Listening to your own heartbeat while shooting raises the score
1 study · 36 archers measured
The summary today
There is a single Japanese study, from 2009: thirty-six experienced archers shoot six arrows at 50 m twice, with and without their own heartbeat in headphones, in counterbalanced order. With the heartbeat the score rises from 42.3 to 44.4 out of 60, shot time varies less from one arrow to the next (coefficient of variation from 16.7 to 12.5%) and the release falls more often between beats, in diastole: 139 arrows out of 216 against 102. Arrows released in diastole are worth about half a point more under both conditions, and a fixed-tempo metronome, tried on twelve university archers, changes nothing, which suggests that what matters is the archer's own heartbeat rather than any rhythm. The picture is fragile, though: two trials of six arrows, a regional journal, no replication, and an effect nobody has followed beyond the novelty. Six archers out of thirty-six found the heartbeat in their headphones irritating.
Also phrased as: "releasing between heartbeats"; "heartbeat biofeedback in archery"; "listening to the heart while aiming"; "heart rhythm and the shot"
In practice
Archers are often told that the shot should be timed with the heart, and that listening to it helps them release between beats, when the body is stillest.
Evidence
-
2009
For Archers Published later
36 experienced Japanese archers aged 16 to 24 (high school, university and adult), 6 arrows at 50 m per condition, counterbalanced order: with their own heartbeat in headphones 44.4 ± 6.2 points out of 60 against 42.3 ± 7.2 without (t(35) = 3.12, p < 0.005).
Physiological and Psychological Changes Caused by Archery Athletes Monitoring Their Own Heartbeat in Shooting Situation, and the Effects on Performance · Hideaki Takai, Osamitu Saijyo, Yasuhisa Kusumoto
-
2009
Context Archers Published later
With the heartbeat in headphones shot time varies less from one arrow to the next, coefficient of variation 12.5 ± 6.8% against 16.7 ± 11.1% (t(35) = 3.48, p < 0.001), while the mean time does not change. Even without headphones, over just six arrows, shot time fluctuates by more than a tenth.
Physiological and Psychological Changes Caused by Archery Athletes Monitoring Their Own Heartbeat in Shooting Situation, and the Effects on Performance · Hideaki Takai, Osamitu Saijyo, Yasuhisa Kusumoto
-
2009
Context Archers Published later
Without a signal the release falls almost at random relative to the cardiac cycle, 102 arrows in diastole and 114 in systole out of 216; with the heartbeat in headphones 139 and 77 (chi-square = 13.09, p < 0.001). Arrows in diastole are worth about half a point more under both conditions (without headphones 7.3 against 6.8 per arrow, with headphones 7.6 against 6.9; F(1,134) = 15.68, p < 0.001), with no interaction between condition and phase: the gain comes through the number of arrows in diastole, not through a diastole advantage that grows.
Physiological and Psychological Changes Caused by Archery Athletes Monitoring Their Own Heartbeat in Shooting Situation, and the Effects on Performance · Hideaki Takai, Osamitu Saijyo, Yasuhisa Kusumoto
-
2009
Context Archers Published later
Second experiment: a metronome in headphones at 90 beats per minute, 12 university archers, 6 arrows at 50 m, changes neither the score nor shot time nor its variability nor the number of arrows in diastole. Nine archers out of twelve say the metronome had no effect at all.
Physiological and Psychological Changes Caused by Archery Athletes Monitoring Their Own Heartbeat in Shooting Situation, and the Effects on Performance · Hideaki Takai, Osamitu Saijyo, Yasuhisa Kusumoto
-
2009
Context Archers Published later
The heart speeds up during shooting under both conditions (R-R interval from 713 to 648 ms without headphones, from 699 to 638 ms with the heartbeat), but only with the heartbeat in headphones does it return to resting values as soon as the arrows are shot (interaction F(2,70) = 3.43, p < 0.05). Reported mood on six items does not change; 12 archers out of 36 found the listening pleasant and 6 out of 36 found it irritating.
Physiological and Psychological Changes Caused by Archery Athletes Monitoring Their Own Heartbeat in Shooting Situation, and the Effects on Performance · Hideaki Takai, Osamitu Saijyo, Yasuhisa Kusumoto
Status history
- 1990 Not studied Researchers begin to look at the heartbeat at the moment of release, and in four elite archers the good arrows seem to leave at a consistent point of the cardiac cycle. Nobody, though, has yet had archers listen to their own heart while shooting: on the question of this entry there is no evidence.
- 2009 Reported The first and only study arrives: thirty-six Japanese archers shoot six arrows at 50 m with and without their own heartbeat in headphones, in counterbalanced order. With the heartbeat the score rises from 42.3 to 44.4 out of 60, shot time fluctuates less from one arrow to the next and the release moves into diastole on 139 arrows out of 216 against 102; a fixed-tempo metronome, tried on twelve university archers, changes nothing. A single study, with very short trials and in a regional journal: the evidence in favour is there and it is limited.
Related
Related articles
- The heart at the moment of the shot: slowing, a lower heart rate and diastoleReleasing between beats, a heart that slows during the aim, a lower heart rate worth points: what studies have measured of the archer's heart at the shot.
- How fired up you need to be to shoot well: individual bands, distance and relaxationIs there a right level of arousal for shooting well? What the studies say about individual bands, shooting distance and relaxing before an end.
- Biofeedback and neurofeedback for archers: what changes in the signal and what in the scoreWhat studies show on neurofeedback, heart rate biofeedback, computer training and headsets for archers: the trained signal changes, the score far less.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). Listening to your own heartbeat while shooting raises the score (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/listening-to-heartbeat-while-shooting
@misc{campagna2026_battitoincuffia,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {Listening to your own heartbeat while shooting raises the score},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/mind/listening-to-heartbeat-while-shooting},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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