Mental Toughness Research Blog

Wishing you a Christmas brimming with joy, laughter, and precious moments with your loved ones. 🎄

Here’s to a New Year filled with prosperity, new opportunities, and success.
We can’t wait to continue our journey with you in 2025! 🎆

AUGUST 28, 2024: U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: PARENTING IS A TEAM SPORT

Vivek H. Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General:

“The stress and mental health challenges faced by parents — just like loneliness, workplace well-being and the impact of social media on youth mental health — aren’t always visible, but they can take a steep toll. It’s time to recognize they constitute a serious public health concern for our country. Parents who feel pushed to the brink deserve more than platitudes. They need tangible support...The experience has taught me that parenting at its best is a team sport [COHESION].”

**LESSONS: (1) There are significant mental health challenges parents encounter, and they may not be visible. Reach out to a / fellow parent(s); even 15 minutes of connection can help. (2) Parenting is a team sport, which includes not just the parents but the people around them. (3) Having the mental toughness to cope with adversities is crucial for parents. (4) Parents can practice mindfulness and breathing exercises to safeguard one's mental well-being.

LINK: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/opinion/surgeon-general-stress-parents.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GU4.S_UV._LQOgX5BhAXf&smid=url-share

MAY 28, 2024. HARNESSING THE POWER OF BOTH MENTAL TOUGHNESS AND MENTAL WELLNESS

The latest research and best practices are informing us how to sustain peak performance by utilizing both mental toughness and mental wellness (aka resilience) skills via a repetitive 4-step process as shown in the image below.

Dec 13, 2023. Research update: https://bit.ly/purpose4mentalwellbeing
DO THIS ONE THING THING TO IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

"A meta-analysis (total n = 66,468, total k = 99) investigated the association of purpose in life with depression and anxiety. Across samples, greater purpose in life was significantly associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety."

**LESSONS:
(1) Discover your life purpose through reflection and meaningful goals for improved mental well-being. (2) Talk to someone if you're feeling down, and consider finding a sense of purpose to help lift your mood. (3) Try talking with a mental toughness / wellness coach to give you some guidance or inspiration in your life's journey.

Jan 4, 2022. Latest research: https://bit.ly/skilloverpressure
HERE'S HOW TO PERFORM BETTER UNDER PRESSURE

"The results show that high situational pressure significantly increases the probability of missing the goal entirely by about 6%, independent of the player’s skill level. The probability that the goalkeeper saves a penalty significantly decreases by roughly 4% when a highly skilled player takes the shot."

*LESSONS: (1) FACT: High pressure situations decrease the probability of scoring a penalty kick. (2) But if you are highly skilled or well-prepared, it can act as a kind of buffer against debilitating effects caused by performance pressure. (3) One can never practice or prepare enough for pressure situations -- most importantly, do not be complacent even if you are good that what you do. (4) The best is always yet to be.

June 30, 2022. Research update: https://bit.ly/mt4stressresilience
STRENGTHEN THIS QUALITY IN YOUR CHILD TO HELP PROTECT THEM AGAINST THE STRESSORS OF LIFE
"Consistent across the two samples [high school students, university undergraduates], mental toughness mitigated the relationship between high stress and depressive symptoms."

*LESSONS: (1) Mental toughness was discovered in successful elite athletes, and its now proof that these same qualities can be applied outside of sport! (2) Higher mental toughness is associated with lower stress and depression symptoms. (3) Mental toughness can be developed via regular and systematic mental skills training and coaching. (4) For more information on what skills to learn and when to learn them, click here (safe link): bit.ly/B3-5Cmodel

Apr 18, 2022. Latest research update: https://bit.ly/positive-childhood-experiences
THIS IS HOW CHILDREN CAN BE "INOCULATED" AGAINST THE STRESSES OF LIFE
"Therefore, parent and peer support, and a positive school environment can enhance mental toughness, which then leads to more positive wellbeing."

**LESSONS: (1) Ensure strong family and peer bonding for your child. (2) Send your child to schools that provide strong social and emotional support, not just only academic support. (3) Give them opportunities to acquire mental toughness skills through non-academic activities, e.g., competitive sport.

Mar 29, 2022. Latest research: https://bit.ly/MTskills4MH
MENTAL TOUGHNESS SKILLS ARE ALSO BENEFICIAL FOR MENTAL HEALTH

"Mental health and performance are not mutually exclusive constructs that can be easily compartmentalized. Athletes are multifaceted beings who need balance between physical health, mental health, and the demands of their performance-oriented environment."

**LESSONS: (1) Mental toughness skills can also be used for mental health / wellness purposes. (2) Learn to find personal balance through seeking Social Support, Managing of Setbacks, increasing one's Self-Awareness, and learning to Manage one's Stress. (3) Work with a sport & performance psychologist or mental toughness coach/facilitator to support your high performance career or journey.

Mar 19, 2022. Latest research: http://bit.ly/parent-child-resilience
THE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP HAS GREAT IMPACT ON A CHILD'S MENTAL RESILIENCE

"The results confirm that parent-child relationship is significantly correlated with resilience. Parent-child intimacy can positively predict resilience, and parent-child conflict can negatively predict resilience."

*LESSONS: (1) Parents should find way to interact with their children to strengthen parent-child closeness. (2) Do your best to avoid excessive parent-child conflict. (3) Promote harmony. Resolve conflicts as soon as possible.

Mar 13, 2022. Research update: https://bit.ly/MT4SuccessInSport
THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN HIGHER-LEVEL SPORT: MENTAL TOUGHNESS!

