January 6 2026

Play Beats Pressure: Why a Relaxed, Playful State Can Make You a Better Freediver

Freediving and stress shouldn’t really go together. The goal is calm, control, and enjoyment. So let’s look at what research suggests about why a relaxed, playful mindset can help you feel better and often dive better—compared to a “must perform / don’t mess up” competitive mindset.

There’s a strong research base behind this general idea: a relaxed/playful (positive, autonomy-supportive) state tends to broaden thinking and support both creativity and well-being, while highly competitive / evaluative pressure often narrows thinking and can reduce creativity (and felt well-being)—though some kinds of competition can sometimes boost originality depending on how it’s structured.

1) Relaxed / playful mood → broader thinking → more creativity & “resourcefulness”

When you’re calm and enjoying what you’re doing, your brain tends to open up rather than lock in.

  • Broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson): positive emotions (like joy and interest) can broaden what we notice and what we feel capable of doing in the moment. Over time, that can build personal resources that support coping and well-being.
  • Experimental evidence (Isen et al., 1987): lab studies show that a more positive mood can help people solve creative problems more easily (often by making the brain better at forming flexible connections).
  • Play and creativity reviews: reviews link playfulness with flexibility, exploration, and trying variations—basically the mindset behind being “resourceful.”

For a beginner freediver, this matters because you’re still learning a lot at once (breathing, relaxation, equalization, technique, safety). A playful mood makes learning smoother.

2) Competitive / evaluative pressure tends to reduce creativity when it becomes “high stakes”

When it feels like you’re being judged—or you’re judging yourself—your attention often gets narrower.

  • Meta-analysis on stressors & creativity (Byron, Khazanchi, Nazarian, 2010): across many studies, high evaluative stress (feeling assessed) is linked with lower creative performance.
  • Competition can have downsides: research on competitive systems notes competition can have negative side effects and can harm creativity in certain contexts.
  • Evaluative pressure + anxiety: some newer work finds “pressure to be creative” interacts with anxiety and can change creative output.

Nuance (worth knowing): competition isn’t always bad. Some competition formats can improve originality. It depends on whether the competition feels like challenge or threat, and how it’s structured.

3) Playful/autonomy-supportive states also map onto better well-being during activities

“Playful” doesn’t mean silly. It means you feel safe enough to explore.

  • Intrinsic motivation & creativity (Amabile): people tend to be most creative when they’re doing something because it’s meaningful or enjoyable—not because they feel controlled or evaluated. This is very similar to “playful vs competitive.”
  • Adult playfulness & well-being: playfulness is linked with life satisfaction and doing more enjoyable activities (mostly correlational, but consistent).
  • Playfulness can be trained: intervention studies suggest playfulness can be increased, which matters because this mindset isn’t “personality-only.”
  • Flow & well-being: flow (that focused, enjoyable “in the zone” state) is strongly linked to well-being and performance.

Putting it together (what the literature supports)

The best-supported pattern is:

  • Relaxed + playful + autonomy/curiosity → broader attention, more exploration, more flexible thinking → more creativity/resourcefulness and often a better experience in the moment.
  • Highly competitive / evaluative pressure → narrowed focus + fear of judgment → often reduced creativity and a worse experience, especially when the pressure feels intense or controlling.

In simple terms: a playful brain explores more options, while a threatened brain tries to survive the moment.

And yes—this shows up in freediving science too

This isn’t only general psychology.

In one study comparing the same breath-hold divers in competition vs training, divers had a significantly higher heart rate before and during the first ~90 seconds of static apnea in competition. The authors link this to mental stress from the competitive situation.

So competition pressure doesn’t just feel different. It shows up in your body—often in a way that moves you away from the calm “economy” most freedivers want.

So what does “creativity/resourcefulness” mean in freediving?

Not “writing poems underwater.” More like:

  • finding a calm surface routine that reliably settles you,
  • adjusting your technique when conditions change (visibility, current, temperature),
  • noticing early warning signs (tension, rushed equalization, “tight chest,” scattered thoughts),
  • choosing the safer option when your ego wants the number.

