An archer's heart slows down in the seconds before the release

The summary today

The heart slowing before the release is one of the oldest observations on the physiology of shooting, but studies do not agree on when it happens or in whom. In 1990 two papers came out together and contradicted each other: in four elite archers the cardiac cycle lengthened from at least six beats before the release of good arrows, while on some average or poor arrows it shortened (from 678 to 558 ms); in twenty-eight elite archers recorded with electrocardiogram and electroencephalogram over sixteen shots, the heart did not slow in the 3 to 4 seconds before the release but sped up, from 100.7 to 104.2 beats per minute, and the average while aiming was the same as when holding the bow at full draw without shooting. In 2015 a small study of eight experienced archers sees no fall in the two seconds before the shot: in compound the heart rate rises throughout, and in recurve it dips by a third of a beat before climbing again. The direct measurements of 2020 and 2025, both from the same Indian group, do see the fall: in seven elite archers and 210 arrows at 18 m heart rate drops significantly from five seconds before to one second after the release, and in thirty-two archers over two sessions of thirty arrows the lowest point comes two or three seconds after the release, with the arrow already gone. Reviews also report a sharper slowing before the best arrows in beginners followed for fourteen weeks, but at second hand and without numbers. Heart rate around the release therefore tends to fall in most measurements, yet the largest study of elite archers finds the heart speeding up in the last seconds of aiming, and the most recent data put the minimum after the shot, where it may simply be the end of the effort of drawing rather than a preparation of attention.

Also phrased as: "heart rate slows while aiming"; "cardiac deceleration before the shot"; "the heart calms before shooting"; "heart rate during aiming"; "heart slowing before the loose"

Evidence

• 1990
  For Archers Published later

  4 elite archers recorded in two sessions up to a hundred days apart, 240 arrows classed as good (164), average (45) or poor (31): before good arrows the cardiac cycle lengthens significantly in every archer (p from < 0.05 to < 0.01), starting at least six cycles before the release. On some average or poor arrows the reverse happens, with the cycle shortening towards the release, for example from 678 ± 44 to 558 ± 19 ms.

  Fine Body Movements and the Cardiac Cycle in Archery · David Keast, Bruce Elliott

• 1990
  Against Archers Published later

  28 right-handed elite archers, heart rate and left and right temporal electroencephalogram recorded over 16 shots at 45 m: in the 3 to 4 seconds before the release, over five inter-beat intervals per shot, the heart does not slow but speeds up significantly, from 100.7 to 104.2 beats per minute, and the average while shooting (104.4) is no different from that when holding the bow at full draw without shooting (103.0). The authors read the acceleration as the effect of holding a 14 to 22 kg bow, which would mask any slowing linked to attention. Over the same period alpha activity is higher in the left hemisphere, and the best and worst shots differ only on the left (6, 12 and 28 Hz).

  Hemispheric Asymmetry, Cardiac Response, and Performance in Elite Archers · Walter Salazar, Daniel M. Landers, Steven J. Petruzzello, Myungwoo Han, Debra J. Crews, Karla A. Kubitz

• 1994
  Context Kyudo archers Published later

  5 university kyudo archers measured in practice and in competition with a heart rate monitor read every five seconds: with each shot heart rate rises and peaks about ten seconds after the release. The resolution does not allow what happens in the seconds before the release to be seen.

  Changes of Heart Rate, Somatic Anxiety, and Performance of Japanese Archers during Practices and Matches · Masakazu Miyamoto

• 2005
  Context Review Published later

  A review chapter on the psychology of archery: it reports that in skilled archers the heart slows in the seconds before the release, and that the slowing also appears in simulated shooting and with eyes closed, citing two studies from 1994 and 1998. No figures are given.

  Psychological Aspects of Archery · Kathleen M. Haywood

• 2015
  Against Archers Published later

  Eight experienced archers, four recurve and four compound, fifteen arrows each at 18 metres indoors, a hundred and twenty in all, with heart rate read two seconds and one second before the release, at the release and one second after: in compound the heart rate rises throughout, from 107.57 to 109.10, 111.48 and 112.90 beats per minute; in recurve it dips only slightly between two seconds and one second before, from 101.08 to 100.75, then climbs to 103.18 and 104.73. There is no test of the trend over time and the journal is regional, but in the two seconds that matter no fall is visible.

  Heart rate values and levels of attention and relaxation in expert archers during shooting · Andrea Vrbik, Raphael Bene, Ivan Vrbik

• 2020
  For Archers Published later

  7 elite Indian archers (4 compound, 3 recurve), 30 arrows each at 18 m indoors, 210 in all, heart rate recorded second by second from five before to five after the release: the fall from -5 s to +1 s is significant (repeated measures, F(10,200) = 82.64, p < 0.0001, eta squared 0.805), the rise to +5 s is not. The minimum comes at +2 s for all arrows and holds until +4 s on arrows scoring 9 and 10, until +3 s on 8s; the authors state that this difference is not statistically significant. Regional journal.

