Back in the mid-19th century, chewing tobacco was very popular in the United States. At its highest time of popularity, the average American gnawed more than three pounds of tobacco per day. It was a habit, for most, though extended into various sports and live events very quickly. Professional baseball players were one of the most renowned for chewing tobacco, as it helped to keep their mouths and gloves moist while on the dusty field.
Who’s to say if baseball players back in the mid-19th century were aware of the health effects of tobacco – an increased risk of cancer and heart disease, just to name two – though baseball players and athletes of all sorts really had little idea as to how their lifestyle off the field, pitch, ice rink or course impacted their in-game play. Only in the last twenty years or so did athletes discover the incredible gains from incorporating strength training, healthy eating and sleep routines into their schedules. Progressing far from where athletes came from, the aforementioned explanation of chewing tobacco in Major League Baseball, for example, a focus of efforts off the field are now realized to have a distinct impact on performance on the field.
Neuroscience is one of the many areas of focus that athletes and coaches are paying attention to, though it is arguably the most important area of focus. There is a rising demand for tools to study brain activity while being physically active. Understanding how one’s brain is working while being physically active can unlock data related to concentration, body control and performance, which can be used to uncover opportunity for athletes of all skill levels.
With the past behind us, one that did not take into account the impact of external, off the field factors as it impacted game play, and the present before us, it is important to understand where neuroscience and sports are integrated and aligned now, and where the future will potentially take this booming industry.
Neuroscience and Sports – The History
Neuroscience and the impact of collisions – specifically head-on collisions – was not discussed until the mid 1990s. While those of us watching sports could very well understand that head-on collisions was not doing the body any good, it was an undiscussed topic of conversation, more or less.
Then came the March 1997 study from the American Academy of Neurology that found repeated collisions can cause brain damage. The study outlined three Grades of concussions – 1 through 3. Grade 1 outlined ‘transient confusion’ though no loss of consciousness, with symptoms lasting less than 15 minutes. Grade 2 is much the same as Grade 1, through symptoms more than 15 minutes. Grade 3 indicates loss of consciousness. It was a groundbreaking study, though one that only reviewed current players in the game.
Three years later, in May 2000, two prominent doctors presented these findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The study was funded by the NFL Players Association and surveyed nearly 1100 former players. This study discovered that players suffering at least one concussion during a playing career would be more likely to experience neurological symptoms related to memory, concentration, speed and more.
Seven years later, a study was published that linked concussions with depression and early onset Alzheimer’s disease. This 2007 study discovered that players who suffered at least one concussion were 1.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with depression, versus those who had not been diagnosed with a concussion. Two years later, a subsequent study uncovered that NFL players were 19 times more likely than the general population to be diagnosed with dementia or other memory related diseases.
The studies eventually diagnosed this as Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which is a disease found in those who have a history of repetitive brain trauma. CTE was widely publicised in the 2015 movie, “Concussion” featuring Will Smith. Concussion was a biographical sports drama that was based on the real story of Dr. Bennet Omalu and his effort to raise awareness of brain damage – CTE – in retired NFL players.
With the release of “Concussion” and the history of neuroscience as it relates to sports psychology, it is clear that the history of on-field and off-field behavior has only just been realized in the last two or three decades.
Behavior and lifestyles off the field, pitch, rink or course was not historically related to performance during games, matches and events. This change, however, has entered the sports market at rapid speeds over the last decade, particularly.
Neuroscience and Sports – Where we are today
Neuroscience and sports are much more integrated today than ever has been. Teams, coaches and players are realizing the benefits of understanding how brain performance impacts play performance.
The Portland Trail Blazers are a great example. Working with Neurocore Pro, the Trail Blazers have what is referred to as the “Brain Room”, where Neurocore Pro optimizes the brain’s ability to be in the zone during a game or match. While recovery through nutrition has certainly been a focus over the last decade, neuroscience has been quick to follow.
The most important part of recovery is sleep, which is directly related to neuroscience and our brains. More than “sleeping more”, being able to use technology to train the brains of athletes can directly impact performance.
Travel schedules have a significant impact on the lives of professional athletes, which is why the “Brain Room” helps players recover after games, improving their deep, restorative sleep and perform at their peak capacity.
This restorative sleep is often found in REM – which stands for Rapid Eye Movement.
What is REM sleep?
Our sleep has two cycles – non-REM and REM. We reach REM sleep within the first 90 minutes of falling asleep, and the cycle repeats throughout the night. Typically, without external factors such as unrest and alcohol, REM accounts for 20-25% of an adult’s overall sleep cycle.
REM sleep impacts our bodies and brains. Not only is there a rapid movement of the eyes, as the term so states, we can experience fast breaking, increased heart rate, changes in overall body temperature, brain activity increases and twitching. REM sleep also allows us to dream, or to have very vivid dreams.
Non-REM sleep is generally a very light state of sleep, before one enters REM.
A lack of REM sleep can have negative effects on the average person, and detrimental effects on athletes who are focused on performance. Lack of REM can impact overall coping skills, increase migraines and impact one’s overall ability to perform at work or during play.
Portland Trail Blazers “Blazing” Neuroscience with Neurocore Pro
As mentioned above, the Portland Trail Blazers are a great example of a team that truly understands the importance of neuroscience. Working with Neurocore Pro, Portland’s team uses what is called the “Brain Room”, a tailor made solution that optimizes the brain, cardio system and respiratory system. Using an EEG assessment, professional athletes are focused on the recovery of the brain through the data found in the assessment.
