Collective Super Power: A Season-Long Study of Hypnosis to Enhance Confidence and Reduce Pre-competition Anxiety and Stress in Two Handball Teams

Upcoming sports competitions tend to induce stress and anxiety in athletes, which may impair their mental health as well as their performance outcomes. Previous studies have emphasized the need for effective psychological interventions to improve athletes’ mental health and pre-competition readiness. We investigated the effects of a 30-minute tailored audio hypnosis intervention on stress regulation and performance readiness in a young women’s handball team. The session was designed in collaboration with the team to emphasize motivation, collective identity, and emotional regulation. Using a quasi-experimental repeated-measures design, we collected data across eight official league matches from 24 athletes in two teams. Assessments included Heart Rate Variability (HRV), handgrip strength, goal performance, and several questionnaires to measure psychological state before, during, and after the competition. Analyses using Gamma-distributed generalized additive mixed models revealed significant increases in two HRV metrics and in pre-game psychological measures (the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2; CSAI-2), with higher self-confidence and lower cognitive and somatic anxiety after the intervention. No effects were found in handgrip strength, goal performance, or mid and endgame ratings. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of team-specific audio hypnosis to enhance pre-competition readiness and psychophysiological regulation in competitive sports settings.