Fight, flight, or fall: Autonomic nervous system reactivity during skydiving

Allison, Amber L.; Peres, Jeremy C.; Boettger, Christian; Leonbacher, Uwe; Hastings, Paul D.; Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A.

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2012.03.019

Cited by 36 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Given that skydiving is perceived as a high risk behaviour, attempts have been made to better understand the psychological profile of individuals who choose to partake in this activity. For example, it has recently been reported that skydivers report higher levels of sensation seeking than the normal population [3,4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From this perspective, it would be expected that experienced skydivers, who have had greater exposure to skydiving and should therefore have greater levels of perceived control, would demonstrate reduced cortisol reactivity compared to novice or first time jumpers. Studies which have investigated this suggestion have typically focussed on reactivity of the SAM axis and observed post-jump increases in heart rate in both novice and experienced jumpers, but no differences between the groups [5,13,14]. Similarly, although experienced skydivers also demonstrate post-jump increases in cortisol [15], no studies to date have compared novice versus experienced skydivers in relation to reactivity of the HPA axis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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State anxiety and cortisol reactivity to skydiving in novice versus experienced skydivers

Hare¹,

Wetherell²,

Smith³

2013

Physiology & Behavior

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Previous studies have suggested that skydiving, a naturalistic stressor, is associated with increases in self-reported stress, anxiety and cortisol levels. However, it has not been established whether this stress reactivity is altered as a function of repeated exposure to skydiving. This is of interest due to previous observations that cortisol reactivity becomes habituated with repeated exposure to laboratory stressors, however, few studies have investigated such habituation to naturalistic stressors. State anxiety and cortisol reactivity to skydiving were measured in 11 first-time skydivers and 13 experienced skydivers (≥ 30 jumps, mean jumps = 397.6), who were to complete a solo skydive. The novice skydivers reported significantly greater levels of state anxiety prior to the jump; however, there were no differences in pre-jump levels of salivary cortisol. Both groups exhibited significantly elevated salivary cortisol levels immediately post-jump, relative to i) prejump and ii) recovery. However, the two groups were indistinguishable with regards to their cortisol reactivity to the skydive. These findings support previous research demonstrating that skydiving elicits acute cortisol activation. Further, they suggest that i) cortisol reactivity does not habituate in experienced jumpers, and ii) that there is lack of concordance between self-reported levels of anxiety and biological stress reactivity in experienced skydivers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

State anxiety and cortisol reactivity to skydiving in novice versus experienced skydivers

Hare¹,

Wetherell²,

Smith³

2013

Physiology & Behavior

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“…The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (hpa) axis with the release of cortisol hormone enables further physiological resources to deal with the stressful stimulus. The data concerning ANS responses to skydiving by HRV analysis are only available from one study (Allison et al 2012). In the latter nevertheless, Allison et al focused on novelty and sensation seeking as essential influences on baseline functioning and propensities toward initial participation in high-risk activities, rather than explaining ANS activity during the jump in experienced skydivers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Time between the different jumps, time of jumps and number of jumps in the day were not imposed since parachute jump, as an acute highly stressful event, has no anticipatory effect on autonomic modulation of the heart (Hynynen et al 2009). The ANS shows no acclimatization to repeated jumps (Allison et al 2012): a stress, such as parachute jumping, that induces strong adrenocortical responses does not necessarily affect subsequent cortisol responses to the same stress (Deinzer et al 1997).…”

Section: Timeline Of Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hare et al (2013) showed recently that the anxiety state is higher before a skydive in novice, relative to experienced jumpers. Interestingly, studies which have investigated HR have observed increases in heart rate in both novice and experienced jumpers (Roth et al 1996;Allison et al 2012;Leach 2008) which suggests that the increase in HR in experienced jumpers is not solely induced by psychological stress. In particular, at 4000 m of height, skydivers are exposed to acute hypoxia which by itself is known to induce autonomic shifts in cardiovascular regulation by the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) (Liu et al 2001;Chen et al 2008;Zhang et al 2014;Buchheit et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heart rate variability and critical flicker fusion frequency changes during and after parachute jumping in experienced skydivers

et al. 2015

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Experiences in the military may impact dual‐axis neuroendocrine processes in veterans

Bobadilla

Åsberg

Johnson

et al. 2014

Developmental Psychobiology

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Military stressors such as survival training can affect endocrine functioning in the short term, and combat has been associated with endocrine changes linked to psychopathology. However, studies with military samples examining whether there are individual differences in these changes as part of normal development, or as an adaptive mechanism in adulthood are lacking. This study examined whether exposure to combat in a sample of veterans was associated with differential endocrine activity to a laboratory frustration task. Results indicated that Army veterans demonstrated significant testosterone reactivity to frustration and negative coupling between cortisol and testosterone. Alternatively, Navy and Marine veterans demonstrated little testosterone reactivity to frustration and positive coupling between cortisol and testosterone. Positive cortisol-testosterone coupling was stronger among individuals who had more dangerous combat experiences. This latter pattern may better prepare individuals for stressful life experiences and supports the contention that adulthood stressors may calibrate endocrine systems. Results are explained in the context of the Adaptive Calibration Model (Ellis et al., 2012, Developmental Psychology, 48(3), 598-623) which proposes that exposure to key environmental dimensions during endocrinologically malleable life stages (e.g., puberty) can change stress responsivity, resulting in a faster life history trajectory (e.g., increased risk-taking and aggression).

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Fight, flight, or fall: Autonomic nervous system reactivity during skydiving

Cited by 36 publications

References 30 publications

State anxiety and cortisol reactivity to skydiving in novice versus experienced skydivers

State anxiety and cortisol reactivity to skydiving in novice versus experienced skydivers

Heart rate variability and critical flicker fusion frequency changes during and after parachute jumping in experienced skydivers

Experiences in the military may impact dual‐axis neuroendocrine processes in veterans

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