Here’s how it works: The “Brain Room” identifies low brain frequencies that indicate recover or rest. These frequencies are determined through an intricate setup that professional athletes, like the Portland Trail Blazers, are connected to. The setup is connected to a television and DVD player with a pre-loaded video. The electrical activity coming from the player’s brain can tell the DVD when the player is focused. With the player is focused, the movie will play. When the player is not focused, the movie will stop instantly. The body and brain is then trained to focus and recover at the highest level possible.
It’s an intricate system that encourages players to relax, calm down and be focused – which is excellent for recovery after a challenging game or tough practice. This recovery begins the moment the buzzer sounds (almost!) and when the game ends. When the players are mentally strong, they will perform at a high level.
This is truly just one example of neuroscience and sports, and where we are today in terms of professional athletes and the focus on the brain.
Such efforts are unveiling the difference between top performance athletes and novices. Although skill level is of course a significant factor in being a pro versus being a novice, the more an athlete can focus on the additional elements of being a focused athlete, the better.
So, what is the future of neuroscience and sports?
We’ve come a long, long way from the early days of professional athletes and a somewhat lack of care or quite even awareness of the off-field impact of lifestyle on performance. Research and insights from the ‘90s and into ‘00s contributed greatly to additional discoveries around the importance of neurology and our brain on performance, both on and off the field.
Though, with this history and present view behind us, what is the future of neuroscience and sports?
We can offer three areas of prediction or focus for the future of neuroscience and sports.
1. Sports teams will invest in sleep data, sleep focus over the coming decade
Back in 2011, the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL were in the Stanley Cup Final. A powerhouse team, one that had built a group of players were clearly focused on winning hockey’s most notable prize.
During this time, it was discovered that the Canucks had hired a fatigue science doctor to focus on fixing problems associated with travel fatigue. The Vancouver Canucks, being on the West Coast, traveled more distance than anyone else in the league. The hired sleep doctor used wrist monitors to track the individual sleep patterns of players, entered data into a computer program and turned it into performance data. This data helped show reaction time during games, particularly showing when players’ concentration levels were high or low, which was based on overall fatigue.
The program identified which cities and games would be most problematic, and when the team should stay behind in a city versus fly out immediately after the game. It allowed the coach to schedule practices at times when players would be the most attentive.
The results were impressive. Four years before turning to sleep consultants and experts, the Canucks were an average team. When investing in sleep data, the Vancouver Canucks became the team with the best road record in the league, winning 27 out of 41 games.
Back in 2011, this was remarkable technology that had not yet been discussed or even considered by other teams in the NHL. Now, in 2018, we have come a long way with offerings from companies like Neurocore.
As the upcoming decade is upon us, we foresee teams beyond the NHL putting more of an investment in sleep data, focus and technology.
2. Sleep technology won’t be restricted to professional athletes
In the example of the Vancouver Canucks, a team that had budget and authority to work with a notable sleep doctor, it was clear that 2011 was a time when only large budgets could buy investment in such innovation and technology.
Over the coming decade, sleep technology will become available to the masses, that is, to non-pro athletes. Such technology will become more accessible to athletes who are up and coming, or for athletes who are focused on paying more attention to their off-field performance and impact of sleep.
Neurocore is at the forefront of this wave – accessibility to the masses. Through brain performance training, Neurocore offers brain performance training programs through 30 minute sessions that help teach the brain how to stop spiking out of range, therefore improving overall brain function. The program encourages users to breathe deeper and slower to help maximize heart function, which helps allow for blood and oxygen flow.
The benefits of such a program extend beyond sports. These programs help children with ADHD, help adults build greater focus in the workplace and aid individuals to address neuro concerns with overall livability.
Over the coming decade, we predict that sleep technology will be available to many more users beyond professional athletes.
3. More time will be spend training off the field versus on the field
One of the most fascinating parts of learning about sleep training over the past decade has been about the focus on sleep training, off-ice or off-pitch training and overall awareness of one’s efforts outside of games and practices. With this focus on training outside of games, we predict that the next decade will see significantly more focus on training off the field versus on the field.
By this, we mean that athletes will be a 24/7 machine, proven and supported by data. Instead of heading immediately to the team plane to leave back home after a road game, teams will make such decisions based on sleep data. Is the athlete ready to depart? Is he or she better off resting and staying in a comfortable hotel bed that evening versus getting into their own beds in the wee hours of the morning?
Much like sleep training off the field, a focus on fatigue throughout the day will aid in overall recovery training. We predict that athletes will be monitored at all hours, with game decisions being made based on this data.
Instead of a 2-3 hour game, wiping your hands clean and getting ready for the next match, we predict that athletes will be monitored around the clock, optimized for performance.
Sleep training and the integration of neuroscience and sports has certainly taken quite the path over the last decade, with plenty more to come in the upcoming years. Great strides have been made throughout this time, with professional athletes being at the forefront of the sleep data and technology journey. Over the coming decade we will see these great strides and advances being made to those outside of the professional sports realm, into non-pro athletes and even junior athletics.
Sleep training and overall fatigue analysis can used across any vertical, not only sports. We see the next decade as one that extends sleep training and analysis across the workplace, especially to industries such as engineering, construction, medical and more – industries where fatigue could have a remarkably negative impact on projects, safety and security of those working in such industries. Imagine a time – in the not too distant future – where doctors determine when the best time to perform surgeries is, based on their own unique sleep and fatigue data? Or when construction employees can determine when they are best equipped to be on-site, aiding in the support and build of a new bridge or structure in town?
With Neurocore at the forefront of sleep and fatigue technology, the future is filled with great potential when it comes to sleep, fatigue and brain performance. What was once restricted to professional athletes will soon become available to the masses in a way that will aid in neuroscience-related challenges, such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, memory, migraines and more. When looking ahead to the future, the opportunity and potential is truly limitless.
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