By Staff
Athletic Management, 17.4, June/July 2005, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/am/am1704/wuheart.htm
Coaching is stressful. That’s obvious. But how stressful is it?
A pilot study conducted on 21 high school and college coaches last year found that their average heart rate when on the sidelines was 120 beats per minute. That’s almost twice the average person’s resting heart rate (which is 60 to 70 beats per minute), and not far below the 140 to 160 beats per minute firefighters typically register when they enter a burning building.
Just as alarming, follow-up research shows that coaches’ resting heart rates average 100 beats per minute. Rates are also very high in the hours leading up to and following a contest.
The figures are part of a long-term study being conducted by Matthew Rhea, Assistant Professor of Exercise Science at Southern Utah University, and Steve Lunt, former chair of the physical education department and professor emeritus, at the school. The two have initiated a program called “Coach-Care” to help coaches monitor their heart rate variability and relieve the constant stress their jobs can create.
“Coaches are always worried about preparing for games, or upset about the outcome of a game, or worried about the next situation,” Rhea says. “And the problem is not just the game-related stress, but also the constant daily stress that can have very serious health implications.”
Rhea says heart rate variability is a measure of both stress and a response to stress, which has shown links to heart disease. In addition, elevated heart rates can lead to health problems such as hypertension, chronic high blood pressure, and insomnia. Coaches participating in the pilot study also self-reported high levels of stress and anxiety on a regular basis.
Randy Hunter, Head Football Coach at Canyon View (Utah) High School, was a member of the study’s pilot group, which included football and basketball coaches, both male and female. As a participant, he wore a small heart rate monitor under his clothing and a wrist watch display during games for five months.
Hunter says his average heart rate when he exercises is around 150 beats per minute, and that he was surprised to find that during games he registered up to 170 beats per minute. “Before being involved in the study I certainly wasn’t aware my heart rate was so high during games. It was alarming,” he says. “When you’re focused on the game, you don’t realize your heart is working that hard.”
Rhea recently began a 10-year research study, with the goal of helping coaches reduce stress both during games and throughout their everyday routines. To help coaches lower their heart rate during games, Rhea says he asks them to periodically glance at their wrist monitors. If they find that their rate is excessively high, they’re asked to take a deep breath and relax.
“The research is still in the early stages as far as recommendations for when and how to reduce the rate during games,” says Hunter. “It’s kind of tough to ask a coach to sit down and take eight deep breaths during a game. But when they’re aware of it beforehand, I think they can feel themselves getting to that point and look for options to relax.”
But Rhea is even more focused on getting coaches to reduce overall stress levels and improve their long-term health. “We’re finding resting heart rates among coaches during a normal day to be about 100 beats per minute, and that is very elevated. They shouldn’t be that high,” Rhea says.
Initial recommendations from Rhea and Lunt are for coaches to exercise more. “We know from research in other areas that exercise and fitness can go a long way toward reducing health problems related to stress,” Rhea says. “Unfortunately, many coaches report that they don’t do a lot of physical activity. That’s going to be our main prevention intervention—to get them more active and exercising more. We know that will have a positive effect.”
Short-term goals for the Coach-Care program include publishing a regular newsletter for coaches that will cover a variety of health-related topics. Rhea says practical information will be presented, enabling coaches to assess their current health status and make changes as needed. A Web site is also in the works as a tool for coaches to learn more about Coach-Care and about their own profession beyond the court or the field.
For more information about Coach-Care and the ongoing studies, contact Matthew Rhea at: rhea@suu.edu.