What are the 5 levels of arousal?

A person’s level of arousal can be described as a function of alertness, situational awareness, vigilance, level of distraction, stress and direction of attention. The levels of arousal can be connected to the Yerkes-Dodson Stress Curve, which shows that at low levels of arousal, our performance level is also low. At the other end of the scale, when arousal is too high, perhaps due to overload, then once again we start to make more errors, find it harder to be decisive and take longer to react. Somewhere in between the two extremes, a point of optimum-arousal, which is appropriate and effective for the situation, will exist allowing for optimum performance. The levels of arousal can be described as under-arousal, optimum-arousal, and over-arousal, with under-arousal manifest by unconsciousness, and over-arousal manifest by a range of symptoms such as panic, aggression, and irrational behaviour. Two specific examples of under-arousal are habituation and lacuna of indecision. Some stressor(s) are required to rouse us from a low level of arousal into the optimum zone, and when we are in this zone, our mental capacity, situational awareness, alertness, attention, vigilance, decision-making, and actions are all heightened in sensitivity and execution. The five levels of arousal are not explicitly stated, but can be inferred as low arousal, moderately low arousal, optimum arousal, moderately high arousal, and high arousal.

The state of arousal can vary along a continuum from deep sleep (low arousal) to intense excitement (high arousal). Arousal is defined as a physical and mental state of excitement. Arousal can affect the physical performance of a sportsperson and their mental state. Mental state includes both physiological and psychological factors of a person. Physical effects of high arousal include increased heart rate and sweating. Arousal levels need to be controlled to ensure performance is not affected adversely.

Fine skills need a low level of arousal because performers must be accurate and precise. Gross skills need a higher level of arousal because performers must be powerful and strong. Because different skills need different levels of arousal, performers need to be able to control and optimise their arousal levels. E.g. when footballers take penalties, they need to calm their arousal so that they don't become too excited and strike the ball too hard or miss the target. Performers often visualise themselves in their own minds in order to control their arousal. A performer pictures themselves performing the skill perfectly before they actually perform it. Performers can use this technique in the following situations: To control arousal before taking a conversion in rugby. To control arousal before throwing a javelin. To control arousal before taking a penalty in football.