  Heart Rate Values During Shooting is a Field-Side Performance Analysis Tool in Archery-A study of Elite Indian Archers · Chandra Sekara Guru, Anup Krishnan, Uma Mahajan, Deep Sharma

• 2024
  Context Review Published later

  A narrative review of neurofeedback in precision sports, covering studies from 1990 to 2023. It reports two studies on archers: in beginners followed for fourteen weeks performance rises by 62% and the heart slows more before the best arrows, with electroencephalogram asymmetries at 12 Hz on the left and 4 Hz on the right; in the elite archers of the 1990 study, no deceleration during aiming. Second-hand readings.

  Improving Mental Skills in Precision Sports by Using Neurofeedback Training: A Narrative Review · Stefano Corrado, Beatrice Tosti, Stefania Mancone, Tommaso Di Libero, Angelo Rodio, Alexandro Andrade, Pierluigi Diotaiuti

• 2025
  For Archers Published later

  32 Indian archers, 15 elite and 17 not, compound and recurve, two sessions of 30 arrows indoors with a chest strap and video: eleven heart rate values per arrow from -5 s to +5 s around the release, 21,120 in all. Heart rate falls in both sessions, the greatest deceleration comes at +2 and +3 s, during the follow-through, and then heart rate rises again; the values appear only in the figure. The same group as the 2020 study, on a different sample.

  Can we predict archery performance using shooting heart rate and other biophysical parameters? A machine learning approach · Chandra Sekara Guru, Uma Mahajan, Anup Krishnan, Karuna Datta, Deep Sharma

Status history

1. 1990 Contested Two studies on archers came out in the same year and pointed in opposite directions. In four elite archers, over 240 arrows in two sessions, the cardiac cycle lengthened significantly before good arrows from at least six beats before the release, while on some average or poor arrows the heart sped up. In twenty-eight elite archers recorded over sixteen shots, by contrast, the heart sped up in the 3 to 4 seconds before the release, from 100.7 to 104.2 beats per minute, as it does when the bow is held at full draw without shooting. Studies on archers pointing in opposite directions, with the contrary one seven times larger: contested.
2. 1994 Contested A field measurement arrives from kyudo, five university archers with a heart rate monitor read every five seconds: with each shot heart rate traces a wave peaking about ten seconds after the release. With one reading every five seconds the seconds before the release cannot be seen, so the question does not move and the status stays contested.
3. 2005 Contested A review chapter reports two further studies of skilled archers in which the heart slows before the release even in simulated shooting and with eyes closed. These are second-hand accounts, without numbers, and the contrary 1990 study remains the largest: contested.
4. 2015 Contested Eight experienced archers measured around the release, a hundred and twenty arrows at eighteen metres: in the two seconds before the shot the heart rate does not fall, rising throughout in compound and dipping by a third of a beat in recurve before climbing again. It is the second study that sees no fall in the final part of aiming; it is small, with no test of the trend and in a regional journal, so it strengthens the contrary side without settling the question, and the status stays contested.
5. 2020 Contested A direct measurement on seven elite Indian archers, four compound and three recurve, 210 arrows at 18 m: heart rate falls significantly from five seconds before to one second after the release, then rises again without the rise reaching significance. On arrows scoring 9 and 10 the minimum holds until the fourth second, on 8s until the third, but the authors point out that the difference was not tested. A second supporting study, small and in a regional journal, does not outweigh the contrary one on twenty-eight archers: contested.
6. 2024 Contested A narrative review of neurofeedback lines up both sides again: in beginners followed for fourteen weeks, with performance up 62%, the heart slows more before the best arrows; in the elite archers of the 1990 study it does not slow during aiming. No new data, and the picture stays divided.
7. 2025 Contested The same Indian group measures thirty-two archers, fifteen elite and seventeen not, over two sessions of thirty arrows, with eleven heart rate values per arrow from five seconds before to five seconds after the release: the heart slows in both sessions, but the greatest deceleration comes two or three seconds after the release, after which heart rate rises again. The slowing therefore starts before the shot but bottoms out with the arrow already gone, which shifts the question rather than settling it. Coming from the same laboratory as in 2020, it does not count as independent confirmation, and the status stays contested.

Related

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Research lines

• 48 studiesThe heartbeat and the shot: heart rate and HRV since 1981
• 56 studiesAnxiety and confidence in archery competition since 1986

Other claims in this domain

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See all claims on mind and attention