Biological systems do not necessarily suffer from stress, but actually can improve their functioning when exposed to a certain “dosage” of stress. For example, vaccinations work by injecting a small dosage of a potentially infectious agent into the system. This stress-exposure triggers facilitative responses as the immune system adapts to combat this agent and thus becomes immune to a larger (previously harmful) dosage. In this research project, we attempt to translate this approach to improving sports performance in crew rowing. Specifically, we aim to identify stress-loadings under which crews perform their best to derive specific training recommendations for increasing their overall performance and becoming more adaptable to different stress dosages. Combining both physio- and psychological measures of stress and performance, we aim to gain insights to the phenomenological experience of the (performance) behaviour.
Involved in this project:
