During school age a balance is required in daily activities among duties, responsibilities, distractions, and pleasures. Preteens and teens face their daily commitments by trying to best adapt their study duties, family and social needs, entertainment, and hobbies, coordinating everything with their sleep and eating habits. Here is a brief overview of the main factors that influence young people’s lifestyles, focusing on the importance of regular exercise as a key element in combating a sedentary lifestyle. It is easier to change certain habits in youth. The effort to make the most appropriate decisions in everyday life characterizes success in various activities: from school performance to performance in physical education & sports. And, more importantly, it helps to achieve greater levels of serenity and satisfaction. Aside from the family environment, school is the place where young people spend most of their time. Physical education, the introduction to sports, and sports practice play a very important role in the healthy and complete growth of the individual. It is important to recommend a harmonious global vision of the dimensions that characterize lifestyles to young people in order to help them in their constant search for balance, a search that will influence each person’s life path and that must oppose to a sedentary lifestyle as much as possible.
This special issue is primarily dedicated to “Psychotherapy in Sport,” with five articles written by the speakers who participated in the conference on this topic. The event was organized as the concluding session of the Research Methodology course of the Center for Research in Psychotherapy’s School of Specialization. Key players from the world of sport […]
Background. In high-level diving, episodes of sudden interruption of motor control, commonly referred to as “blackout” motor blackout, are observed. These episodes are characterized by a sudden loss of the ability to perceive, represent, or regulate movement, with significant implications for the athlete’s performance and safety.
Objectives. This paper aims to analyze motor blackout by integrating computational theory and ecological theory of motor control, in order to identify the neurocognitive and emotional mechanisms underlying its onset and to outline evidence-based intervention strategies. This paper also opens a field of interest for further in-depth research.
Methods. A theoretical and comparative analysis of motor control models and contributions from sport psychology regarding the relationship between emotion, attention, and sensorimotor coordination was conducted. Preliminary observations on cases of elite athletes who experienced the phenomenon were also considered.
Results. From a computational perspective, blackout emerges as a dysfunction in the recall or execution of the internal motor program, due to interference between automatic and conscious control, overload of working memory, or alteration of executive functions (inhibition, attention, cognitive flexibility). In ecological terms, it represents a loss of attunement between perception and action, with a temporary inability to correctly perceive environmental affordances (possibilities, opportunities for action). Intense emotions—particularly fear and mental fatigue—negatively influence attentional stability and neuromuscular synchronization, generating disorganization of the entire sensorimotor system.
Conclusions. We propose an integrated intervention model that combines mental training techniques, emotional and attentional regulation, pre-performance routines, training in variable contexts, and controlled stress simulations. This approach aims to enhance cognitive-motor resilience and restore the balance between body, environment, and task. Understanding emotional and perceptual dynamics is crucial not only for the prevention and management of motor blackout but also for maintaining optimal performance and psychological well-being in elite athletes.
