How sports stars perform better than most under pressure: Athletes and racing drivers ‘think faster and more accurately when stressed’
- Scientists tested professional racing car driver, skater, climber and surfer
- Study found memory of athletes was 20% better than non-professionals
- Mental processing skills were 10% faster than the average person
Kate Pickles For Mailonline
2
View
comments
Top athletes and racing drivers think faster and more accurately than the average person when under pressure, research has shown.
A study found that their memory performance was 20 per cent better and the speed of their mental processing was 10 per cent more rapid.
The aim was to test the theory that because of their training elite competitors have an enhanced ability to handle intense situations and emotions.
Top racing drivers, like Lewis Hamilton pictured here, can think faster and more accurately than the average person while under pressure, a study has found
Taking part in the study were British champion downhill skater Peter Connolly, leading climber Louis Parkinson, multiple Isle of Man TT winner John McGuinness, big wave surfer Andrew Cotton, two-time British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington and Le Mans racing driver Oliver Webb.
Their performance in a series of tests each lasting up to an hour was compared with that of six volunteers who had no special training in competitive sport.
-
Adding insult to injury: Hospital parking firm charges jump…
Trying to get pregnant? Avoid DIET drinks: Women who…
IVF cuts the risk of birth defects for mothers over 40:…
From Band Aid to hearing aid! Ultravox, Visage, feeding the…
Lead researcher Professor Vincent Walsh, from University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said: ‘These elite athletes perform tasks that many of us could never comprehend but what is fascinating is their mind-set when tackling such challenges.
‘When some decisions can be the difference between success and failure, it is perhaps unsurprising that the study showed that athletes were consistently several seconds faster when performing their tasks.
‘A few seconds or a few per cent may not sound much but this is a long time in sport and is the difference between winning and losing.’
The study, commissioned by Dunlop Tyres, involved exposing participants to stressful images while asking them to carry out challenging tasks, a recognised psychological method of assessing mental performance under pressure.
British big wave surfer Andrew Cotton, pictured here, took part in the study which involved carrying out challenging tasks while being exposed to stressful images
Professor Walsh added: ‘The athletes were more accurate overall in their memory tasks following exposure to negative stimuli whereas the non-athletes were disturbed by the stimuli.
‘In some cases, the non-athletes’ performance fell apart in terms of speed of memory when put in difficult and intense situations. Conversely, the athlete’s responses often improved.
‘A lot of this makes sense, in particular in the case of rock-climbing or motor racing, where the athletes are conditioned to negate dangerous situations and need to make split second decisions.’
Kate Rock, from Dunlop Tyres, said: ‘Understanding how athletes perform when the stakes are so high and under so much pressure was incredibly fascinating.
‘From rock climbing, car racing, big wave surfing or motorcycle racing, these athletes often have to stay in control of their natural fears to achieve their goals.’
Share or comment on this article
-
e-mail
Most watched News videos
- CCTV captures final tragic moments of Mirna Salihin’s life
- Mother shaves daughters hair after she ‘bullies cancer girl’
- GRAPHIC CONTENT: ‘Ghost’ rises from body after fatal crash
- Bulls head butt each other then die instantly from brutal blow
- Shocking moment girl gets viciously beaten after starting fight
- Mother releases devastating footage of son’s final moments
- Lorry smashes into car leaving driver with severe injuries
- Is this the creepy moment the corpse of a girl OPENS her eyes?
- ‘Big fat gypsy wedding’ in Romania goes on for FOUR days
- Groom ALREADY tired of marriage life just after 15 minutes
- ‘Pascal’s a G!’ Kim Kardashian speaks well of her bodyguard
- GoPro captures the moment a croc swims amongst swimmers
-
Olympic sprinter Tyson Gay’s 15-year-old daughter is shot…
-
Trump: It’s all a fix. Now The Donald claims the election is…
-
Republican party headquarters is firebombed and a local…
-
British conspiracy theorist, 39, is found dead on a sofa in…
-
He’s behind you! Alec Baldwin’s Trump stalks Hillary as SNL…
-
‘I stood by your side this whole campaign, your beautiful…
-
What is this creepy jungle giant? Film shot deep in…
-
Man whose 20-year sentence for distributing cocaine was…
-
From Scarface to senile: Inside Al Capone’s fall from…
-
The moment Chicago cops saved a woman officer who chose not…
-
Taking to the waters, the behemoth of the waves: £330million…
-
Woman storms off TV set after Spanish presenter pulls down…
Comments (2)
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Find out now