Knowledge Nuggets

It was once believed that being slightly behind in a game could boost winning chances in basketball, but new research challenges this idea. Tests across other sports like football and rugby found no similar effect.

Sports participation offers benefits for all, including those with disabilities, by enhancing functionality and reducing anxiety. This review explores these benefits, emphasizing positive outcomes like socialization, enjoyment, and opportunities to challenge stereotypes among individuals with disabilities.

For the past 30 years, research has shown that men’s sports continue to dominate media coverage, with women’s sports often receiving minimal attention. Despite some progress on social media and online newsletters, gender imbalances persist, highlighting the need for more equitable representation in sports media.

As technology continues to advance, athletes are increasingly using devices to enhance their performance and overall health. Wearable sweat sensors have become one of these key tools for health tracking. Here are recent developments in sweat loss measuring devices and how they contribute to improved tracking and monitoring of overall body health.

School sport is essential for student education and wellbeing, yet it faces several challenges. A recent study surveyed 82 teacher-coaches and 38 athletic directors across Canada, uncovering 3 main issues with school sports: changing the school sport culture, ensuring long-term sustainability, and the threat posed by club sports.

A growing awareness of mental health needs among elite athletes has emerged, but the mental well-being of coaches and high-performance support staff (HPSS) in elite sports is less understood. Heightened levels of psychological distress, risky alcohol consumption, and sleep disturbances were found among coaches and HPSS, highlighting the need to extend mental health support to...

Elite athletes’ intense training boosts performance but can lead to overtraining syndrome (OTS) without ample rest. A new review highlights OTS’s impact on physical and mental health, manifesting in reduced performance, mood swings, and motivation loss. Preventing OTS involves monitoring loads, prioritizing recovery, and adjusting training plans promptly based on early signs for optimal athlete...

While many methods of stress management exist, meditation has been shown to be a promising practice in reducing cortisol levels. A recent study found that meditation interventions had a significant effect on cortisol levels in the bloodstream. Significant effects were also found in patients with a somatic illness and people living in stressful life situations....

Female athletes in artistic, endurance and combat sports are at higher risk of developing disordered eating and eating disorders than the general population, and new research reveals some interesting sport-specific differences. For example, female endurance athletes engage in more disordered eating attitudes and behaviours than athletes in artistic and combat sports, emphasizing the importance of...

Did you know that deficiencies in vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron are common in female athletes? Managing athletes’ nutrition to prevent low energy availability and other diet-related disorders requires interdisciplinary cooperation among healthcare professionals including physicians, dieticians, and psychologists.