How nutrition affects post-game emotions

The final whistle blows. You curl up and cover your face with your hand. You blame yourself for the result and your performance during the match. You know there were other factors, but you feel bad and unsatisfied. Now it’s time to recover physically and emotionally. Let’s see how nutrition affects post-game emotions and its positive effects on our mind.

To do this, it is advisable to follow a series of tips. Even so, as a parent it is good for you to take a look at other posts on this blog, for example on how to cheer up your children. In the face of defeats, it is important to know how to act correctly, not only in terms of nutrition. You have to be understanding and supportive. Now, let’s focus on nutrition.

Why nutrition matters in emotional moments

We are what we eat, or so they say. Actually, our organism reflects the way we feed ourselves. It’s the same with our mind. Certain nutrients help restore the levels of certain hormones, such as serotonin.

If we feel as we mentioned at the beginning, after a bad training session or a game, we may tend to feel anxious. This releases cortisol, which causes a decrease in serotonin levels, known as the “happiness hormone”.

For this reason, there are certain foods that will help us feel better. Here are some examples that can influence our well-being after a bad day.

Good foods for our mood

As previously mentioned, serotonin plays a fundamental role in emotional well-being. How can we promote the production of this hormone? For example, with tryptophan. This amino acid is found in foods such as turkey or chicken, eggs, yogurt, bananas or nuts, among others.

If we take a closer look at our physical state, if we replenish our energy we will also feel better. For this, as we mentioned in another of our entries on nutrition, carbohydrates are great. They also help the transport of tryptophan, and we find them, for example, in whole wheat bread, oatmeal, fruits, brown rice…

Omega 3 is another good contribution to our organism, since it helps our emotional regulation. To obtain it, we can take, for example, salmon, tuna, sardines or tuna fish, walnuts, chia seeds, etc.

And, of course, we must not forget to be well hydrated. Otherwise, we may tend towards irratibility, fatigue and difficulty in concentrating.

Managing our emotions after a bad game

Apart from taking into account food, it is very important to evaluate our attitude or that of our children after a game or training session that did not go according to expectations.

Among these behaviors, we must avoid eating out of anxiety. Many people tend to eat sweets, fried food or sugary soft drinks to get an easy “reward”, but this is not the way.

Skipping meals due to frustration is also a concern. This only provokes the worsening of the emotional and physical state. On the other hand, it is necessary to try to relax at the time of the meal, and to avoid recreating in bad moments or in criticisms with respect to that which torments us.

Failure is part of the process

Not everything can be victories. You have to fail in order to analyze yourself. It is part of the process of growing and maturing, both on and off the field. That is why we must always maintain a good nutrition, both in defeats and victories.

In this way, we not only help the body to recover, but also feel balanced, refocused, stronger and healthier. After a heavy or unhealthy meal, we will probably feel full afterwards, more exhausted and less willing to do things.

We have already seen how nutrition affects post-game emotions, and how to manage them as a player as well. In our soccer camps, we always bring good values of behavior and empathy, and we take care that the players are hydrated and in good condition.