Testosterone and Cortisol: more than imposters

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

(Rudyard Kipling, If (http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_if.htm))

We all face wins and losses at points in our lives, including in our sport, but losses in particular can be difficult to deal with, especially if you are male. One of the reasons is the role that the hormones testosterone (mainly applicable to the boys) and cortisol play (applicable to all of us). The trick is to understand that while Kipling is arguably correct from a philosophical point of view, he is quite wrong in a physical and mental sense. This has been well put in a couple of recent articles in the Financial Times in the context of excellent research by John Coates and Joe Herbert of Cambridge University on traders and testosterone levels (the leader I've quoted below the main article is here http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5f8adcba-0a86-11dd-b5b1-0000779fd2ac.html )

The simple problem is this – men who are preparing to win and/or do win, experience increased testosterone levels. That increase can go on for two weeks post win. It improves muscle development, gives a sense of well being, and increases aggression, risk taking and the need to challenge hence "winning streaks". Men and women who lose and/or experience stress and sleep deprivation experience increased cortisol levels, and if this continues for an extended period experience a psychological state known as "learned helplessness" (ie "bad luck" and "losing rut").

Thus when faced with a man who has lost, as a coach, yourself or merely the poor person who has to deal with him at the end of the day – do not dwell on the loss. Fear of failure drives many successful sportsmen, but focusing on failures that have occured just racks up the cortisol unless its a one off loss and everyone can get nice and angry about it (and even then this is a tricky strategy). On the other hand, if there has been a win, then it has to be celebrated, laughed about and turned into a story that can be frequently returned to. The latter applies to us all in all aspects of life and is easily forgotten.

Narrowing down to rowing, the above is why only picking fights you can win is the founding physiological and psychological basis for a successful season. It also tells why sucessful coxswains tend to be some of the mouthiest on the river – a great example is the 2000 ICBC squad see http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=819156&l=50139&id=639594368 and the famous ICBC cox comment "Congratulations on winning the Page Trophy" to Redgrave and his Leander crew after the Head of the River in 2000 (context – the top ICBC boat (then old boys were Queens Tower) was the GB Olympic break-away eight who had moved down from Henley to the Tideway and went on to win gold in the Olympics that year. ICBC came first and won the Vernon Trophy as the fastest Tideway crew – Leander who came 2^nd but were still the fastest non Tideway Thames crew and therefore won the Page Trophy ie the comment translates as "nice second place"). ICBC and Queens Tower kept winning that year where ever they turned, the HORR saw them win overall at Elite, win Senior I and win Novice, with ICBC 2 placing 32. It was without a doubt a strong year, but you should not underestimate the impact of Bill Masons squad strategy and the "seige mentality" built by Martin McElroy and Harry Mahon (coaches of the GB eight) against GB head coach Jurgen Grobler's Leander based main squad (nor indeed this year's decision to not let the core of the GB squad race the HORR).

The coxing by this year's winner of Head of the River was also an excellent demonstration of how to motivate by focussing on the potential win rather than holding off the crew behind you. Phelan Hill coxed Leander I, and having been an LRC cox for a chunk of his career is well versed the brutal LRC philosophy that the race starts again at Hammersmith (ie just past half way), and there are many coxes who will give crews a lot of chat as you come under Hammersmith. Phelan on the other hand was very quiet for 20 strokes/10 seconds or so, and then came out with this line in a quiet focussed voice:

"So we've talked about this and prepared for it, and this is the point, so do you want it?

No response from the crew. As the crew took the next stroke through the water he asked again: "Do you want it?".

Silence. The but as the blades left the water from that stroke, the hands came away quicker, and the next five strokes rapidly increased in speed, stamping out an answer. Leander I tripled their lead between Hammersmith and the finish taking another 4 lengths of the nearest crew (ICBC 1). I think it was a good call, in fact I think its one of the best I have ever heard up there with "If not you then who? If not now, then when?".

Traders warned on effects of male hormone

By Clive Cookson

Financial Times: Published: April 15 2008 03:00 Last updated: April 15 2008 03:00

The image of testosterone-fuelled excess in financial trading is confirmed by a scientific study published today. John Coates and Joe Herbert of Cambridge University monitored testosterone through saliva tests in 17 male traders at an unnamed bank in the City of London over eight consecutive business days. Their findings appear in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a leading US journal. The researchers found that men with higher testosterone levels in the morning went on to make above average profits during the day. Their success raised levels further, leading to higher confidence and more risk-taking. In the short term - and in a rising market - this feedback loop or "winner effect" tended to have a positive impact, said Dr Coates. But other studies show that eventually it goes too far, as "effective risk-taking turns into dangerous behaviour".

A second hormone, cortisol, has an opposite effect to testosterone, damping down exuberance. Levels of cortisol rose in the traders as market volatility increased. "Cortisol is likely to rise in a market crash and, by increasing risk aversion, to exaggerate the market's downward movement," the researchers say in their paper. "Testosterone, on the other hand, is likely to rise in a bubble and, by increasing risk-taking, to exaggerate the market's upward movement."

Dr Coates, who ran a trading desk for Deutsche Bank on Wall Street before turning to academic research, said economists and policymakers should "consider the physiology of investors, not just their rationality. In the present credit crisis, traders may feel the noxious effects of chronic cortisol exposure and end up in a psychological state known as 'learned helplessness'. If this happens central banks may lower interest rates only to find that traders still refuse to buy risky assets." Last October there was a brief burst of publicity about a lawsuit against a New York hedge fund by a trader, who was allegedly made to take female hormones because he was behaving too aggressively.