Stress & Time Management for Student-Athletes Pamela smith, MD pasmith@ucla.edu

What is Stress? A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances Good stress vs bad stress – stress can be an important alarm for the body (signaling some negative influence on the body); stress is “bad” when body/mind can no longer resist or respond adequately to stress and becomes exhausted by it

Common Causes of Stress for Student-Athletes Academic issues – prepping for exams; missing class due to travel; making up missed assignments; test anxiety Athletics demands - pressure to win; physically/emotionally straining practice sessions; distant travel *Time – insufficient time to perform well in both academics & athletics Relationships with others – problems with professors, coaches, fellow athletes, family Finances (students not on scholarship)

Signs of Stress PHYSICAL Changes in sleep Poor energy Headaches Muscle tension/pain Abnormal heart rate/blood pressure Changes in appetite or weight Chest tightness/pain Weakened immune system (prone to or poor ability to recover from illness) Exhaustion/burnout Prone to physical injury PSYCHOLOGICAL Poor concentration or memory Anxiety Decreased interest or motivation (for training; for social activity) Impaired function (academic, athletic, social) Mood changes (irritability/anger; depression) Exhaustion/burnout

How to Manage Stress Maintain good health habits – get plenty of sleep (healing of daily wear & tear on body occurs during sleep); naps are great; good nutrition Maintain positive attitude - positive self-talk; recognize and praise your accomplishments; use the “trash can” to discard and move on from negative experiences; have a balanced perspective on life Have a “de-stress,” recreational activity as an outlet (video games, other sports) Create a support system – teammates, classmates w/similar interests, coaches teachers/teacher’s assistants, family, etc… Relaxation techniques: deep breathing; muscle relaxation * Time management

Time Management Get a day planner or calendar - allows you to write down and see a big picture of all of the key events in your schedule (e.g. games/meets; key tests/exams/papers; recruiting and social events) Take one week at a time; plan your week ahead of time – determine which activities and tasks are higher priority than others Make a daily to-do list – sort tasks in order of importance and tackle each one at a time; also make list realistic and achievable! Over- extending the list leads to demoralization Time-block your tasks – have a sense about how much time you will use for each task; deliberately schedule time for homework

Time Management (cont…) Be aware of and avoid distractions Get to know professors early in the quarter and establish a dialogue (expressing your concerns about balancing demands of the coursework with demands of athletics schedule) Seek encouragement and support from others dealing with the same time constraints – they can motivate & provide additional ways to manage time & stress.

resources improveyourmentalgame.com/more resources For a copy of slide shows or mental skills exercises for specific sports: improveyourmentalgame.com/more resources For Free E-book: improveyourmentalgame.com/free pdf download For questions or more info: pasmith@ucla.edu – Go Bruins! resources