Reducing Burnout in Athletes

Burnout is a growing concern for those working in sport. This is because burnout is relatively common among athletes, and it negatively influences their performance, motivation, and well-being. However, currently, few guidelines exist for how to deal with burnout in practice. Consequently, the present chapter seeks to provide initial recommendations for how to reduce burnout in athletes. To do so, we first provide an introduction to athlete burnout. This includes a definition and description of burnout, details of how to measure burnout, models outlining the development of burnout, and an overview of the consequences of burnout for athletes. We then provide a review of research that has examined the efficacy of interventions in reducing burnout. Because of a lack of studies in sport, this review focuses on studies in other professions such as physicians, nurses, and teachers, where much more evidence exists. We review 13 meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials of burnout interventions in these professions. Based on the findings of this review, we provide suggestions for how practitioners might reduce burnout in athletes. It is hoped that these suggestions are useful in alleviating the symptoms of burnout, and safeguarding athletes from its negative consequences.