The Psychological Side of Heat Exhaustion

Brought to you by: Outsideonline.com

This article connects beautifully with a book I'm currently reading called "How Bad Do you Want It: Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle." A major theme so far is the powerful effect of perceived effort on output and performance, a topic mirrored in this article.

Here are two of my favorite summary snippets from "... Heat Exhaustion":

1) "So racing against a competitor created a disconnect between how hot they WERE and how hot they FELT."

2) "There’s research, for example, that suggests your perception of effort is lower when you’re racing against others, because part of your attention is focused on your competitors rather than fixated on your own suffering. But is this effect enough to trump the performance-sapping effects of heat?

In a word, yes."