How can rituals like singing karaoke, dipping fruit in chocolate, and stretching influence positive outcomes?
Rituals are surprisingly common in our daily lives. Every time you shut off your phone to get a good night’s sleep, or stop and count to 10, you are practicing a ritual. Rituals can help us focus, plan, silence negative self-talk, and reduce stress or anxiety. But how do they work? And what makes a ritual effective?
In “The Rituals We Share” public service announcement, part of the “Love, Your Mind” anti-stigma campaign, professional athletes share their pre-performance rituals. They encourage viewers to adopt rituals that help to clear our minds, handle stress, and elevate performance.
“Rituals can be helpful in the same way that meditation can be helpful: to increase focus and decrease stress or anxiety”, says James Ashworth, MD, executive vice chair, vice chair of clinical services, and medical director of psychiatric services at Huntsman Mental Health Institute. “They provide a sense of stability in an uncertain future, allowing us to focus on what is within our control.”
People integrate rituals into daily routines and use them to prepare for an important challenge, or to begin the day with clarity, focus, and peace.
“Rituals tie in with beliefs, values, scripts, and schemas, which people draw upon for strength. People find predictability in ritual patterns and create practices to help them obtain desired outcomes.”
Our brains are constantly changing based on how we use them. This serves as a powerful reminder of the impact our thoughts can have on our brain's development.
What makes a good ritual?
“A ritual is as distinctive as the person who creates it,” Ashworth says. “There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.”
We asked a few of our associates at Huntsman Mental Health Institute to share their rituals—as unique as the individuals themselves.
“When I know I have a challenging day ahead, I hook up my karaoke machine and sing for a couple of hours,” says Jason Hunziker, MD, associate professor and clinical division chief of adult psychiatry. “I have a set of songs that gets me back in focus and helps me feel recharged to handle whatever comes my way.”
Research, sports psychologists, and anecdotal evidence all suggest that pre-performance rituals can influence goal-driven behaviors by increasing motivation and reducing extraneous sources of anxiety.
Haley Lemon, RD, a clinical dietician, created rituals that she’s been practicing since running her first marathon in 2013. “I’ve learned that I will need an energetic mood boost on the last half of the race,” she says. “So, my tradition is to create a special playlist to turn on halfway through a long-distance run. And, in order not to overthink things, the night before a race I melt chocolate and dip snacks into it. The practice of dipping strawberries, pretzels, or giant marshmallows in melted chocolate distracts me from worrying about the 26+-mile race ahead.”
France A. Davis II, MSPAS, PA-C, a lead advanced practice clinician designed a ritual while attending college. Now, as a busy psychiatric physician assistant serving patients experiencing a mental health crisis, he finds the practice is still effective.
“Twice a day, I practice a 10-minute stretch meditation, simply stretching while attempting to clear my mind,” he says. “I focus on relaxation, allowing my body to unwind. This practice has been a part of my life since college. Back then, the demands of being both a student and a college athlete overwhelmed me. My mind never seemed to switch off during the day. But one day during practice, when I had a pile of classwork waiting for me, something changed. As I stretched, my brain became a blank screen, solely focused on the physical sensation. It felt liberating. So, I started integrating it into my mornings and then into my nights as a way to gain clarity and peace. And, if I’m having an especially hard day, I’ll squeeze the practice into a lunch or dinner break. It’s my way of hitting the reset button when my thoughts race or I lose focus and I just need that moment to start over.”
Rituals are not just habits. Rituals require awareness, intention, and repetition. They are steps we take to lift us up and keep us going.
William Smith, PhD, chief administrative officer, uses rituals each day to foster inner peace and balance despite a busy teaching schedule, a leadership position, and his role as spokesperson for “Love, Your Mind”, an anti-stigma campaign created by Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the Ad Council.
“I try to get at least 15 minutes of sunlight while waiting for my wife’s coffee to finish brewing,” Smith says. “Getting a few minutes of sunlight first thing in the morning has several benefits for health and well-being. Sunlight helps regulate your body’s internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm, which controls sleep patterns. Exposure to natural light in the morning signals your brain that it’s time to wake up, making you feel more alert and energized. It can also improve your mood by increasing the production of serotonin, a hormone that makes you feel happy. Making coffee for my wife and sharing a humorous thought with her before I leave for work is just icing on the cake. Seeing her smile fuels my sense of gratitude, another daily practice I enjoy.”
Whether on the world’s biggest stages or in our everyday lives, rituals can help us clear our minds, handle stress, and elevate our performance.