Overview:

I am a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychophysiology here at Bangor University and I’m particularly interested in the way that we can modify endurance performance and/or post-exercise recovery by targeting the brain.

I graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a first class honours degree in Sport Science in 2005 and then went on to obtain a Masters with Distinction from Bangor University in 2007. Between 2008 and 2009 I worked as an intern in applied sports before coming back to Bangor to complete a PhD in the Psychophysiology of Endurance Performance. I then worked for one year as a post-doctoral researcher before being appointed full-time by Bangor in 2015.

In my time at Bangor I have sat on the research steering committee for the Welsh Institute for Performance Science (WIPS) and I have worked with local organisations such as Ynys Mon Island Games Association.

Contact Details:

e-mail: a.w.blanchfield@bangor.ac.uk

Telephone: 01248 38 2343

Bio:

I am a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychophysiology and my main interests lay in the effect of brain based and/or psychological interventions on sport performance. I am also a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teach on a number of performance related modules including Performance Physiology and Sport Nutrition.

Teaching:

My teaching interests mainly revolve around the effect of athletic performance. In line with this I teach on a number of performance related modules that include:

JXH-2027: Sport Nutrition

JXH-3037: Applied Sport Science of Elite Performance

JXH-4007: Performance Physiology

I also tend to supervise project students on these themes with a more specific project focus on topics such as carbohydrate mouth rinsing, the manipulation of time perception, ways to manipulate self-control, and ways to modify perception of effort.

My research revolves mainly around endurance performance, and particularly post-exercise recovery. Primarily I'm interested in the way that psychological, and/or brain based approaches are associated with endurance performance and/or post-exercise recovery.

Specific examples of some of the things that I am interested in include:

The use of self-talk

The effect of mental fatigue or challenges to self-control

The impact of the subconscious on exercise performance

The role of Personality on endurance performance

The manipulation of time perception and the use of virtual reality in sport environments

PhD Opportunities:

I currently supervise two PhD researchers and I am always interested in Supervising PhD Opportunities in the following topics:

The effect of the brain/psychology on perception of effort

The effect of the brain/psychology on post-exercise recovery

The impact of virtual reality on endurance performance

Monitoring and performance in team/individual sports

Sport Nutrition

2022

• PublishedPredicting undergraduate students’ learning from a lecture: The role of self-control, motivation, and mental effort.
  Owen, R., Blanchfield, A. & Gottwald, V., 31 May 2022, In: Cylchgrawn Addysg Cymru/The Welsh Journal of Education. 24, 1, p. 1-17 17 p., 24.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2021

• PublishedEEG Neurofeedback Improves Cycling Time to Exhaustion
  Mottola, F., Blanchfield, A., Hardy, J. & Cooke, A., Jul 2021, In: Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 55, 101944.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedEffects of 15-mins of electroencephalographic neurofeedback on time perception and decision making in sport
  Pillai, J. S., Blanchfield, A. & Cooke, A., 1 Feb 2021, In: The Journal of Sport and Exercise Science. 5, 1, p. 56-68
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2019

• PublishedGet in the endurance zone! EEG neurofeedback improves cycling time to exhaustion
  Mottola, F., Blanchfield, A., Hardy, J. & Cooke, A., Jul 2019.
  Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
• PublishedTo me, to you: How you say things matters for endurance performance
  Hardy, J., Thomas, A. V. & Blanchfield, A. W., 17 Sep 2019, In: Journal of Sports Sciences. 37, 18, p. 2122-2130
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2018

• PublishedThe influence of an afternoon nap on the endurance performance of trained runners
  Blanchfield, A. W., Lewis-Jones, T. M., Wignall, J. R., Roberts, J. B. & Oliver, S. J., 2018, In: European Journal of Sport Science. 18, 9, p. 1177-1184
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2017

• PublishedGame demands of 7-aside soccer in young players
  Barbero-Alvarez, J. C., López, M. C., Castagna, C., Barbero-Alvarez, C., Romero, D. V., Blanchfield, A. W. & Nakamura, F. Y., 1 Jul 2017, In: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 31, 7, p. 1771-1779
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2014

• PublishedIt's Good But it's Not Right: Instructional Self-Talk and Skilled Performance
  Hardy, J. T., Hardy, J., Begley, K. & Blanchfield, A. W., 4 Sep 2014, In: Journal of Applied Sport Psychology.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedNon-conscious visual cues related to affect and action alter perception of effort and endurance performance
  Hardy, J. T., Marcora, S. M., Blanchfield, A. W., Hardy, J. & Marcora, A., 11 Dec 2014, In: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 8
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedTalking yourself out of exhaustion: the effects of self-talk on endurance performance
  Hardy, J. T., Blanchfield, A. W., Hardy, J., De Morree, H. M., Staiano, W. & Marcora, S. M., 1 May 2014, In: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 46, 5, p. 998-1007
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2015

• Workshop at UK Sport World Class Performance Conference

  30 Nov 2015

  Activity: Types of External academic engagement - Invited talk (Speaker)
• Welsh Institute of Performance Science Steering Committee Member (Performance Physiology)

  1 Oct 2015 →

  Activity: Types of External academic engagement - Contribution to the work of national or international committees and working groups (Member)

• KESS II Phd with Ynys Mon Island Games Asociation BUK2110

  01/05/2017 – 31/03/2021 (Finished)