Monitoring mood state to improve performance in soccer players: A brief review

Abstract

IntroductionPsychological aspects of sport are key in maintaining athlete motivation and make a difference in competitive outcomes. Adjustments to training may be necessary according to athletes’ emotional state. Therefore, it is important to assess and quantify mood states throughout the season in team sports, including among soccer players. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) is a widely used questionnaire that assesses emotional states characterized by positive or negative feelings and can be administered repeatedly to assess changes in mood state. This review aims to assess and summarize the current literature on mood state variation in soccer players with a specific focus on training loads, training modalities, and competitive performance.MethodsA literature search was systematically conducted and resulted in 156 records. After removing duplicates, items with irrelevant titles and abstracts were screened out, and full texts were then screened for relevance and compared with inclusion and exclusion criteria. The remaining 37 articles were included in the final qualitative synthesis.ResultsPOMS scores were related to variability in training load, intensity of the training period, modality of training exercises, competitive performance and time of day in soccer players. Common recommendations include monitoring the mood state of soccer players during training sessions, matches, and throughout training periods to detect early signs of psychological disturbance and aid in optimizing high-level training performance.ConclusionThe POMS allows for monitoring of players’ psychological state, providing coaches with data to aid in adjusting acute program variables according to players’ psychological states and improve performance. Results offer practical support for the use of a simple POMS measurement as part of an overall program to monitor the players’ psychological states. Results also highlight how training choices (i.e., load and exercise modality) and competitive performance are related to mood states (i.e., tension, anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, and vigor).

Progressive muscle relaxation in pandemic times: bolstering medical student resilience through IPRMP and Gagne's model

“…The findings align with the concept that the frequent practice of PMR exercises can cultivate an adaptive response to both physical and psychological challenges. This adaptability functions as an effective mechanism for maintaining holistic health (Selmi et al, 2023 ). For instance, a medical student or healthcare professional, constantly subjected to high-stress environments, may find that regular PMR sessions help in mitigating the onset of stress-related symptoms.…”

Supplementation of L-glutamine enhanced mucosal immunity and improved hormonal status of combat-sport athletes

“…It is well known that in the field of sports, mood state is affected by psychophysiological responses and mood state variation has been associated with performance achievement or failure [ 51 ]. A previous study evaluating elite soccer players during an intense competition period (playing 10 games over 6 weeks) showed a significant increase in total mood disturbance along with a significant decrease in the T/C ratio and sports performance [ 52 ].…”

Optimizing performance and mood state in competitive swimmers through tapering strategies

“…Mood state is a very frequent factor in the assessment of psychological state in competitive athletes ( Bijukumar, 2021 ; Selmi et al, 2023 ; Stone et al, 2023 ). Several factors can affect mood such as training load (i.e., volume, intensity and frequency of training) ( Selmi et al, 2020 ; Fields et al, 2021 ) In fact, physiological (i.e., muscular and cardiorespiratory adaptation, energy) and mental (i.e., concentration, attention and alertness) responses could affect mood state in competitive athletes ( Beedie et al, 2000 ; Hashim and Hanafi Ahmad Yusof, 2011 ; Bijukumar, 2021 ).…”

“…On the other hand, total mood disturbance and POMS subscales are reliable predictors of sports performance in several sports (e.g., tennis, football, and triathlon) ( Lochbaum et al, 2021 ). More specifically, the improvement of certain POMS subscales (i.e., tension, depression and fatigue) could promote mental and physical state, which positively affects sports performance in high-level training athletes ( Selmi et al, 2023 ; Stone et al, 2023 ). Mood state in swimmers could be influenced by training volume.…”