Symptoms of stress among student-athletes of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Malaysia

Background of the Study: Recent evidence suggests that student-athletes may experience greater levels of stress or anxiety due to the dual demands of athletics and academics expectation placed on them.A lot of pressure is placed on collegiate athletes to achieve excellence in academics and sports.The symptoms of stress are known as physiological, behavioral, cognitive and emotional.Aims: The main purpose of this study was to examine the symptoms of stress among student-athletes who compete at differing levels in Malaysia.Study Design: Comparative descriptive study design was used to compare the symptoms of stress among athletes.Place and Duration of Study: Sample: The participants of this study were recruited from student-athletes of Sport Science and Recreation Faculty, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia.Methodology: The sample consisted of 152 athletes, with national (N=41), state (N=33), district (N=37) and university (N= 41) level athletes.Based on this sample, there are 80 male and 72 female student-athletes. The student athletes voluntarily participated in the study and they were randomly selected during a sport event.The instrument used for the study comprised of a 28-item Symptoms of Stress, which include Physiological symptoms, Behavioral Symptoms, Cognitive Symptoms and Emotional Symptoms.Results: The results showed that university level athletes exhibited higher levels of physiological and cognitive stress than other categories of athletes.The result also showed that the national level athletes exhibited higher level of behavioral symptoms of stress. Conclusion: The findings of this research determined that there are differences in the symptoms of stress, showed by different categories of Malaysian athletes.Sport psychologists, sport counselors and coaches should use the present findings to recommend cognitive and physiological coping strategies to university athletes and behavioral strategies to national level athletes, while dealing with their stress

Effects of probiotics on anxiety, stress, mood and fitness of badminton players

Background: Reports of probiotic consumption on athletes’ performance are debatable due to their equivocal results. There is a need for more evidence on the effects of probiotic intake on psychological state and fitness level. Thus, this study determined the effects of daily probiotic consumption on competitive anxiety, perceived stress and mood among university badminton players, besides their fitness like aerobic capacity, strength, speed, leg power and agility. Methods: Thirty university badminton players aged from 19 to 22 years old were randomly divided equally into two groups, where the probiotic group (PG; n = 15) received a drink that contained Lactobacillus casei Shirota (3 × 10(10) CFU) and placebo group (CG; n = 15) a placebo drink for six weeks. Anxiety, stress and mood levels were determined using the CSAI-2R, PSS and BRUMS questionnaires, respectively. Fitness levels were measured using by subjecting the players to 20-m shuttle runs (aerobic capacity), handgrips (muscular strength), vertical jumps (leg power), 40-m dash (speed) and T-test (agility). The Student’s t-test (p < 0.05) was used to determine the differences between PG and CG players. Results: After six weeks, the anxiety and stress levels of PG players significantly decreased by 16% (p < 0.001) and 20% (p < 0.001), respectively, but there were no significant changes detected in CG players. Supplementation of probiotics also improved aerobic capacity in PG players by 5.9% (p < 0.001) but did not influence the speed, strength, leg power and agility. Conclusions: Probiotics supplementation showed improved aerobic capacity and relieve anxiety and stress. However, further studies need to be carried out to determine the mechanisms through which probiotic intake produces these effects