threat-related responding. It does not establish that acute hormonal changes cause both facilitative and debilitative effects on performance: the facilitative response is described mainly in terms of cardiovascular changes and coping. (LLM, conf=0.82)
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- Authors
- MacDonald, D., & Wetherell, M. A.
- Affiliations
- Northumbria University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wetherell, Mark A.
- ORCID
- Wetherell, Mark A.
- Venue
- Frontiers in Psychology
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2019-07-18
- Volume
- 10
- Pages
- 1684-1684
- ISSN
- 1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6657667
- OpenAlex
- W2962185370
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 1.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (acceptedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Keywords
- cortisol awakening response, competitive stress, competitive anxiety, elite rowers, salivary cortisol, burnout, fatigue, maladaptive stress response, diurnal cortisol rhythm
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