"The majority of MT-competitive standard studies (N = 10) found total (66.7%) or subcomponent (71.4%) MT differences, with mentally tougher athletes participating at higher levels of competition. Of the remaining studies (N = 9), most indicated (77.8%) mentally tougher athletes tend to achieve more or perform better."

*LESSONS: (1) A recent review of the mental toughness research literature generally found that mentally tougher athletes are the ones who are able to compete at higher levels than their peers. (2) Athletes need to systematically develop their mental toughness skills over time and through competition experiences, which are stress-provoking opportunities for them to refine their coping skills as they move towards higher levels of play.

Oct 2, 2021. Latest research: https://bit.ly/selftalk-attention
DO THIS TO ENHANCE TASK CONCENTRATION

"The analysis showed that in all experiments, in 14 out of 17 tests, the experimental groups had faster reaction times than the control groups, and a meta-analytic synthesis of the results showed a large effect size (d = 0.75). The findings suggest that self-talk benefit the attention functions and support postulations for an attentional interpretation of the facilitating effects of self-talk strategies on task performance."

*LESSONS: (1) You can use self-talk to help you focus better. (2) This experimental study supports a major part of our B3-5C model for mental toughness: bit.ly/B3-5Cmodel. Concentration is one of 5 major components of mental toughness. (3) Specifically, use cue or reminder words to help you concentrate.

Sep 24, 2021. Research Update: https://bit.ly/choc4sleepdebt
EAT THIS TO HELP COUNTERACT A SLEEPLESS NITE!

"Flavanol-rich chocolate counteracted vascular impairment after sleep deprivation and restored working memory performance. Improvement in cognitive performance could be because of the effects of cocoa flavonoids on blood pressure and peripheral and central blood flow."

*LESSONS: (1) Cocoa flavonoids from dark chocolate (70% cocoa) provide cardiovascular benefits and neurological protection. (2) However, remember that ample sleep is still the best and healthiest option!

Sep 22, 2021. Thought for the day

Many of us have got success the wrong way around. There's a school of thought that believes that we should push harder and stopping is a sign of weakness. Then, there's the other school of thought that says that we need to chill, take it easy, relax, etc. However, fact is, both are needed -- The key is to find that balance. When done so, magic happens! 🙂

Sep 7, 2021. Research update: bit.ly/buildup2competition
IN BUILDING UP TOWARDS COMPETITION, DO THESE 4 THINGS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR RESILIENCE (MENTAL TOUGHNESS)

" (1) An optimistic appraisal of pressure as integral to resilience [CONFIDENCE]; (2) Shift from negative emotional state to acceptance [COMPOSURE]; (3) Striking a balance between life and sport [BALANCE / COPE-ABILITY]; and (4) A quality relationship between coach and athlete facilitating optimal performance. [COHESION]"

*LESSONS: (1) This 2019 University of Strathclyde (UK) research findings support a majority of the 5C's Mental Toughness Model elements. (2) Practice using these competition-relevant mental skills in practice / training to hone and automate them. (3) Periodize your mental skills training.

Aug 28, 2021. Research update: bit.ly/athlete-relationships-matter
YOUTH ATHLETES CAN THRIVE & PERFORM IN COMPETITIVE SPORT WHEN THEY ARE PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING...

"In Study 1, we found athletes’ attachment to their sports coach was significantly associated with athlete thriving and mediated by psychological needs satisfaction. Results of Study 2 found that athletes’ secure attachment to their mother and/or father positively predicted the experience of thriving at the competition while athletes’ insecure attachment did not predict thriving."

*LESSONS: (1) Feelings of security and attachment to their coaches and parents facilitate youth-athlete performance and enjoyment in competitive sport. (2) Unconditional support and consistent encouragement are key to making this happen. (3) Insecure and anxious youths may require more support and satisfying of their basic psychological needs.

Aug 20, 2021. Latest research: bit.ly/coffee4lessdepression
DRINK THIS TO HELP REDUCE YOUR DEPRESSION-RISK

"This study suggests a protective effect of coffee and, partially, of tea and caffeine on risk of depression."

*LESSONS: (1) From this study, coffee consumption had better outcomes (i.e., lower depression) than tea and caffeinated drinks consumption. (2) Find some way to add coffee into your daily diet for better mood states! (3) NOTE: Drinking tea has its own benefits separately, and we are not suggesting that you stop that healthy habit.

Aug 21, 2021. Latest research: https://bit.ly/stressballaccuracy
PREVENT CHOKING & IMPROVE ACCURACY WITH THIS PROVEN MENTAL TOUGHNESS STRATEGY

"In accordance with the hypothesis, tennis players utilising the left hand dynamic handgrip were able to serve just as accurate under pressure as they did under no pressure, while serving accuracy of participants performing a right hand dynamic handgrip worsened significantly under pressure, indicating a worsening of performance. This main finding provides additional support for the alleviating effect of the left hand dynamic handgrip on choking under pressure."

*LESSONS: (1) This is a mental toughness strategy that combines composure and concentration into one pre-shot, handgroup exercise. (2) Previous studies have shown it to be effective for accuracy components of sports likes archery, badminton serves, bowling, shooting, tennis serves, etc. (3) Integrate a 10-15 sec handgrip exercise (aka stress ball squeezing) into your pre-shot routine for greater accuracy performance.

RESEARCH SUBJECTS (PARENTS OF ATHLETES BELOW 18 Y.O.) NEEDED; CONDUCTED BY U. OF STERLING (UK)
*if you can spare some time to do some surveys, go through some training workshops on social support, and be interviewed, please do help. It will help us understand how to support student athletes. to join, please register here: https://tinyurl.com/StudyEmailcol