Football players who drink enough before training or competition produce less stress hormone cortisol than slightly dehydrated players.
Dynamics of changes in cortisol levels in aerobic sports
Football match, like any other similar load in gaming sports, induces changes in physiological stress biomarkers such as testosterone, cortisol and testosterone-cortisol ratio. These changes potentially affect an athlete’s performance and health. At the same time, the testosterone:cortisol ratio is considered an indicator of the physiological stress associated with overtraining. Some studies have shown a decrease in testosterone levels without modification of cortisol, while others describe an increase in the levels of both hormones. The differences between the studies can be explained by the difference in intensity of the matches, biological, psychological, social and / or due to the level and seniority of training, the latter being strongly influenced by the age of the athletes. In addition, it has been shown that the hormonal response during exercise may depend on the state of hydration. For example, subjects who were hypohydrated (dehydrated) before and after the race at 70% of the maximum oxygen intake (VO 2 max) had a higher concentration of cortisol compared to runners with a normal degree of hydration. (*)
Study of the effects of dehydration on elevated cortisol hormone
In this study, Chilean physiotherapists from the University of Fini-terre conducted an experiment with 17 young elite footballers. The researchers divided the athletes into 2 groups and forced them to play a friendly match against each other. Before the match, scientists analyzed whether the players were optimally hydrated based on the analysis of the composition of urine. Before and after the game, they took saliva samples in which the concentration of the hormones testosterone and cortisol was measured. Eight young athletes had some degree of dehydration, while others had normal hydration. Dehydration had no effect on testosterone levels before and after the competition, but resulted in a larger increase in cortisol levels after the match (by 28%). Scientists believe that the results obtained in an earlier study showing a decrease in testosterone levels in response to a match in football players differ from those that did not show such a decrease, due to the difference in the years of training experience of athletes. In a study conducted by Penailillo et al. (2015), players had an average age of 26 years, while in this study, subjects were on average 17 years old. The older the subjects, the more important their training experience. (**)
Relationship between hydration levels and increased cortisol
«Given that no correlation was found between changes in heart rate and changes in cortisol in players during games, and that VO 2 max (that is, the level of physical preparation) was similar in all subjects, it is unlikely that potential differences in physiological tension when testing a match or differences in the level of physical preparation explain the increase in cortisol, observed in the dehydration group, and the absence of increase in the normal group degumming. Therefore, the level of hydration probably played a key and significant role,» the researchers write.
Imprisonment
«A slight dehydration before a football match increases the response to cortisol after a match,» the scientists summarize. These results suggest that the response to cortisol at the football game is sensitive to the state of hydration, suggesting that dehydration before the game could be an additional stress to take into account.»
From yourself, you can add that these results should be taken into account in other sports, where changes in cortisol levels in response to the load can affect even the appearance, for example, competitive bodybuilding.
Finess Head 