We all face difficult situations in life. In sports, specifically, those difficult moments are played out in front of a cheering audience. We have seen a lot of them during these Olympic games.
In basketball, one of the most stressful situations is a free throw, which happens when a player is fouled while attempting to score. Unlike in soccer where anyone can take a penalty kick, in basketball, it is only the fouled player who gets the free throw. Games are decided by free throws.
Researchers at the University of Basel have found a way to statistically improve free throws. We know that physical touch– like a hug or a pat on the back–can reduce stress, so they decided to see if it could reduce stress enough to improve free throws. Through some interesting studies, they found out that it does!
The researchers counted how many teammates touched the shooter before a shot, for example by tapping her on the shoulder or squeezing her hand. They, then calculated whether there was a statistical association between the number of touches by teammates and the success rate of the subsequent shot. There was!
These situations offer an exceptional insight into how high-functioning athletes deal with stress, and how a physical touch of encouragement and support can make all the difference. If it works for them, it will probably work for us!
We need four hugs a day for survival, eight hugs a day for maintenance, and twelve hugs a day for growth, so figure out who you’re gonna hug today!
