Women in Sports: A Mental Game

As women’s sports have grown in popularity, society has started to pay attention to understanding the psychological traits and behaviors that affect a female athlete’s experience with their sport. An athlete’s psychological framework is as important in determining their ability to succeed as a physical trait such as their height or how fast they can sprint. This reading specifically focuses on three traits that are associated with athletic performance: resilience, mindfulness, and sleep.

Resilience

Resilience is “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands (APA).” Athletes who have resilience can grow and perform despite experiencing hardships and adversity. A 2019 study examined the responses of 491 female student-athletes in grades 10-12 focusing on the relationship between resilience, burnout, and sport attrition. The responses showed that the athletes who had more burnout symptoms demonstrated less resilience, and were more likely to drop out from their sport compared to athletes without burnout (Herrero et al., 2021). Also, the athletes with the fewest burnout symptoms scored the highest on questions relating to resilience. This study demonstrates the importance of how personal resistance can diminish overtraining/burnout systems and an athlete’s decision to quit their sport. 

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is defined as "the awareness of one’s internal states and surroundings (APA).” Both intuitive and learned practices of mindfulness can have positive effects on the performance and well-being of athletes. In 2014, Baltzell et al. explained their experience implementing a mindfulness meditation program on a D1 women’s soccer team. After twelve sessions within twelve weeks, the athletes who participated reported they had an “enhanced ability to accept and experience a different relationship with their emotions, both on and off the field. (Herrero et al., 2021).” Having mindfulness can sculpt how athletes process and react to their feelings and emotions within their surroundings. Like resilience, athletes can adapt to the challenges they are facing and succeed.

Sleep

Many studies have shown that sleep can increase athletic performance and decrease sports-related injuries. In 2018, Dumortier et al. published a study that focused on the sleeping habits of 26 elite female gymnasts. The study concluded that with decreased sleep time, the athletic performance of the gymnasts’ worsened. Another study focused on 340 adolescent athletes and found that with eight hours of sleep per night, it was 61% less likely that an athlete would receive a sports-related injury (Herrero et al., 2021). Also, with less sleep, athletes complain about greater mood swings and disturbances. Increased fatigue and psychological distress in athletes can arise from a lack of sleep.

While physical abilities are important factors in a female athlete’s successful performance, the role of psychological traits that control her experiences cannot be overlooked by increasing resilience, mindfulness, and sleep, athletes can be an enhanced version of themself that helps them strive within their sport.