A playful state is usually less threat-based (“don’t fail”) and more curiosity-based (“let’s explore”). That tends to create better learning, better decisions, and a healthier relationship with discomfort.

The practical takeaway: don’t remove competition—remove threat

Competition itself isn’t automatically the problem. The issue is the flavor of competition:

  • Threat / evaluation / ego → arousal spikes, narrower attention, rushed start.
  • Challenge / curiosity / play → steadier arousal, wider attention, better learning.

If you want performance and well-being, aim for: serious training, playful mind.

How to cultivate “playful calm” in freediving sessions (simple, coachable)

Here are a few training levers that fit the research and work well for beginners:

  1. Process goals over outcome goals
    • Instead of “PB today,” choose 1–2 simple cues: soft jaw, slow hands, quiet kick, one equalization rhythm.
  2. Design low-stakes reps
    • Do “curiosity dives” where success is noticing something (urge timing, tension map, equalization ease), not distance or time.
  3. Use a “smile + exhale” reset
    • Small shifts toward positive emotion can widen attention. You’re not forcing happiness—you’re lowering threat.
  4. Treat discomfort as information
    • Contractions become feedback, not a verdict. “Interesting” beats “oh no.”
  5. Competition simulation—without judgment
    • If you train for comps, simulate the structure (announce, countdown, protocol), but keep the internal story playful: I’m running an experiment.

Safety note (because freediving isn’t just another sport)

A relaxed mindset should never mean relaxed safety. Use proper supervision and protocols—especially for breath-hold training.



References / sources

  1. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory.
    PDF · PMC
  2. Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions.
  3. Fredrickson, B. L., & Branigan, C. (2005). Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought–action repertoires.
  4. Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving.
    PDF
  5. Proyer, R. T. (2021). Can Playfulness be Stimulated? A randomised placebo-controlled online playfulness intervention study (effects on trait playfulness, well-being, depression).
  6. Amabile, T. M. (2012). Componential Theory of Creativity (intrinsic motivation principle of creativity).
  7. Ruscio, J., Whitney, D. M., & (Amabile-related overview) (1996). “Intrinsic motivation principle” summary paper.
    PDF
  1. Byron, K., Khazanchi, S., & Nazarian, D. (2010). The relationship between stressors and creativity: A meta-analysis.
  2. Balietti, S., & Helbing, D. (2016). Peer review and competition in the Art Exhibition Game (competition can have side effects incl. reduced creativity/cooperation).
  3. Erat, S., & Gneezy, U. (2015). Incentives for creativity (competition incentive reduces creativity vs no incentives in their setup).
    PDF
  4. Bullock Muir, A., Tribe, B., & Forster, S. (2024). Creativity on Tap? Creativity anxiety under evaluative pressure.
    PDF
  5. Shalley, C. E. (1995). Effects of coaction, expected evaluation, and goal setting on creativity and productivity.
  1. Abuhamdeh, S. (2020). Investigating the “flow” experience: key conceptual and methodological issues (review).
  2. Harris, D. J., et al. (2023). Systematic review & meta-analysis of the flow–performance relationship.
  3. Isham, A., et al. (2022). Finding flow: exploring the potential for sustainable fulfilment. (The Lancet Planetary Health)
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  2. Schagatay, E. (2009). Predicting performance in competitive apnoea diving. Part I: static apnoea. Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine, 39(2), 88–99.
    PDF · PubMed
  3. Laurino, M., Menicucci, D., Mastorci, F., et al. (2012). Mind-body relationships in elite apnea divers during breath holding: a study of autonomic responses to acute hypoxemia. Frontiers in Neuroengineering, 5, 4. doi:10.3389/fneng.2012.00004
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    PDF
  6. Proyer, R. T. (2013). The well-being of playful adults: Adult playfulness, subjective well-being, physical well-being, and the pursuit of enjoyable activities. European Journal of Humour Research, 1(1), 84–98.
  7. Brauer, K., Stumpf, H. S. C., & Proyer, R. T. (2024). Playfulness in middle- and older age: testing associations with life satisfaction, character strengths and flourishing. Aging & Mental Health.
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