Abstract
Due to the challenge of balancing academic and sport training demands, student-athletes experience higher levels of stress (Gould & Whitly, 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a self-regulation intervention on the stress and well-being of 11 Human Kinetics undergraduate student-athletes. Over the course of 6 weekly 15-minute intervention sessions, student-athletes learned how to self-regulate and manage their stress using the emWave cardiac coherence (CC) training software program; CC represents a physiological state in which the nervous, cardiovascular, hormonal and immune systems are working efficiently and harmoniously (HeartMath, 2010). During each intervention session, participants focused on maintaining desired breathing patterns and positive emotions and thoughts, while receiving visual feedback from the emWave program regarding their heart rate variability and CC level. They also practiced sustaining CC on their own once per day for 3-5 minutes and completed a log. In a final interview, they shared their perceptions regarding the impact of the intervention. Results indicated that 6 of the 11 student-athletes considerably improved their ability to sustain CC, 3 showed moderate improvement, and 2 had little to no improvement. Moreover, 9 of the 11 student-athletes reported lower levels of stress, and 6 reported increased well-being including an enhanced ability to control emotions, focus, relax, and maintain a positive attitude.
