Knowledge Nuggets

Sleep loss reduces physical performance, eye-hand coordination, and attention span. Chronic sleep loss contributes to higher risk for cancer, heart disease, dementia and depression. A recent article from ESPN examines the impacts of competition and travel schedules on the sleep patterns, and ultimately the health, of NBA athletes.

Physical literacy is a central component of physical education curricula across the country. But the concept may be unfamiliar to many parents. Today’s SIRC blog helps demystify the concept so parents can be allies with teachers in supporting student success.

Interested in updating your workout regime with the latest strength and conditioning science? A new massive open online course (MOOC) from McMaster University launches today, designed to provide insight and practical tips to apply evidence-based techniques to achieving your health and fitness goals. Learn more about Hacking Exercise for Health.

Healthy school lunches provide children with essential vitamins and minerals for healthy growth and development, and the energy and nutrients they need throughout the day for learning and active play. Health Canada recommends engaging children in planning their meals to make it more likely that they eat and enjoy their food. Looking for tips? Check...

Are you a teacher looking for new ideas to activate your students during class, recess or after school; or a coach looking to refresh your practices? The Playworks Game Library and Active for Life Activity Database let you search activities by age, skill, group size, and more!

While many professionals look forward to summer as a time for relaxation, for many in the sport sector, work demands are heating up! As stress levels increase, leaders and staff alike can take steps to ensure their stress isn’t “contagious.” These include pinpointing your true stressors, changing your reaction to the workload, creating pockets of...

The Government of Canada recently announced investments to expand the use of sport and physical activity programming as a means to improve social development in Indigenous communities. The application process for projects designed to improve health, improve education, reduce at-risk behaviour, and improve employability, is now open. The deadline for applications is July 19, 2019.

As humans age, they lose muscle. More specifically, the number of motor units that make up each muscle are gradually reduced. However, new research suggests that long-term endurance and strength training expands the size of the remaining motor units to compensate for the decline in motor units in older age – more evidence to support...

Fathers have a unique and powerful influence on their children’s physical, social, emotional and mental health. The DADEE program developed by researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia targeted the father-daughter relationship to improve girls’ self-esteem and physical activity. After the program, daughters were more active, had better sport skills, and improved their resilience...

Research exploring elite athletes’ experiences of clinical depression sheds light on symptoms that may be unique to high performance sport, including demotivation, drops in performance, and risk-taking behaviours. Stigma surrounding mental illness may delay the time it takes for athletes to seek help, but an understanding of these symptoms could help reduce the time to...