A certain amount of stress in an athlete’s sporting, personal, and business lives can be beneficial but too much stress alters the body’s hormone balance. When there is too much stress in an athlete’s life, they may become listless, lose their appetite, have difficulty sleeping, experience mood swings, and become susceptible to infections.
Elite athletes face stress in their sporting lives and in their private and business lives, and it is important to have a healthy and stable lifestyle in the round in order to compete successfully at the highest level.
In order to minimize the potential negative aspects of stress, athletes and coaches need to plan and manage training and competing. Training should be progressive and incremental with planned recovery periods, and there should be a competition schedule which takes account of the athlete’s goals, chances of success, and need for recovery and leisure time.