Knowledge Nuggets

Combined physical and mental training disguised as play can support healthy aging. Using an “Exergame,” similar to Wii Fit or Dance Dance Revolution, adults living with dementia showed significant improvements in reaction time and cognitive skills, such as attention, concentration, memory, and orientation.

Reflecting on how to create a “fun” atmosphere for girls and young women, a participant in an evaluation of the Keeping Girls in Sport online training commented, “Coaches take this as ‘we have to play games all the time and never push the girls outside of their comfort zone.’ Once girls love a sport, being...

Did you know that during training and competition, the “ideal” internal body temperature shifts from ~37°C to ~38.5°C? Research shows slightly increasing body temperature through a passive warm-up can increase muscle power by up to 5%, thus improving performance.

Research from UBC finds teens, especially girls, report better mental health when they spend more time in extracurricular activities, like sports and art, and less time in front of screens. Less than two hours per day of recreational screen time (e.g. browsing the internet, playing video games, and using social media) was associated with higher...

Sport organizations can benefit from including volunteers in program evaluation. For instance, volunteers are likely to have an intimate knowledge of how the organization functions. Given their diverse backgrounds and experiences, volunteers can also aid in bridging the gap between communities and universities for the benefit of the sport sector.

There is uncontested evidence that physical activity boosts mental health. But how? According to University of Toronto professor Catherine Sabiston, body temperature, a break from routine, and a sense of connectedness are just a few of the ways that exercise can lift your mood.

The Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games are inspiring cross-disciplinary research at Brock University. Projects range from an examination of the incidence of injury and illness experienced by Games athletes, to an immersive visual and aural project exploring the links between watersports and regional ecosystems, to a storytelling repository and archive of 2022 Games materials. Read...

June 21st is National Indigenous Peoples Day. Strategies to reduce barriers to physical activity and build capacity in the Canadian sport system are just one part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. Common barriers to physical activity in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities include limited access to recreational facilities, wildlife and...

Do you ever wonder how astronauts stay fit in space? To counteract the effects of weightlessness on the heart muscle, which will atrophy over time in a gravity-free environment, short bursts of repeated high-intensity activity are recommended during longer space missions.

“The Sustainable Development Goals, and the global movement to use them to measure the impacts of sport, can help governments and sport organizations better understand the impacts of their current work, as well as guiding future investments and initiatives.”– Vicki Walker, Director General at Sport Canada. For more information about how the SDGs are informing...