Arousal In Sport

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Arousal is a state of awareness and anticipation that prepares the body for action.
It is something that is always changing. An athlete needs to fully rested from a good sleep to fully awake to be optimally aroused. The performer will then be mentally and physically activated to perform.
In general, arousal has two kinds of effects on performance. Firstly, it increases muscle tension which can affect co-ordination. Second, arousal affects attention.
Attention can become either too narrow with too much arousal, or too broad with too little arousal and a performer will pay more attention to what is happening around them.
There are several theories as to how arousal affects sports performance: